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Local Efficiency Insulation Rebates
May 11, 2021
Mechanical Insulation Statistics That Will Blow Your Mind
Mechanical insulation is a technology that many people don’t consider when planning their energy and cost-saving initiatives. They don’t understand how much of an impact insulating mechanical equipment can have on every aspect of their facility’s operations from process control to greenhouse gas emissions. But after reading the statistics below, I don’t insulation it is something you’ll overlook again.
Here are some mind-blowing mechanical insulation statistics to convince anyone to invest in insulation:
Oil Refinery: Real Money Loss, Real Energy Loss
Oil Refinery: Real Money Loss, Real Energy Loss
- 8” NPS
- 600 degrees F operating temperature
- 60 degrees F ambient temperature
- 5 MPH winds
- 1 ½ inch mineral fiber insulation system; 1.87 million lineal feet of insulated pipe
- 21% of insulation is missing or damaged
The heat loss in this example equates to 5,800 barrels of oil per day at $50/barrel. That’s $290,000 lost per day!
U.S. Department of Energy Assessments
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program conducted over 700 assessments of industrial facilities. These assessment references indicate that mechanical insulation provides an attractive simple return.
- Less than 1 Year…82% Return
- Less than 3 Years…15% Return
- After 3 Years…3% Return
That means that the full ROI for insulation systems is normally less than 3 years.
Working with the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the NIA was able to extrapolate the data from those assessments for large and medium-sized industrial facilities. What counts as a large, medium, and small facility? See the table below.
| Facility Size Definition | Number of Facilities |
|---|---|
| Large: > 500 Btu/yr | 4,014 |
| Medium: 26-500 Btu/yr | 112,398 |
| Small: | 200,710 |
Here are the estimated energy savings, emission reduction, and jobs created with improved maintenance and focus on mechanical insulation for a portion of the industrial segment.
| Plant Size | Energy Savings ($Billions/Yr) |
Co2 Reduction (Billion Lbs/year) |
Payback (months) |
ROI (20 years)* |
Jobs Created and Preserved* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large & Medium | > $1.9 | > 45.6 | 12 | 103% | 12,069 |
| Small* | > $0.6 | > 15.9 | 9.6 | 135% | 2,930 |
| *Estimated by NIA | |||||
Cost-Saving Estimates for Major Companies
Check out these Near-Term Insulation Initiative Examples provided by the NIA, based on real assessments and professional estimates.
- By replacing, repairing, and improving existing insulation on their steam system, Dow Chemical has a potential savings of $811,000 per year.
- By adding insulation to bare pipes and fittings, Frito-Lay has an estimated annual savings of $80,000. With an estimated project cost of $150,000, the simple payback is 1.88 years.
- By improving and replacing missing insulation on the steam and condensate lines, Bayer’s 2 steam plants has a potential savings of $926,000 per year.
It’s easy to look at these numbers and think they’re crazy, but these are real potential savings! Want results like these? You can have a Certified Insulation Energy Appraiser audit your facility and make recommendations. With such an obvious ROI, why wouldn’t you invest in insulation?
