A lot of our customers ask how much money they will save by insulating their home's heating pipes.  We can easily tell our customers that they will in fact save money each winter, however coming up with a dollar amount is difficult.  The amount of variables relating to the question is extremely complex, however below we will show one example of how much money will be saved by installing fiberglass pipe insulation on heating pipes.  

The basis for this scenario's info came from Jeff M from New Jersey who had 60 feet of 2" Iron Pipe in his basement running off of his Weil Mclain gas burning boiler.  Please keep in mind that each scenario is different so your gas pipe insulation savings amount may be much higher or less than this scenario.

Thermal Image showing temperature difference between insulated and non-insulated piping

DOLLAR SAVINGS FROM FIBERGLASS PIPE INSULATION EXAMPLE:

Fuel Type: Natural Gas

Fuel Cost: $9.8/mcf (current US Avg)

Pipe Size: 2" Iron Pipe

Pipe Length: 60ft

Pipe Temperature: 275 F

Basement Temperature: 65 F

Running Hours: 1500hrs (10 hrs/day Nov-Mar)

RESULTS:

SURFACE TEMPERATURE:

No Insulation:  Pipe Surface Temp: 275 F

1" Thickness:  Insulation Surface Temp: 89 F

* These results are always mind boggling.  By adding only 1 inch of fiberglass pipe insulation, the surface temperature drops 186 F.  These numbers alone show how much heat the pipe insulation is retaining.

HEAT LOSS BTU/HR:

No Insulation: 21,443 btu/hr loss

1" Thickness:  2,830 btu/hr loss

* The heat loss for this heating system drops a staggering 87% by simply adding only 1 inch of fiberglass pipe insulation.

FUEL COST FOR LOSS:

No Insulation: $385 per heating season

1" Thickness: $50 per heating season ($335 saving/season)

*This is the cost for the heat loss (not total heating costs).  By adding 1" thick pipe insulation the loss would be reduced by $335.

ACTUAL COST OF INSULATING PIPING:

60ft of 2 x 1 fiberglass pipe insulation costs  $125.40 with shipping costs ranging for $30-$65. So the total cost of insulating the 60 feet of piping is under $200.  In this scenario, the cost of insulating the pipe would be paid off well within the first heating season!