Insulating Your Pipes Saves Money and Energy

In this economy every penny counts. The following easy to follow do-it-yourself guide will walk you through one of the simplest money saving improvements you can make to your home: insulating your pipes.

Benefits of insulating your pipes:

Insulating your pipe will reduce your energy consumption, which translates to dollars in your pocket each month.

Insulating your pipes will reduce your water consumption, since your water will warm up more quickly, and you will not have to run the water as long for a hot shower or bath.

Finally, insulating your pipes will reduce the chance of frozen or burst pipes, which is an unexpected bill no one wants to receive.

For the do-it-yourself pipe insulation project you will need the following tools and materials:

Either sleeve type foam insulation, or fiberglass strip insulation and waterproof wrap (duct tape).
Box cutter

Safety Note: Turn off your hot water heater and allow hot water pipes to cool before you begin your pipe insulation project. Failure to do so can result in burns, melted insulation, and fires!

The simplest method for insulating your pipes is to buy pre-formed sleeve foam insulation, which you simply cut to size using your box cutter, and then wrap them around your pipes starting at the water heater and continuing for at least ten feet, but ideally until the pipes enter the heated section of your house.

The less expensive option is create insulation sleeves for your pipes yourself using fiberglass strip insulation and duct tape. Starting near your water heater wrap the fiberglass strip insulation loosely around your water pipes and secure, again loosely with a layer of duct tape.

It is important to note here that I repeat loosely twice, as stretching or pulling your fiberglass strip insulation can cause it to lose effectiveness, as can compressing the fiberglass insulation strips by taping them too tightly.

Not only is this one of the cheapest ways to save on energy it is also one of the quickest home improvements you can do. On a personal note, this five-dollar, 20 minute pipe insulation home improvement project more than paid for itself the first month and has continued to keep my water and electricity bills lower all winter.