My handyman is currently doing this for me, having discovered that hot pipes were only part-lagged under the house. It’s made such a difference to the temperature of the water that comes out of my hot tap. It used to be lukewarm. Now it’s red hot. Not only does it save energy and money but it’s also so much better for the environment and is better for the life of my gas boiler. It’s Summer in the U.K. at the moment so I don’t have my radiators on but I’m looking forward to my radiators being a lot warmer in the winter too!! Thank you for your video. I was looking for something to share with my friends to help with their energy bills. Also, thank you for not allowing irritating adverts to pop up mid-way through. Liked and subscribed. 👍🏻
you're not suppose to put flammable foam so close to the flue on gas water heaters. fiberglass wrap for the first 4 feet or so and then you can use the foam when it's away from the flue.
So the next step would be to insulate that block wall with double sided al foil 2" foam board, and then a layer of concrete board for fireproofing. Giving a thermal break around the room would make a huge difference.
Very nice video!! Unfortunately all the pipes are in my basement and there is not much space so I will have to crawl all over. How will I be able to go through all the process like measuring, cutting correctly and attach them. It will be very difficult. Do you have any suggestion Energy Saver Guy?
im a tradesman insulator and the best tool for those job is to use some cheap steakknife, like the LASER brand(2-4$each)works great and less dangerous than x-acto blade.cough cough
If you don't want to mess around cutting angles, you can figure how many turns and tees are in your setup. Most home improvement stores sell turns and tees in pipe insulation for relatively cheap.
You could make that tee a little bit easier by cutting the hole for the branch line on the main line insulation first, then measuring and applying the branch line insulation (the bonnet). You did great, just a thought.
Okaythen: Insulate as much or all of the pipes as possible, unless in the specific area in which may create a fire or exhaust hazard. You may even double up on the insulation, by wrapping another 3/4 insulation on top with another 3/4 diameter along with silver or duct tape. You may do this to infinity - therefore, you would be creating an infinite efficient system promoting peace of mind.
FYI, you might want to have a look at "Water & gas Burst pipe protection with the new Burstoff system" on youtube, the new & effective system to prevent flood damage to your home.
to anyone that know i can't afford a plumber i bought a mobile home march 1 . The hot water tank was gone and some pipe were cut i fix all the cut water and hot water pipe . i check the on off value under the mobile home and the pressure release value. but still no cold water coming thou the pipe do i need to hook up a pump or the tankless hot water heater to have the cold water flow or the pipe could still be frozen. i put hot water on the pipe that coming out of the ground to see if that the problem
Less than the gases from all the unnecessary energy being wasted by heating the water 😉 But seriously, i wouldn't even think twice about this (and so not even search online) for any spaces in the garage or in other non-finished spaces.
I simply do not understand why this is so slowly becoming normal. Actually I would insulate all hot water piping through the house and not with this thin isloation but extra extra thick. The most fantastic extra is that you will have instant warm water when you open the fawcett. Not only you save a lot of money not losing hot water (heating water is the next most costly thing of you house after heating your house itself) but you comfort using also goes up enourmous
WRONG - cannot have anything flammable within 6" of single wall exhaust - have to use fiberglass or rockwool. YES, the code is extreme but it still is the code.
You're not insulating the piece of pipe close to the kettle because the material you're using is a fire hazard. There is material that is not a fire hazard, has better insulation qualities.
Why show the use of the framing square when you didn`t use it for any of the cuts? Those few feet of exposed pipe can get cold soaked, but as soon as you run very little water through them, you will have the hot water from the tank. It may help keep the water a little warmer that is suspended in the pipes (which is very minimal) but I don`t see any real advantage to this!
When you run your shower, you won't lose as much heat in the hot water as it travels to you. You're basically running that hot water through an ice box, so you have to turn the water to even hotter to compensate. If your pipes are insulated, then you can draw a but less hot water from your hot water tank. This means (1) you pay less since you don't need to hear as much water and (2) you could even live off of a smaller hot water tank since a hot shower doesn't require as much hot water. Benefit #1 is likely a bigger saver than benefit #2. Also, if you ever turn hot water on and off, say, for doing dishes, this will also keep the water warmer in the pipe longer. Same principle as the shower.
I hate to break this to everyone but insulating small-diameter pipes is one of the least effective energy saving projects you can do, and in fact may wind up doing more harm than good. The problem is that for smaller pipes (1/2", 3/4", which covers the vast majority of residential hot water pipe) the insulation increases the surface area of the pipe faster than it decreases the heat transfer per unit area. When the water is flowing the insulated pipe may actually lose more heat than it did before the insulation. When water is not flowing, the insulation will enable the pipe to hold heat a bit longer, so there may be some small overall benefit, but it won't be very much. The only time it's worth insulating the pipes is if they are larger than 1" and you use the really thick walled foam rubber (fiberglass is almost worthless by comparison...), or if you are installing the insulation over heat tape to prevent freezing. The insulated pipes you see in industrial facilities are much larger diameter and are often carrying much higher temperature fluids (e.g., steam).
just had new kitchen fitted. The problem I have now is there are heating pipes behind where my fridge freezer is. From what I read online you having heating pipes or radiator near Fridge freezer can cause fire risk, it also mean the hot temperature will make your fridge to work harder to cool. What can I use to insulate the heating pipes behind the fridge (to keep the heat from escaping, keep air cool behind the fridge). I have small kitchen and I can't move the fridge. Excuse my English, hope you have understood my question.
Well that also depends on the thermal conductivity of the insulation and the thickness! That's like saying that wearing gloves in the winter does not matter because you are increasing the surface area of your hand! The surface area of the pipe itself doesn't change.
I agree there is nearly no energy savings that would be nominal to the cost of the insulation. The only place you really want to insulate a pipe is in a crawl space (if your home is equipped with one) or if the piping runs outdoors. The only benefit you get for pipe insulation is slightly (and I mean slightly) quicker hot water. Instead of waiting 1 minute for the cold water to egress out of the pipes, you may wait 55 seconds
My handyman is currently doing this for me, having discovered that hot pipes were only part-lagged under the house. It’s made such a difference to the temperature of the water that comes out of my hot tap. It used to be lukewarm. Now it’s red hot. Not only does it save energy and money but it’s also so much better for the environment and is better for the life of my gas boiler. It’s Summer in the U.K. at the moment so I don’t have my radiators on but I’m looking forward to my radiators being a lot warmer in the winter too!! Thank you for your video. I was looking for something to share with my friends to help with their energy bills. Also, thank you for not allowing irritating adverts to pop up mid-way through. Liked and subscribed. 👍🏻
Thank you sir. What might seem very basic maintenance to some, are new things to learn for others.
you're not suppose to put flammable foam so close to the flue on gas water heaters. fiberglass wrap for the first 4 feet or so and then you can use the foam when it's away from the flue.
what's a flue
Where the heat smoke comes out of at the top. Like a chimney @@redsresearch
this is still valuable years later. thanks for sharing this info.
Excellent presentation. it's going to be a project for me today. Thanks for showing how to best deal with the angle transitions and T intersects.
So the next step would be to insulate that block wall with double sided al foil 2" foam board, and then a layer of concrete board for fireproofing. Giving a thermal break around the room would make a huge difference.
Thanks for the help Passionate Pat. You are the man!
Excellent Tutorial...
Push up! (Great job) I'm a beginner and love this type of insight. Thanks for the tip on the T.
Thanks for sharing this is very helpful tips
Quicker to use scissors so you can cut on the pipe without removing it. Foil tape is also overkill. You can use plastic ties.
Very nice video!! Unfortunately all the pipes are in my basement and there is not much space so I will have to crawl all over. How will I be able to go through all the process like measuring, cutting correctly and attach them. It will be very difficult. Do you have any suggestion Energy Saver Guy?
Heh Pat, your passion is infectious, keep it up !
Insulate Pex also?
im a tradesman insulator and the best tool for those job is to use some cheap steakknife, like the LASER brand(2-4$each)works great and less dangerous than x-acto blade.cough cough
So easy to do, and this guy is great.
This was an excellent video!
Does that type of insulation allow you to touch it without causing a burn on your skin?
He spent $20 for project 15 years ago. Now....... little box of specialty screws cost $50. Thank you...... you know who.......
Great video. Thank you for the thorough explanation.
What kind of foil tape?
Really great video! Thanks Pat!
If you don't want to mess around cutting angles, you can figure how many turns and tees are in your setup. Most home improvement stores sell turns and tees in pipe insulation for relatively cheap.
We can do this Pat!!
You could make that tee a little bit easier by cutting the hole for the branch line on the main line insulation first, then measuring and applying the branch line insulation (the bonnet). You did great, just a thought.
when temp drop to how low I should start insulate outside pvc pipes? tahnks
Okaythen: Insulate as much or all of the pipes as possible, unless in the specific area in which may create a fire or exhaust hazard. You may even double up on the insulation, by wrapping another 3/4 insulation on top with another 3/4 diameter along with silver or duct tape. You may do this to infinity - therefore, you would be creating an infinite efficient system promoting peace of mind.
Lovin' the passion pat! Keep it up.
Thanks Passionate Pat! I'm on it!
Save money every month from now on by insulating your hot water pipes. start checking and insulating them now..
FYI, you might want to have a look at "Water & gas Burst pipe protection with the new Burstoff system" on youtube, the new & effective system to prevent flood damage to your home.
Good video, and you passionate
to anyone that know i can't afford a plumber i bought a mobile home march 1 . The hot water tank was gone and some pipe were cut i fix all the cut water and hot water pipe . i check the on off value under the mobile home and the pressure release value. but still no cold water coming thou the pipe do i need to hook up a pump or the tankless hot water heater to have the cold water flow or the pipe could still be frozen. i put hot water on the pipe that coming out of the ground to see if that the problem
You can learn more about it on INPLIX website.
doesn't hot water pipes get too hot for insulation?
Good video
thanks Pat
hot water what pipe use
I hope your elbow is ok chief.
Thank you.
I wonder how much off gassing there is from that foam getting hot.....if any? Does anyone know how safe polyethylene pipe wrap is?
Less than the gases from all the unnecessary energy being wasted by heating the water 😉
But seriously, i wouldn't even think twice about this (and so not even search online) for any spaces in the garage or in other non-finished spaces.
I simply do not understand why this is so slowly becoming normal. Actually I would insulate all hot water piping through the house and not with this thin isloation but extra extra thick. The most fantastic extra is that you will have instant warm water when you open the fawcett. Not only you save a lot of money not losing hot water (heating water is the next most costly thing of you house after heating your house itself) but you comfort using also goes up enourmous
Most people are lazy idiots and don't want to go to the trouble to do this
WRONG - cannot have anything flammable within 6" of single wall exhaust - have to use fiberglass or rockwool. YES, the code is extreme but it still is the code.
awesome
I have a pretty new home and I'm kind of appalled they didn't do allot of this as we are moving in the environmental direction
You're not insulating the piece of pipe close to the kettle because the material you're using is a fire hazard.
There is material that is not a fire hazard, has better insulation qualities.
Why show the use of the framing square when you didn`t use it for any of the cuts? Those few feet of exposed pipe can get cold soaked, but as soon as you run very little water through them, you will have the hot water from the tank. It may help keep the water a little warmer that is suspended in the pipes (which is very minimal) but I don`t see any real advantage to this!
When you run your shower, you won't lose as much heat in the hot water as it travels to you. You're basically running that hot water through an ice box, so you have to turn the water to even hotter to compensate. If your pipes are insulated, then you can draw a but less hot water from your hot water tank. This means (1) you pay less since you don't need to hear as much water and (2) you could even live off of a smaller hot water tank since a hot shower doesn't require as much hot water. Benefit #1 is likely a bigger saver than benefit #2.
Also, if you ever turn hot water on and off, say, for doing dishes, this will also keep the water warmer in the pipe longer. Same principle as the shower.
i did it!
I hate to break this to everyone but insulating small-diameter pipes is one of the least effective energy saving projects you can do, and in fact may wind up doing more harm than good. The problem is that for smaller pipes (1/2", 3/4", which covers the vast majority of residential hot water pipe) the insulation increases the surface area of the pipe faster than it decreases the heat transfer per unit area. When the water is flowing the insulated pipe may actually lose more heat than it did before the insulation. When water is not flowing, the insulation will enable the pipe to hold heat a bit longer, so there may be some small overall benefit, but it won't be very much. The only time it's worth insulating the pipes is if they are larger than 1" and you use the really thick walled foam rubber (fiberglass is almost worthless by comparison...), or if you are installing the insulation over heat tape to prevent freezing. The insulated pipes you see in industrial facilities are much larger diameter and are often carrying much higher temperature fluids (e.g., steam).
just had new kitchen fitted. The problem I have now is there are heating pipes behind where my fridge freezer is. From what I read online you having heating pipes or radiator near Fridge freezer can cause fire risk, it also mean the hot temperature will make your fridge to work harder to cool.
What can I use to insulate the heating pipes behind the fridge (to keep the heat from escaping, keep air cool behind the fridge). I have small kitchen and I can't move the fridge.
Excuse my English, hope you have understood my question.
+Aj H fiberglass covering
if this were true then why does every clerical building insulate all 5/8, 1/2 pipe?
Well that also depends on the thermal conductivity of the insulation and the thickness! That's like saying that wearing gloves in the winter does not matter
because you are increasing the surface area of your hand! The surface area of the pipe itself doesn't change.
I agree there is nearly no energy savings that would be nominal to the cost of the insulation.
The only place you really want to insulate a pipe is in a crawl space (if your home is equipped with one) or if the piping runs outdoors.
The only benefit you get for pipe insulation is slightly (and I mean slightly) quicker hot water. Instead of waiting 1 minute for the cold water to egress out of the pipes, you may wait 55 seconds
This could have been a 2 minute video
The more you know 🌈