Where is the insulation??

OK, I’ve seen it a hundred times, shiny copper pipes on the new heating/hot water system.  They sure are pretty.  Copper:  so useful, so flexible, so recyclable…so UNINSULATED!  If you’ve guessed that this is going to be my hot tip of the week you are correct!  Uninsulated pipes waste a lot of energy.  Uninsulated pipes also wear out pumps, boilers, controllers and all that stuff quite a bit faster.  Someone left something off the job that adds 5% to the project but saves 15% of the annual operating cost.  Who the heck would do that?  When I talk to building owners about their uninsulated pipes most of them say that the oil or gas company did the work..and then they connect the dots on their own.  Why would I sell you insulation when I also sell you the fuel and the service?  Our solar hot water installations are always insulated and very well at that.  We don’t have the luxury of just burning more fuel to overcome pipe losses!  So, go down into the basement or wherever your boiler lives (if you have one!), and check the pipes for insulation.  CAUTION:  do not grab onto any pipes as they might be really hot!  Then call me for your solar evaluation and we’ll get you off the oil or gas.  I’ll start by looking for pretty pipes and recommending you get them insulated.