Insulation of pipes and ducts is often an afterthought, seen as something that needs to be done but with little consideration given to the details of which materials or how they should be installed. This often leads to difficult or irregularly shaped parts of a pipe insulation system like flanges, valves, pipe supports and complicated bends or elbows being left un-insulated. In some cases these pipe fixtures are simply covered with PVC or duct tape to make them ‘look’ part of an insulated system without providing any of the energy saving benefits.
