The easiest and most efficient way to insulate any structure is by doing so during construction. This is true for the building envelope and the mechanical insulation. However, improvements can be made easily and are still worth doing with a high return on investment in a short amount of time.
A study was commissioned by National Insulation Association (NIA), North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA), the Insulation Contractors Association of America (ICAA), the American Chemistry Council-Plastics Division and the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA) from an international consulting firm (ICF) to quantify the benefits of retrofit insulation projects for residential, commercial, and industrial structures. The study focused on the potential impact for policies aiming to decarbonize the built environment. ICF researched the potential lifetime energy savings, economic benefits, and carbon emissions reductions as the result of insulation improvements in industrial, commercial, and residential buildings. The benefits were considered “common sense improvements”.
Facilities excluded in the study include healthcare buildings and hospitals, high-rise buildings, and universities and colleges. For each category, the study assessed energy and emissions savings as well as economic benefits over the presumed lifetime of the structures insulation systems.
For the industrial facilities, assessments were made over a 20-year period from code-compliant steam pipe insulation in select manufacturing sectors. The results were staggering. The improvements made to pipe and mechanical insulation across eight major industrial sectors; chemical, food, paper, petroleum and coal products, primary meals, nonmetallic mineral products, transportation equipment, and plastics and rubber products, would save them more than $126 billion in energy costs based on an average capital of $3.77 billion. Payback on the investment would be about 6 months to a year. Natural gas use could be reduced by 118 billion therms across the industrial sector nationwide and lessen the burden on the electrical infrastructure.
