Hello Although there is no problem with pipe freezing. Last night we wrapped up the hot water lines in the basement and wrapped the seams with white wrap tape. We used heavy duty thick wall 3 foot pieces of heavy duty commercial grade fiberglass pipe insulation with the highest R value I have ever seen. R5.4 We have an eco smart on demand electric hot water panel with a super stor holding take that the pellet stove heats to 80 Deg F overnight. Most of the hot water pipe is Pex but also wrapped up some copper which felt a lot warmer than the Pex! We used approx 14 Three foot lengths at approx $7.00 each Should this make a difference??
You might see a degree or so hotter at the faucet but not any sooner. The longer the run the more effective wrap roi. Same with gallons of water used. And if you're paying a lot to heat the water. I doubt you'd see anything approaching an immediate ROI if you paid someone to come in and only wrap pipes but DIY or if you already have a crew there for something else, maybe worth it. Same with the cold water pipes, although you might stop them from sweating and dripping on the floor in the Summer.
Thanks for your comments! It was a DIY with my assistant so it cost approx $125 for the job so not too shabby.
so if you save $1 a month you will break even in........................................10 years. keep us posted, I always enjoy your projects.
Yes I agree but It is paid for and I am thinking about retirement so switching from oil hot water to On Demand Electric was very costly, the lower cost of living will really help in the golden years! Below is the white covered foil tape we use for the seams! Venture Tape 1540CW Cold Weather ASJ Insulation Tape
Hello My wife said that her first shower with the new pipe insulation that the shower water stayed warmer!! I knew the girls would notice! The shower is approx 30 feet from the hot water panel so that makes this job a complete success!! Thanks guys!
the real test: in about a week, tell them you had to take all the insulation off to repair a small leak, and it was too much hassle to reinstall....... then wait for the first cold shower comments.
You will notice a difference between uses. It will hold temp in the pipe longer thus reducing water use between frequent uses. My pipes are in slab. 30 seconds with kitchen faucet off and the water is already going cold. Hate that they didn’t ins
However small, you will also see a benefit in the summer.. waste heat from hot water will also affect your cooling demand if you run air conditioners at all. So you can add another $3 per year to ironpony ’s estimate. We heat our hot water with a superstor hooked up to our oil boiler year round. In the winter, the waste heat keeps the basement pipes from freezing unless the temps dip to the minus teens. Then we have to run the 3 FHW heating zones twice a day to provide some extra heat. I wrapped the pipes between my boiler and my superstor where I’m convinced that I get the most bang for the buck. With the boiler water around 180 degrees going to the hot water heater, I’d lose a lot of heat without that insulation. Agree with the assessment that the ROI wouldn’t be there if you paid someone else to do it. But with DIY, it’s probably worth it... Curious about your setup with the pellet stove heating water in the the superstor. Do you run a circulator pump and pipe between the two?
No connection from pellet stove to SuperStor, the hot air from pellet stove near the SuperStor just heats the water inside. No expensive heat pump needed! LOL
They shrink at temps higher than most hot water is set at. You wouldn't want to lose any of that million dollar saving R2 now would ya ?
I used them on the OWB lines on the inside of the house and have not observed any shrinkage. Agreed, the "R" value isn't too high (slightly below 2.5) but I noticed a difference right away in the temps at the heat exchanger on the water heater and the furnace.
I used them (tried) on 1/2 inch hydronic lines. They shrank. Shriveled up like a wiener in ice cold water. Ended up trying the wrong size fiberglass ones for 5/8 or 3/4, whatever the store had . I think the fiberglass ones were R4 I've used them on cold water pipes and they do stop the sweating in the Summer. I've used them on the hot water copper pipes. The math for R2 doesn't support much. Faith can be an interesting object.
That’s why I insulated my HW pipes, I just wanted to have some warm water in the pipes a bit longer so I wouldn’t have to run the water so long to wash my hands or rinse a plate. It does help in that way.
