Pipe lagging may seem to be an optional extra to your plumbing system. In fact, it is an important way of saving energy and protecting your home. Here are some of the reasons why pipe lagging is so important.

Energy use

Firstly, insulating your pipes will save energy. Hot water pipes can very easily lose heat if they are not lagged, and this will mean you use more energy heating them up again. This not only increases your carbon footprint but will also raise your energy bills. Having your pipes lagged will keep heat loss to a minimum and will have an impact on the amount of energy used by your hot water system.

Safety

Secondly, the fact that hot water pipes lose heat so easily means that they are hot to the touch. Most of these pipes will be hidden behind your walls, but some of them will still be exposed where you or family could touch them and receive a burn. By lagging your pipes you will ensure that this heat cannot leak out where it could harm anyone who accidentally touches them. This is a very simple way of improving the safety of your home.

Pipe protection

A third reason for lagging your pipes is to protect the pipes themselves. Pipes that have not been lagged are exposed to the outside temperature. They can easily freeze in cold weather and they can then break when they thaw out again. This can cause a plumbing emergency and can be very expensive to fix. Lagging will ensure that the pipes are protected from extremes of temperature on the outside, and this will keep them in sound condition.

Noise reduction

Finally, lagging your pipes will lower the amount of noise that comes from them. Plumbing systems often produce surprisingly large amounts of noise from the running water. This can sometimes be a small annoyance, but it can also be so loud as to disturb the occupants of the house. The good news is that pipe lagging can provide sound insulation as well as thermal insulation. By wrapping your pipes in an insulating material, you can make sure that the noise stays inside the pipes where it cannot be a nuisance.

Pipe lagging is a very inexpensive method of saving energy, improving safety, protecting your plumbing system and reducing noise. To find out more about how pipe lagging can protect your home, just talk to any lagging service today.