To insulate or not

[WWilts]

New build in progress.

 

5m approx between gas boiler & hot water cylinder.
22mm copper pipes connecting them, running along wall-ceiling junction of kitchen/family room (most used room in house).

Appearance of copper currently is attractive.

 

Qu: Insulate the pipes or leave them exposed?

PS Underfloor heating throughout ground floor

[markc]

Insulate to increase efficiency of the system,.

[Jenki]

13 minutes ago, markc said:

Insulate to increase efficiency of the system,.

+1 must be insulated, temperature of pipes will be hotter than room, so thus would lose heat.

 

 

[JohnMo]

Insulate

[kommando]

As you need hot water all year round but room heating is seasonal then insulate. 

[saveasteading]

Insulate. The pipes will tarnish anyway.

In fact insulate a lot. Pipe insulation of the higher quality then box around.

[ADLIan]

Its also a requirement of the Building Regs & Appr Doc L to both limit heat losses from the pipes and prevent heat gain in the dwelling

[WWilts]

9 hours ago, kommando said:

As you need hot water all year round but room heating is seasonal then insulate.

Persuasive.

Overheating is a problem these days even without exposed hot water pipes.

 

Will probably go for mineral wool insulation inside boxing, unless that has serious disadvantages compared to lagging + boxing

[Nickfromwales]

22 minutes ago, WWilts said:

Persuasive.

Overheating is a problem these days even without exposed hot water pipes.

 

Will probably go for mineral wool insulation inside boxing, unless that has serious disadvantages compared to lagging + boxing

At least put a cheap Climaflex 13mm wall pipe insulation on first, and then fill the void with mineral wool to compliment. That stuff is cheaper than shoplifting and will be far better that just attempting to manage the losses by stuffing loose wool around....

 

Seal up where the pipes start / finish ( each end of the boxing-in ) to stave off any convection ( heated air ) flow.

 

Do you have PV, so as to reduce the amount of summer boiler heating of the cylinder?

Edited August 12, 2022 by Nickfromwales

[PeterW]

Why is it exposed ..??!! Planned properly that should be insulated in the ceiling void - did the plumber forget ..??

 

As per everyone else - cheap poly and stuff the boxing out with fibre but I would consider taking ceiling panels down and getting the plumber to do it properly (and insulated) first.  

[WWilts]

12 hours ago, PeterW said:

did the plumber forget ..??

Doing things in the right order is not a strong point for this plumber.
Ceiling & walls skimmed & painted already. Probably open a can of worms if we demand everything be reopened & done right. Financial risks. Therefore the compromise of boxing.

Edited August 13, 2022 by WWilts