Insulate Pex In Attic

Should pex water supply lines in attic be insulated through its entire length in the attic.

Insulate pex in attic.

In a world of infinite possibilities anything is possible. I would rather have a line break in the attic than under a concrete slab. The foyer is 16 long and is off the kitchen it isn t heated directly but is part of the house. Insulating the pex helps prevent conduction sweating.

Table 1 also shows that all of the plastic pipes tested to date exhibit moderately to significantly higher heat loss rates than comparably sized copper pipes when tested uninsulated in air. You are referring to possibilities. Tips for insulating pex pipes. I plan on running pex pipes both hot and cold across 16 feet of unheated attic space above a foyer.

If all plumbing lines are within the envelope and a recirculating pump is installed what might the payback period be for insulating pex hot water lines. The builder insulated about 6 feet of the lines from the water heaters located in the attic but did not insulated the entire lengths. So far no leaks. While pex does not ordinarily burst in the cold the water in the pipes can still freeze.

It is usually colder than the rest of the house mostly due to the cat door and slider the dogs go in and out of. Also according to ashrae research 2015 hvac applications page 50 4. It is important to choose the right insulation material. Ideally in the attic you would want to run the pipe as close to the ceiling as possible below the insulation.

Because the advantage of pex is that the pipes are easily curved around obstacles etc i bet insulation coverage wouldn t be more than 90 in even careful installations. Because pex piping is flexible it is often used in angles loops or other non linear shapes which makes it imperative to have equally flexible insulation material. I suppose you don t have freezing issues in fl but if you run it above the insulation the water in the pex will heat up more than if it is run close to the ceiling. Pex pipe bottom line.

Basically the r value of pex insulation does not meet energy code requirements for piping insulation. There are no manufacturer guarantees it won t fail. I find no problem with it being in the attic as long as it is properly insulated. It is important to insulate pex pipe in an attic particularly in cold weather areas.

Pex tubing is susceptible to cracking when it s exposed to freezing temperatures or ultraviolet light. How to insulate pex. It s smart to insulate water supply piping exposed to. Foam is used most commonly and generally works well.

I have a run of pex in my attic that freezes when the outdoor temps falls to about 15 degrees. Pex won t ruin if frozen.