Help

Need some help identifying the right insulation for you?

Here is a glossary of some of the key terms in identifying a product:

Wall: This means the Thickness of Insulation

Bore: This is the size of the hole corresponding to your pipe; the bore size will usually correspond exactly to the common copper or iron pipe sizes, and with plastic pipe there will usually be a size which is very close; you should always go a little over rather than under on the bore size in this situation.

Internal Diameter: Usually the same as the bore size; in other words the size of the hole.


Outside Diameter: Usually the outside diameter of an insulation is the size of the bore / internal diameter plus twice the wall thickness - don't forget that the insulation will be on either side of the hole when you are calculating your OD (you may need to do this when working out what size of pipe clips you need for example.)


HVAC: An industry term short for "Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning"


Foil Faced: This will normally refer to either mineral fibre of phenolic foam pipe sections


Mineral Fibre: Glass or Stone Wool sections; examples include Sager, Isover, Knauf or Rockwool

Phenolic Foam: A rigid foam pipe section with a high thermal efficiency. Examples are either Kingspan Kooltherm or 3D Insulation


Nitrile Rubber: A closed cell, flexible elastomeric foam made from PVC expanded nitrile rubber. Can be either tubed or pre split and self adhesive. Examples include K-Flex, Eurobatex and Isopipe (which is a nitrile rubber coated with a polymeric skin)


Polyethylene: A closed cell expanded plastic foam insulation - easy to use for DIY & domestic applications. The best known brand is the UK market leader, Climaflex