PIPES
requirement to ‘insulate to BS 5422 or Approved Document L’ is commonplace. However, this approach misses key factors, leading to a significant performance gap. Thermal insulation should be specified with a specific maximum heat loss value in mind. Confusingly, BS 5422 contains fourteen separate tables for heating and hot water services alone. Therefore, the correct table needs to be clearly identified in the specification. Currently the most commonly referred to tables are the
‘base level’ tables in section 8 of the standard. However, some hospitals have recently gone over and above the base level tables and specified ‘enhanced thicknesses’. The enhanced thicknesses still fall noticeably short of the strict standards employed in residential heat network projects, but they do offer improved performance to help mitigate against parasitic heating. Incorporating enhanced thicknesses will also significantly reduce whole life carbon costs. TICA would therefore recommend that all new
hospitals under the NHP specify ‘enhanced thicknesses’ as an absolute minimum (for example, Table B for heating services being insulated with foil faced phenolic or mineral fibre).
Workmanship Getting materials specifications right is the first step, but it does not guarantee a suitable end result. Thermal Insulation is a recognised trade with an established competence framework. All installation work should be carried out by a suitably competent thermal insulation organisation, and all workers should hold a TICA CSCS Thermal Insulator Skills Card. TICA have built a thriving national apprenticeship
training college, and we are seeing apprentice numbers increase year on year. However, as with many construction skilled trades, the burden for taking on apprentices and ensuring the future lifeblood of the industry is taken on by a comparatively small proportion of organisations, and we need to see more organisations incentivised to take on apprentices. If the NHP is to navigate the potential pitfalls associated with skills shortages, then it will need to encourage apprentice investment as a ‘social value’ during the contract award process.
The retrofit case Even if we are able to draw a line in the sand and enable resilient thermal insulation specifications for all new hospital projects, we still have a huge legacy of estates with poorly insulated pipework to tackle. The good news is that thermal insulation of pipework and equipment can be a passive, no regrets measure
that can often be non-invasive and enacted without the need for shutdowns. The plantroom is the obvious place to start in this regard – even simple measures like applying jackets to valves and flanges can vastly reduce energy losses.
A recent study from the European Industrial Insulation Foundation (EiiF) showed the energy saving equivalent of insulating one 6” valve operating at 150°C is enough to power an electric vehicle for over 12,000 miles!2
By using thermal imaging equipment and software such as TIPCHECK (Technical Insulation Performance Check), thermal insulation specialists can offer healthcare estates detailed reports evidencing current energy losses and the resulting financial implications, and realistic payback times for taking corrective actions. Even for low temperature heating and hot water applications, the payback period can be as little as 12 months! Tackling overheating in populated wards could prove
a trickier business, but any opportunity to access the corridor and riser services, identify areas of heat loss and take remedial action should be taken. TICA recently launched the White Paper Thermal Insulation: the low hanging fruit for decarbonisation alongside a national campaign to reduce heat losses associated with process pipework in the industrial and energy sectors. We believe that a similar retrofit campaign could be mobilised for hospital estates.
Conclusion Pipework heat losses are of course not a lone contributing factor to overheating. However, thermal insulation is a piece of the puzzle that cannot be overlooked if we are to safeguard our hospitals from the threat of parasitic heating. Thermal insulation of pipework is a low-regret, passive, measurable intervention that should take its place alongside solar control, ventilation, controls, and other considerations within a broader overheating strategy. By insulating effectively to counter the effects of
overheating, we are also helping healthcare estates to save energy, save money, and significantly reduce whole life carbon costs.
Pipe insulation policy needs to be carefully considered for both new build and retrofit applications. Pipe insulation is often the forgotten champion in our fight against parasitic heat. We can no longer afford to ignore it.
References 1 BMJ 2026; 394 doi:
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2026- 100584 (Published 14 August 2026)
2
https://www.eiif.org/tipcheck/one-valve-example November 2026 Health Estate Journal 65
Above left: Valve jackets being applied to LTHW pipework in plant room – an easy win!
Above: Thermal imaging showing how the application of valve jackets can help to reduce ‘hot spots’ on existing installations.
Chris Ridge
Chris Ridge is technical director at the Thermal Insulation Contractors Association and chair of the British Standards sub-committee on thermal insulation for equipment and industrial applications. Chris has thirty years’ experience working within the wider energy and construction sectors, including over fifteen years’ experience working specifically within the thermal insulation market.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
