If you have questions about the benefits of insulation, call Alamance Insulation and Gutters. We service many areas in North Carolina, including but not limited to Burlington, Greensboro, Elon, Mebane, , Durham, and Raleigh. We’re happy to help with all your insulation and gutter needs!
In our last blog post, we discussed several benefits of insulation. Today, we’re back with a few more! From Insulation.org, the National Insulation Association, here’s some helpful information about the next few benefits of insulation:
Control Condensation with Insulation
Insulation with a good vapor retarder controls condensation and limits corrosion on cold piping, ducts, chillers, and roof drains. Sufficient thickness is needed to keep the surface temperature above the dew point temperature of the ambient air.
- Keep surface temperatures above dew point.
- Prevent costly moisture damage to building materials.
- Prevent mold and mildew growth.
- Reduce energy costs for operating chillers and refrigeration equipment.
FAQ: How Does Insulation Help Control Condensation?
When piping and equipment operate at temperatures lower than the ambient air, moisture in the air will condense, or freeze, on or within the insulation surface, or on the cold pipe surface. Unless the system is protected by sufficient thickness and by adequate vapor retarders, the insulation can become wet, causing corrosion, and causing the insulation to become ineffective. Specifying sufficient insulation thickness with an effective vapor retarder system is the most effective means of providing a system for controlling condensation on the membrane surface and within the insulation system on cold piping, ducts, chillers, and roof drains. Sufficient insulation thickness is needed to keep the surface temperature of the membrane above the highest possible design dew point temperature of the ambient air so condensation does not form on the surface. The effective vapor retarder system is needed to restrict moisture migration into the system through the facing, joints, seams, penetrations, hangers, and supports. By controlling condensation, the system designer may control the potential for:
- Degrading system service life and performance;
- Mold growth and the potential for health problems resulting from water condensate; and
- Corrosion of pipes, valves, and fittings caused by water collected and contained within insulation system.
Process Control with Insulation
A properly specified and installed insulation system on bare process lines and equipment can increase the efficiency of a process system by as much as 95% or more.
Use insulation to:
- Maintain process temperatures;
- Improve product QC; and
- Improve operating safety.
Protect the Environment by Reducing Pollutant Emissions with Insulation
Use a well-designed and insulated system for greenhouse gas reduction.
- Lower energy use means less pollution (particulate, VOCs, CEs, NOX, SOX, carbon monoxide, mercury, etc.).
- Improved performance of pollution control equipment.
Insulation reduces energy consumption, which means that less fossil fuel is burned to produce that energy. This, in turn, decreases the amount of polluting gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Because carbon dioxide is one of the principal greenhouse gases contributing to global warming, and sulfur dioxide is the major component of acid rain, insulation plays a significant role in protecting the environment.
Insulation is not generally associated with pollution control. If energy is saved, then all of the pollution associated with the generation of that energy is also saved. And, given the amount of energy reduced by the use of insulation—and the fact that we now have tools to calculate the emission reduction numbers with the use of insulation—emission reduction is a significant benefit of insulating in today’s green environment.