30
31
KNOW-HOW
“
Do insulationmeasures inoldbuildingspay
offdespite lower energyprices?
”
Customers ask – Armacell answers
There isnodoubt that energy refurbishmentmeasures foroldbuildings
save energy. An important criterion when assessing the refurbish-
ment – and one which is usually of prime importance for deciding
whether or not to invest – is thepay-backperiod. At themoment home
owners arenot only unsurewhether insulating façades is cost effective
in view of falling energy costs,
many also shy away from
the considerable nuisance
caused by the renovation
work. Yet apart from
insulating the thermal
building shell, there are
numerous other energy
refurbishment
options
which are not only easy to
implement, but also pay off within
amanageableperiodof time.
Pipe insulation – low-investment measure with high savings
impact
Inoldbuildings a lot of energy is lost throughuninsulatedpipes and fit-
tings. The annual heat loss due to uninsulated distribution pipes and
fittings in thecellar canaccount forup toaquarterof theyearlyheating
energy consumption in a residential building. In 2008, Armacell pre-
sented a studywhich showed that €556 a year canbe savedmerely by
insulatingaccessiblepipes in the cellar of a140m² single-familyhouse.
So the installationhaspaidoff after just twoheatingperiods.
Highoverall costsand longpay-backperiods for façade insulation
In comparison, according to a study conducted by the German Energy
Agency (dena) it costs around €20,000 to modernize the façade of a
similar single-familyhouse (building category1969 - 1977, 144m² living
space) to the standard of a new building. Of this amount €8,000 are
needed for insulating the outer wall. Through this measure heating
costs canbe reducedby around €550 per year. Taking into account the
developmentof interest ratesandenergyprices–basedon7cent/kWh
denadeveloped scenarioswithanenergyprice increaseof 2, 3and4%,
falling energy prices were not considered – the insulation of the outer
wall haspaidoff after 14years.
No other energy refurbishment measure pays off
soquickly
The pay-back period for energy refurbishment
measuresdependson thedevelopmentofenergy
prices, the costs for the insulation (material and
labour costs) and the necessary preparatory and follow-up work. As
pipe insulationhasanunbeatably short returnon investment compared
toother energy refurbishmentmeasures, price fluctuations donot play
suchagreat rolehereand thepay-backperiodwill not exceed twoor at
themost threeheatingperiodseven if energypricesare lowand insula-
tioncostsarehigher.Unlike façade insulation,whichcanonlybecarried
out in the course of extensivemodernization of the building, the pipes
canbe insulated at any time, withoutmajor preparations, withnodust
or dirt and just a fewhoursofwork.
Michaela Störkmann, ArmacellManager Technical Department EMEA
Savings inheating
oil [l]
Financial saving [€]** CO
2
saving (oil) [kg]
Pay-back period
[months]
Building category: pre 1948, design temperature: 90 / 55 °C
926
556
2,545
15
Building category: 1949– 1977, design temperature: 90 / 55 °C
644
386
1,769
15
Building category: 1978– 1984, design temperature: 90 / 55 °C
448
269
1,230
14
Building category: 1985– 1994, design temperature: 90 / 55 °C
397
238
1,092
16
* i.e. an insulation thicknesswhich roughly corresponds to the outer pipe diameter, **Assuming a heating oil price of €0.06
Model building: single-family housewith a heated net floor surface of 140m
2
and an additional unheated cellar. The calculations are based on international and European standards.
KNOW-HOW
Fast and reliable installationof solar pipes
with thequick-release couplings
ExpertAdvice
Emanuele Germani, owner
of GER.TER di Germani
The Italian company GER.TER di Germani fromMarta (Viterbo) has
beenusing
toconnect solar thermal systems for
years. The corrugated stainless steel pipes, which are pre-insulated
with the high-temperature insulation material HT/Armaflex, can be
installed easily evenwith small bending radii and in retrofit applica-
tions. Quick-release couplings were specially developed for Armaflex
DuoSolarVA, allowing thepipes tobeassembled in seconds. The con-
nection ismadeby simply tighteninganut.
These are the steps required to install the Armaflex DuoSolar
quick release couplings:
“First of all, determine the lengthneeded and cut the corrugatedpipe
to size. It is important to cut thepipe cleanly, at right angles in the val-
ley of the corrugation (1). A pipe cutter must be used for this, not a
sawor other unsuitable tools. Then remove anyburrs from theendof
thepipe: roughedgeswith splintersmayhavebeen leftwhen thepipe
was cut to length (2). Before you push on the coupling, please check
that all sealing surfaces are clean. After lengthy storage or if the sur-
faces are dry, relubricate the collet and the sealing surface of the
threaded joint. Push the corrugated pipe right up to the stop in the
threaded joint. Then tighten the coupling by turning the nut with an
openwrenchuntil you feel the resistance (3). Thenut is correctly tight-
enedwhen the thread is no longer visible (4). The quick-release cou-
plings ensure that there are no leakages from the stainless steel cor-
rugated pipe. The connection remains tight even after repeated
assembly anddismantling.”
Thecorrectassemblyof theArmaflexDuoSolarquick-release
couplings is also shown inavideoonYouTube
Tighten thenutuntil you feel the resistance
Comparison:wrong– right
01
02
03
04
Cut thepipe to length
Removeanyburrs from theendof thepipe
