Tanks and pipes insulation

How tank and pipe insulation works

Both tank and pipe insulation keep your water hotter for longer by reducing the amount of heat that escapes.

The savings

A new, 80mm thick hot water cylinder jacket will save you £20 per year. The jackets themselves cost about half that, meaning that you'll reclaim your initial cost in around 6 months. Insulation for hot water pipes will cost about £10 and save you around £10 a year, which means you could potentially recover the cost of fitting within a year.

You'll be saving about 150kg of CO₂ when you fit a British standard hot water cylinder jacket and about 60kg of CO₂ with pipe insulation.

The following table gives approximate costs, savings and paybacks for hot water cylinder jackets and pipe insulation:

How the savings add up

If everyone in the UK fitted a hot water cylinder jacket, there would be enough CO₂ saved per year to fill over 4.2 million double decker buses.

A hot water jacket costs around £12.

How it is installed

A hot water cylinder jacket costs around £12. Fitting a jacket to a hot water cylinder is a straight forward DIY job. Fitting insulation to pipes is easy if the pipes are accessible and will cost around £10. Professional help may be required to fit insulation to harder to reach pipework.

What to do next

If you have other questions why not visit our FAQ section. If you still have other questions why not call your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012 for free, impartial advice on saving energy in your home.

Savings assumptions