hot water pipes in basement , do you insulate them ?

[rfuerst911sc]

I have owned quite a few homes in my life and never remember any of them having the hot water pipes insulated . Our current house has an unfinished basement and the heat pump/gas furnace is in the middle of the basement . Our electric water heater is also down there . Temps here in GA. at night are currently running in the high 20's to low 30's . To me it makes common sense to insulate the hot water pipes with the theory being the pipes will stay a little warmer and will deliver hot water slightly quicker .

Also the electric water heater does not have an additional insulation blanket on it , is that a worth while addition ? My goal is to help a little bit on the electric bill and also deliver hot water a little quicker . At this point in time I am not interested in recirculating pumps or making any changes to the water heater . For now just the KISS principle So pipe insulation yes or no ? Any other thoughts ? I have adjusted the thermostats on the water heater to a level we are comfortable with .

[ossiblue]

My opinion only as I don't live in an area with extreme cold.

Any additional insulation to the water heater and the pipes would aid in retaining heat radiated from those parts. I believe that many in cold climes do not insulate because the likelihood of freezing is basically eliminated if the pipes are in the basement and that is the major concern, but anytime a pipe is surrounded by colder ambient air, heat will radiate away from it. The water heater blanket may be the best investment in energy savings. In short, adding insulation will help in what you want to accomplish, but to what degree (no pun intended) remains to be seen.

Will it be cost effective? Don't know and don't know how long it will take your to recoup the cost through saved energy bills, but the immediate result of hot water reaching the faucets a bit faster may off-set that somewhat. It this were my situation, I'd insulate.

[speeder]

I'm from Minnesota. That's not extreme cold. A little chilly, for sure.

The obvious answer is that you will have slightly hotter water but lose the small amount of house heating that hot pipes running through your basement might be providing. Since they are probably small, 5/8" pipes and not many of them, that would be negligible.

Does your hot water heater put out noticeable heat when you are near it? Hot to the touch? Most have better internal insulation than that.

[flatbutt]

Yes. I also re jiggered my plumbing in order to reduce the amount of piping needed to reach the main point of use. IE the tank is directly beneath my bathroom

[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.

[Crowbob]

I insulate my cold water pipes because summertime condensation causes them to drip if not insulated.

Plus I don’t shower or bathe. That saves a bundle on cost of electricity and socialization with other humans.

[rfuerst911sc]

Our basement is currently not insulated but during the sweltering summer the cold water pipes do NOT sweat at all so the temp in the basement I think is fairly stable . The water heater is pretty much centered between the kitchen and master bath but further away from guest bath and laundry room . I think for the relatively low cost I will go ahead and insulate the pipes . Will probably add the water heater jacket also , the water heater when I touch it is cool to the hand so probably not losing a lot of heat but every little bit helps .

[ckelly78z]

I have a jacket on my water heater to retain the expensively aquired hot water, but the copper lines going the bathroom, I don't bother because I am not storing hot water in them like I do with the tank.

I also have a water baseboard boiler that has copper pipes...I have all of those insulated to retain the slow moving hot water, which goes out through crawl spaces, and up through walls.

[mepstein]

I was told by a hvac guy that insulating blankets should not be used on modern hot water tanks. True or not, our basement stays at around 60 year round so I just leave it be.

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by mepstein

I was told by a hvac guy that insulating blankets should not be used on modern hot water tanks. True or not, our basement stays at around 60 year round so I just leave it be.

That may be true for most houses, but our home is heated by a large woodstove on the first floor, so the basement during the Winter gets cold.

[908/930]

I did mine but also using a recirculation pump, insulating the first five or ten feet out of the tank is probably the most beneficial, trying to keep the heat in the tank, pretty low r value in the foam.

Should verify the water temp in your tank and make sure it stays above 55c or 132f, From what I have read any lower and there is a risk of bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease.

[jyl]

No insulation on pipes, none on water heater other than what's stock in the casing.

My basement is a pleasant temperature year round. We use it quite a bit (wife's art studio is down there). So the heating effect, small as it is, is fine with me.

[KFC911]

KISS....the "hot" water is in the tank for me...until it gets there....it ain't really hot. I just run the water a wee bit longer during the winter before jumping in the shower....every Jan 1st . Minimal payback and I'm lazy....nope!

edited: Mine are in an uninsulated crawl space....no freezing issues...not even close.

[stevej37]

water heater...waste of money..already insulated.
pipes..easy/cheap to do with the split foam insulation. Might help somewhat.

[Evans, Marv]

Originally Posted by stevej37

water heater...waste of money..already insulated.
pipes..easy/cheap to do with the split foam insulation. Might help somewhat.

^^^^^^ This. I don't have a basement but a raised floor construction. My water heaters are tankless and my copper pipes are insulated with the split foam insulation. I'd do that if I didn't have it, but the savings in terms of having to heat water is minimal. The amount of time between hot water usage throughout the day allows the pipes & water in them to cool, so the cool water has to be flushed most of the time anyway.

[p911dad]

Our climate in southern NC is probably similar to GA. Our heavily insulated tank is in the garage (it never gets below 40 in there) and whatever heat is in there leaks through the house walls. The lines have a very long run though a high crawl space on a heavy brick foundation and they have the usual Lowe's split foam insulation. Verdict: I don't know if it really makes much difference, the long pipe run takes maybe 1 or 2 minutes to get hot water to the master bathroom shower and it seems like that was the case before the insulation was added. Meh.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by p911dad

................ the long pipe run takes maybe 1 or 2 minutes to get hot water to the master bathroom shower and it seems like that was the case before the insulation was added. Meh.

Bingo.

I say screw it.

You will not get hot water faster because it won't be hot in the insulated pipes. The heat will bleed into the house before you need hot water. Fast or slow bleed into the house. Pick your poison.

[A930Rocket]

You’ll die of old age before the insulation wrap pays off.

At least that’s what I’ve always been told.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

I say screw it.

You explain things better than I do....everyone does

[dan79brooklyn]

My hot and cold water pipes are BOTH insulated!
Not sure the reason they did it. They’re also color coded. Pink and blue.
Must be a Japanese thing. It is super hot in the summer and the cold water sometimes is luke warm so I don’t think it’s to prevent condensation.