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I live in New York and I was wondering does it really pay to insulate around my hot water heater [blanket]. also my duct work for my central AC is not insulated, should i insulate all of that......Thanks an I hope everyone has a Fantastic New Year. Remember you must think POSITIVE...
In a word, yes. New water heaters are supposed to be 'self insulated' whatever they call it, and a number of sites that I checked when we got our new unit said to throw a blanket on it anyway.
The AC duct work has no insulation? Is it in an unheated/cooled space? Does that carry heat too, or just AC? It should be insulated in some way, but more critical if the duct work is in something like a vented crawlspace.
If it were me I'd insulate It'll keep the cool in the duct and probably cut down on condensation.
I'd back that up with data from some study but I'm tired.
Good question, I never thought about insulating my ductwork. They're only for heating, but they are in an unheated basement. It never freezes down there because it's underground, but it probably gets down to 50 or so in the winter.
Is there a special blanket for heating ducts or can I use regular insulation batts on them?
I live on the gulf coast where it rarely gets below 25F, but my water heater is in my garage. I decided to put a jacket on the water heater even though I didn't expect it to do much. Well, one night I was in the garage and out of curiousity I stuck my hand down inside the jacket, it was WARM in there like an electric blanket. After I felt that I have no doubt that it's conserving heat and was worth the $20.
I put a blanket on my gas hot water heater in my apartment. And I noticed the same thing if I put my hand between the insulation and the tank. It was warm like there was an electric blanket in there. So, there is heat lose there the blanket was stopping it.
Now this was random. My realtor heard from somebody that a blanket was bad and would some how damage the HWH. I have not been able to find anything or think of anything that would back that claim.
As far as the duct insulation its funny you ask. I just bought a house and was thinking about doing that. The ducts run through an unfinished basement that seems to hover around 50F. Colder at night since I live in Colorado. I have put my hands on the ducts running to the rooms. And the ducts furthest from the furnace are indeed much cooler. Just like the air that makes it to those rooms. I would think insulating and making sure the ducts are sealed would help. Although, I don't know how long it would take to get a return on the money spent. Insulation doesn't seem to be cheap. And nor does working with fiberglass for a full day seem fun.
Although, I have been reading about that insulation stuff that is silver and has the bubbles in it. Like bubble wrap. Although what I don't understand is the silver stuff would insulate conducted heat. It seems like it would be good for reflected heat.
Blankets on electric water heaters give a marginal savings. They can also raise the temps around the wiring, but it should be well below any point where the wire insulation would degrade.
The key to insulation is to use it where the temperature differences are the greatest. The bottom of a heater stays relatively cool, and insulating that part won't do much to keep heat in, but could keep summertime outside heat from helping warm the cool incoming water (which gets piped to the bottom of the tank through a dip tube).
The top of the tank is much hotter, due to stratification, but if you do the math, you'll find that insulating the first three feet of any uninsulated hot water pipe can save as much as blanketing the entire top of an already insulated heater.
The same holds for duct insulation. The ducts closest to a furnace have the greatest temperature differential to any unheated area. Insulating the ducts just before they reach the register doesn't do much, but insulating the first feet could make a cost effective difference. Be aware that some basements or crawl spaces may use the radiated heat from ducts to keep water pipes from freezing. It isn't terribly efficient, but replacing a burst pipe and the damage caused by it can add up pretty fast.
Maybe your ductwork is not insulated because it has internal lining? Have you looked inside it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by westchester
I live in New York and I was wondering does it really pay to insulate around my hot water heater [blanket]. also my duct work for my central AC is not insulated, should i insulate all of that......Thanks an I hope everyone has a Fantastic New Year. Remember you must think POSITIVE...
you should definitely put the blanket on the water heater! we have had one for years. don't know about insulating the ductwork. no one ever mentioned it to us.
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Remember you must think POSITIVE...
