October 2010 An introduction to Part L insulating pipes and ducts The insulation of pipes and ducts is essential to minimise heat losses for heated systems and heat gains for cooled systems. For cooled systems, it is also important to ensure that the risk of condensation is adequately controlled. Guidance on controlling condensation is also provided in this Part L Rockwool guide. The new Approved Documents ADL1A, ADL1B, ADL2A and ADL2B rely on second-tier documents published by the department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to provide detailed information on the minimum provisions necessary to comply with the requirements of the Regulations. The Part L second-tier documents for pipe and duct insulation ADL1A and ADL1B Dwellings The Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide 2010 provides guidance on the means of complying with requirements for space heating systems and hot water systems in new and existing domestic buildings. ADL2A and ADL2B Buildings other than dwellings The Non-Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide 2010 provides guidance on the means of complying with requirements for space heating systems, hot water systems and cooling & ventilation systems in new and existing non-domestic buildings. This document is a support document to our publication an introduction to Part L 2010 which is available from our website at www.rockwool.co.uk/partl Straight talking solutions
Domestic Heating compliance Domestic heating compliance guide Compliance with approved documents L1A: new dwellings and L1B: existing dwellings Approved Documents ADL1A and ADL1B rely on second tier documents to provide detailed information on the minimum provisions necessary to comply with the requirements of the Regulations. The Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide (2010) is a second tier document providing guidance on the means of complying with the requirements for space heating systems and hot water systems. Minimum provisions for insulation of pipes The minimum provisions shown below for the insulation of pipes are repeated in the Domestic Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide (2010) for fuel types and heating systems as follows; Gas-fired primary and secondary space heating and hot water Oil-fired primary and secondary space heating and hot water Electric primary and secondary space heating and hot water Solid-fuel primary and secondary space heating and hot water Community heating Solar water heating Minimum provision In new systems pipes should, in the following cases, be insulated with insulation complying with the requirements of the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide (2010) (in line with the maximum permissible heat loss indicated in the Supplementary Information column), and labelled accordingly: Primary circulation pipes for heating and hot water circuits should be insulated wherever they pass outside the heated living space or through voids which communicate with and are ventilated from unheated spaces Primary circulation pipes for domestic hot water circuits should be insulated throughout their length, subject only to practical constraints imposed by the need to penetrate joists and other structural elements All pipes connected to hot water storage vessels, including the vent pipe, should be insulated for at least 1m from their points of connection to the cylinder (or they should be insulated up to the point where they become concealed) If secondary circulation is used, all pipes kept hot by that circulation should be insulated For replacement systems, whenever a boiler or hot water storage vessel is replaced in an existing system, any pipes (in the situations above) that are exposed as part of the work or are otherwise accessible should be insulated with insulation complying with the requirements of the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide (2010)(in line with the maximum permissible heat loss indicated in the Supplementary Information column), and labelled accordingly or to some lesser standard where practical constraints dictate. Supplementary information Insulation for pipework in unheated areas Extra provision may need to be made to protect central heating and hot water pipework in unheated areas against freezing. Further guidance is available in: BS 5422:2009 Method for specifying thermal insulating materials for pipes, tanks, vessels, ductwork and equipment operating within the temperature range of 40 C to +700 C BRE Report No 262 Thermal insulation: avoiding risks, 2002 edition Where insulation is labelled as complying with the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide (2010) it must not exceed the following heat loss levels: Pipe Diameter (OD) mm Table 1: Maximum permissible heat loss* (W/m) (Thickness of Rockwool Rocklap H&V Pipe Section) 10 mm 7.23 (n/a) 12 mm 7.35 (n/a) 15 mm 7.89 (20mm) 22 mm 9.12 (20mm) 28 mm 10.07 (20mm) 35 mm 11.08 (20mm) 42 mm 12.19 (20mm) 54 mm 14.12 (20mm) *In assessing the thickness of insulation required to meet the provision, standardised conditions should be used in all compliance calculations based in this instance on a horizontal pipe at 60 C in still air at 15 C. Further assistance in converting these heat loss limits to levels (thickness) of insulation for specific thermal conductivities is found in the TIMSA HVAC Guidance for achieving compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations. Due to rounding up to the nearest commercially available thickness, the thermal performance required will be met or exceeded. 2 An introduction to Part L insulating pipes and ducts
Non-domestic compliance guide Non-domestic heating, cooling and ventilation compliance guide Compliance with approved documents L2A: New Buildings other than Dwellings and L2B: Existing Buildings other than Dwellings Pipework and duct insulation Approved Documents ADL2A and ADL2B (2010) rely on second-tier documents to provide detailed information on the minimum provisions necessary to comply with the requirements of the Regulations. Pipes and Ducts The Non-Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide 2010 (the Non-domestic HVAC Guide) is a second-tier document providing guidance on the means of complying with the requirements for space heating systems, hot water systems, cooling and ventilation systems. Section 11 of the Non-domestic Guide outlines the minimum provisions needed to comply with ADL2A and ADL2B when insulating pipes and ducts serving space heating, hot water and cooling systems in new-build and in existing buildings. The insulation of pipes and ducts is essential to minimise heat losses for heated systems and heat gains for cooled systems. For cooled systems, it is also important to ensure that the risk of condensation is adequately controlled. Although not within the scope of the Non-Domestic Guide, guidance on controlling condensation is also provided in this Rockwool Guide. a direct hot water pipes and low, medium & high temperature heating pipes b cooled water supply pipes c heated air ducts, cooled air ducts and dualpurpose heated & cooled air ducts d condensation control Straight talking solutions 3
Non-domestic (continued) a. Direct hot water and heating pipework Pipework serving space heating and hot water systems should be insulated in all areas outside of the heated building envelope. In addition, pipes should be insulated in all voids within the building envelope and within spaces that will normally be heated if there is a possibility that those spaces might be maintained at temperatures different to those maintained in other zones. The guiding principles are that control should be maximised and that heat loss from un-insulated pipes should only be permitted where the heat can be demonstrated as always useful. In order to demonstrate compliance the maximum permissible heat losses for different pipe sizes and temperatures, as given in the table below should not be exceeded. Maximum permissible heat loss (W/m) for direct hot water and heating pipes. Reference Table 41 Section 11 Building Services Compliance Guide (2010) Pipe Outside Diameter (mm) Table 2: Maximum Permissible Heat Loss (W/m) (Thickness of Rockwool Rocklap H&V Pipe Section) Hot Water 1 Low Temp. Heating 2 95 C Medium Temp Heating 3 96 C 120 C High Temp Heating 4 121 C 150 C 17.2 6.60 (25mm) 8.90 (25mm) 13.34 (25mm) 17.92 (25mm) 21.3 7.13 (25mm) 9.28 (30mm) 13.56 (30mm) 18.32 (30mm) 26.9 7.83 (30mm) 10.06 (35mm) 13.83 (40mm) 18.70 (40mm) 33.7 8.62 (30mm) 11.07 (35mm) 14.39 (45mm) 19.02 (50mm) 42.4 9.72 (30mm) 12.30 (35mm) 15.66 (50mm) 19.25 (60mm) 48.3 10.21 (35mm) 12.94 (40mm) 16.67 (50mm) 20.17 (70mm) 60.3 11.57 (35mm) 14.45 (40mm) 18.25 (60mm) 21.96 (70mm) 76.1 13.09 (35mm) 16.35 (45mm) 20.42 (60mm) 24.21 (80mm) 88.9 14.58 (35mm) 17.91 (45mm) 22.09 (60mm) 25.99 (80mm) 114.3 17.20 (40mm) 20.77 (45mm) 25.31 (70mm) 29.32 (80mm) 139.7 19.65 (40mm) 23.71 (50mm) 28.23 (70mm) 32.47 (90mm) 168.3 22.31 (40mm) 26.89 (50mm) 31.61 (70mm) 36.04 (90mm) 219.1 27.52 (40mm) 32.54 (50mm) 37.66 (70mm) 42.16 (90mm) 273.0 & above 32.40 (40mm) 38.83 (50mm) 43.72 (80mm) 48.48 (100mm) NOTES 1, 2, 3,4 To ensure compliance with maximum permissible heat loss criteria, proposed insulation thicknesses should be calculated according to BS EN ISO 12241 using standardized assumptions: 1 Horizontal pipe at 60 C in still air at 15 C 2 Horizontal pipe at 75 C in still air at 15 C 3 Horizontal pipe at 100 C in still air at 15 C 4 Horizontal pipe at 125 C in still air at 15 C Due to rounding up to the nearest commercially available thickness, the thermal performance required will be met or exceeded. 4 An introduction to Part L insulating pipes and ducts
Non-domestic (continued) b. Cooled pipework Cooled pipework should be insulated along its whole length in order to provide the necessary means of limiting heat gain. Control should be maximised and heat gain to uninsulated pipes should only be permitted where the proportion of the cooling load relating to distribution pipework is proven to be less than 5% of total load. In order to demonstrate compliance, the maximum permissible heat gain for different pipe sizes and temperatures, as given in the table below, should not be exceeded. Pipes and Ducts Maximum permissible heat gain for cooled water supplies. Reference Table 42 Section 11 Building Services Compliance Guide (2010) Pipe Outside Diameter (mm) Table 3: Maximum Permissible Heat Gain (W/m) (Thickness of Rockwool Rocklap H&V Pipe Section) >10 5 Temperature of contents ( C)4.9 to 10.0 6 0 to 4.9 7 17.2 2.48 (20mm) 2.97 (20mm) 3.47 (20mm) 21.3 2.72 (20mm) 3.27 (20mm) 3.81 (25mm) 26.9 3.05 (20mm) 3.58 (20mm) 4.18 (25mm) 33.7 3.41 (20mm) 4.01 (25mm) 4.60 (25mm) 42.4 3.86 (20mm) 4.53 (25mm) 5.11 (30mm) 48.3 4.11 (20mm) 4.82 (25mm) 5.45 (30mm) 60.3 4.78 (20mm) 5.48 (25mm) 6.17 (30mm) 76.1 5.51 (25mm) 6.30 (25mm) 6.70 (30mm) 88.9 6.17 (25mm) 6.90 (30mm) 7.77 (30mm) 114.3 7.28 (25mm) 8.31 (30mm) 9.15 (35mm) 139.7 8.52 (25mm) 9.49 (30mm) 10.45 (35mm) 168.3 9.89 (25mm) 10.97 (30mm) 11.86 (35mm) 219.1 12.27 (25mm) 13.57 (30mm) 14.61 (35mm) 273.0 & above 14.74 (25mm) 16.28 (30mm) 17.48 (35mm) NOTES The insulation thicknesses shown are calculated specifically against the criteria noted in this table. The insulation thicknesses shown are not sufficient to prevent condensation on low emissivity surfaces applied to insulated pipes located in 25 C, 80% relative humidity ambient air as described in BS5422. Additional guidance on the control of condensation is provided in Table 5 of this Rockwool Guide. 5, 6, 7 To ensure compliance with maximum permissible heat gain criteria, proposed insulation thicknesses should be calculated according to BS EN ISO 12241 using standardized assumptions: 5 Horizontal pipe at 10 C in still air at 25 C 6 Horizontal pipe at 5 C in still air at 25 C 7 Horizontal pipe at 0 C in still air at 25 C Due to rounding up to the nearest commercially available thickness, the thermal performance required will be met or exceeded. Straight talking solutions 5
Non-domestic (continued) c. Hot and Cooled Ducting Ducting should be insulated along its whole length in order to provide the necessary means of limiting heat gains and/or heat losses from ducts. Where ducting may be used for both heating and cooling duties at different periods during its lifecycle, the provisions for chilled ducting should be adopted, since these are the most onerous. The table below indicates the maximum heat gain/loss per unit area required to meet these provisions (heat gains are shown as negative values). As with pipes, additional insulation may be required to provide adequate condensation control. Further details regarding these specific requirements are given in the TIMSA HVAC Guide. Maximum permissible heat gain/loss for insulated ducts used to carry cooled air (including those heated ducts used periodically for cooled air). Reference Table 43 Section 11 Building Services Compliance Guide (2010) Table 4: Maximum Permissible Heat Gain/Loss (W/m 2 ) (Thickness of Rockwool Ductwrap) Heated Duct 8 Dual Purpose 9 Cooled Duct 10 16.34 (40mm) -6.45 (50mm) -6.45 (50mm) NOTES Thicknesses given are calculated specifically against the criteria noted in the table. Adopting these thicknesses may not necessarily satisfy other design requirements such as control of condensation. Additional guidance on the control of condensation is provided in Table 5 of this Rockwool Guide. 8, 9 10 To ensure compliance with maximum permissible heat transfer criteria, proposed insulation thicknesses should be calculated according to BS EN ISO 12241 using standardized assumptions: 8 Horizontal duct at 35 C, with 600mm vertical sidewall in still air at 15 C 9 Horizontal duct at 13 C, with 600mm vertical sidewall in still air at 25 C 10 Horizontal duct at 13 C, with 600mm vertical sidewall in still air at 25 C Due to rounding up to the nearest commercially available thickness, the thermal performance required will be met or exceeded. 6 An introduction to Part L insulating pipes and ducts
Non-domestic (continued) d. Condensation Control: Chilled and cold water pipes Reference Table 8 (BS5422:2001) Minimum insulation thickness for chilled and cold water supplies to prevent condensation on a low emissivity outer surface (0.05) with an ambient temperature of +25 C and a relative humidity of 80% Outside diameter of steel pipe on which insulation has been based (mm) Table: 5 Condensation Control Temperature of contents ( C) + 10 + 5 0 Thickness of ROCKWOOL Rocklap H&V Pipe Section (mm) Pipes and Ducts 17.2 21.3 26.9 33.7 42.4 48.3 20 25 25 30 35 30 40 60.3 76.1 88.9 35 45 101.6 114.3 30 40 50 139.7 168.3 45 60 219.1 35 244.5 50 273.0 323.9 355.6 40 70 406.4 60 457.0 508.0 45 80 610.0 Flat 50 70 NOTE: Thicknesses given are calculated specifically against the criteria noted in the table. Adopting these thicknesses may not necessarily satisfy other design requirements. Straight talking solutions 7
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