When insulating the home, the focus is often on obvious areas, such as the loft, floors and walls. A lesser-known tip is that insulating your water tank, radiators and pipes can also help you save money on your energy bills.
This is because insulating these areas helps reduce the amount of heat that is lost from a room, meaning you can spend less money on heating your water and, once hot, the water stays hotter for longer.
Insulating a hot water tank and pipes
Buying a hot water cylinder jacket is fairly cheap and they are easy to install too. Each should come with simple instructions from the manufacturer, so just follow those and you won’t go far wrong.
It should be at least 80mm thick to be effective, and if it isn’t you may need a new one.
Installing insulation on pipes comes in the form of a foam tube that covers the exposed pipes connecting your hot water cylinder and the boiler. The purpose of the foam insulation is to stop, or at least reduce, the amount of heat that is lost, keeping your water hotter for longer.
You’ll need to measure the pipes, both the length and the diameter, to determine how much foam you will need. Our products, such as NMC Climaflex Polyethylene Pipe Insulation, come in a range of different sizes, each with a variation of thickness options too.
Once you have the materials, the foam is straightforward to install as it just fits around your pipes, if you’ve bought the right size.
As well as keeping heat from escaping, pipe insulation also provides protection from freezing temperatures and prevents pipes from frosting in the cold winter months.
How much you can save on energy bills
Insulating a hot water tank is one of the easiest ways to save money on your energy bills. If your tank is uninsulated and you add hot water tank insulation, you could be looking at the following estimated savings on your energy bills, per year (England, Scotland and Wales):
- Flat: £175
- Bungalow: £165
- Terraced house: £160
- Semi-detached house: £155
- Detached house: £145
How much you can save on CO2 emissions
It’s not just money you can save by installing hot water tank insulation. You can also help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of your home, making it more energy efficient.
If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, you can save the following estimated amounts on yearly CO2 emissions (kgCO2/year):
- Flat: 550kg
- Bungalow: 520kg
- Terraced house: 510kg
- Semi-detached house: 510kg
- Detached house: 475kg
Insulating radiators
Radiator reflector panels are a good option for those who are looking to reduce their reliance on their heating and want to save on their bills. They tend to be a great low-cost option too.
They fix quite easily behind your radiators, and work by reflecting heat from the radiator back into the room, rather than it escaping through the external wall.
It does also help if you have good quality wall insulation installed, but if not, then radiator reflector panels can still be effective. You’ll only need reflector panels behind any radiators on external walls.
As well as buying the necessary insulation products, you can also learn more about how to improve your home in our blog, with tips such as how to have an energy efficient home and how to inspect the existing insulation in your home.
