[legion]

It's common up here in the north, more so in the past decade.

There's really no downside to us, aside from the additional cost of the insulation. It helps insulate your pipes from freezing (which if you lose power for weeks might be a moot point), it cuts down on energy usage in the winter, and it gets you hot water quicker.

My house in Georgia has insulated pipes as well, but the walk-out basement didn't have insulation on the exterior walls until I added it.