Hot water tank and pipe insulation - what is it and how much can I save?   

Hot water tank and pipe insulation is a straightforward process to insulate a hot water tank. By simply installing a jacket with a British Standard approval on your water tank, the heat loss will be reduced by as much as 75%. On the other hand, insulating your tank is only half the job. The pipes should also be insulated to achieve the maximum efficiency of your heating system.

By insulating your tanks and pipes a significant amount of heat will be kept in the tank thereby making your heating system work less with less chance of having a central heating system breakdown thereby saving the expense of a boiler repair. This will eventually lead to decreased energy bills and money saved because the need to produce more hot water is reduced. Insulating your tanks and pipes is one of the easiest things you can do to improve the efficiency of your heating system.

Types of pipe insulation

1. Foam Tubing – when it comes to insulating pipes, this is a commonly used method mainly because it is cheap and straightforward to install. Foam tubing is normally offered in 3/8” and 5/8” sizes and comes with or without a layer of double-adhesive tape. The foam tubing with 5/8” thickness is more suitable for cold weathers because it gives more insulation.

2. Fiberglass wrap – to be used on high temperature pipes where the heat may reach 1000 degree Fahrenheit which can damage foam tubing insulation. The inorganic glass fiber element of this insulator makes it fire resistant and while it can also be used to insulate lower temperature pipes it is more expensive than the foam tubing.

3. Heating tape – another type of pipe insulation which is basically a plastic strip with implanted electrical wires applied by wrapping around the pipe. It is primarily used in locations where the temperature is low and freezing like areas that heating systems do not cover. The heating tape will work to keep the pipe from freezing. Remember to secure the pipe insulation with duct tape. Other types of tapes will become elastic and break in the long run which can result in losing the insulation.

Water Tank insulation

The most common way of insulating hot water tanks is through the use of a jacket or blanket. They are installed by wrapping it around the tank and they are available in universal sizes that can cover any size of water tank. They normally include adhesive strips to fix them to the water tank. Just by insulating your water tank, you will save up to 40% in heating expenses.

Costs and Savings

The average cost of a DIY hot water pipe insulation is around £10. Annually, you can save around £10 on energy bills, so the cost of insulation can be recovered within a year.

Fitting a 75mm thick jacket that costs £15 to your hot water tank will save you about £35 annually. At this rate the cost of insulating the water tank can be recovered in about 6 months time.

The CO2 reduced from insulating your hot water tank is around 170kg with about 60kg less CO2 emission from pipe insulation. A total of 230kg of carbon dioxide saved is a significant contribution to fighting climate change.

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