Technical insultation: The forgotten potential

Insulation of technical installations – such as hot pipes, boilers and tanks – represents a vast potential for energy and CO2 savings.

If our climate had to cope with extra CO2 pollution nearly as high as the emissions from India, Russia and Germany today, the consequences could be dramatic. However it's a fact that this huge amount of carbon dioxide - nearly 4,000 million tonnes of CO2 - is just what Rockwool insulation for technical installations in industries and buildings, installed in this one year alone, will save in its lifetime around the world. More importantly, imagine how much extra CO2 - and energy costs - we could save, if we insulate hot processes with the same drive as we will soon be insulating new buildings - at least in the EU. The benefits would be phenomenal. 

Inadequate insulation

Today insulation requirements for buildings are often prescribed by law - at least in most developed countries. It will soon be quite common to see more than 300 mm of insulation in the roof of a new building. In the process industry, however, where the difference between the internal and external temperature of a very hot pipe could exceed 600°C (and not 'just' 20°C - 40°C as in a building), the energy loss without sufficient insulation is huge and horrendous. Amazingly, up until today, hardly any specific energy efficiency requirements for industry have been prescribed. In practice, if insulation is specified, it is more as a practical necessity for burn protection than for energy conservation.

This means that the only demand has been to insulate technical elements to the limited extent that workers would not suffer skin burns if they happened to touch say a hot pipe or a boiler. This is also known as "safety engineering".

Consequently the insulation is of minimal thickness, sometimes as thin as only 30 mm. With the industrial sector consuming approximately a quarter of all our energy input, this is a massive missed opportunity.

Huge sums are being lost, year after year, simply because we do not insulate hot process elements in our buildings, and especially in our industries, well enough.

Better than money in the bank

Investing in the insulation of hot pipes and processes can be extremely profitable. Annual returns on your investment by the hundreds of per cent are indeed common, if you insulate a very hot process pipe properly. So why isn't it done every time?

An example of  saving  energy costs

"50 mm of insulation is common for a 250°C hot pipe. But a  calculation made by Rockwool Technical Insulation shows that even a moderate increase to 100 mm will off course incur additional insulation costs, however, for a 10 km long pipe with a 150 mm diameter, nearly € 2 million extra can be saved in energy costs - at current price levels." This conservative example presupposes a complete turnaround of the entire pipe installation after 10 years, but actually the potential lifetime of the technical insulation can be more than 25 years.

Redesign needed

Inertia and lack of focus mean that large economic and environmental gains are not being harvested. But, just as the building sector has had to change its habits and redesign the way we construct buildings - for instance the introduction of nearly zero-energy buildings such as Passive Houses - so does industry need to move out of its comfort zone. This means redesigning pipes, ducts, boilers and hot process equipment for a low energy, low carbon future. Today the standard designs don't leave enough space for insulating pipes properly. They are often put too close to other pipes or construction components to allow for sufficient insulation. What is required is sustainable design. For very hot processes that often means incorporating insulation thicknesses of 300 mm or more. This will ensure that a processing plant is not wasting energy and money, but is reducing its impact on the environment.

About Rockwool Technical Insulation

Rockwool Technical Insulation (RTI) is part of the Rockwool Group. RTI is a leading supplier of high quality stone wool products that provide solutions which insulate and protect technical installations in the process industry and marine & offshore. With more than 70 years of experience the company has built a vast range of techniques and systems for providing fire-safe insulation solutions for the protection of technical equipment and installations. Key applications include insulation for pipe work, vessels, boilers, storage tanks, columns etc. of industrial plants, and insulation of fire rated constructions, bulkhead and deck constructions, engine rooms, doors, panels and floating floors for the marine and offshore sector.

With a strong focus on sustainability, RTI sets the standard in innovative solutions, high quality service and a wide range of products with an unrivalled thermal, fire, acoustic and sustainable performance. For more information, please visit www.rockwool-rti.com.

About The Rockwool Group

The Rockwool Group is the world's largest producer of stone wool. The Group was founded in 1909 and today employs more than 7,800 highly skilled persons. The Rockwool Group operates 26 factories in three continents (Europe, North America and Asia) and has a world-wide network of sales offices, distributors and partners ensuring that its stone wool products reach all parts of the globe. Group headquarters, the R&D and environmental departments are based in Hedehusene (Denmark), near Copenhagen. For more information, please visit www.rockwool.com.