Insulation Requirements Of National Construction Code (NCC) In Australia

The National Construction Code (NCC) governs and regulates the construction industry in Australia. It describes the requirements for all aspects of construction and often makes reference to Australian Standards or other guidelines in order to build a compliant building in Australia.

This particular project investigates the insulation requirements of the NCC which apply specifically to ductwork and pipework (although insulation is also installed in walls and ceilings etc.). We want to find out whether the NCC requirements in Australia are sensible and add value to the purchasers of houses, apartments, offices etc. or if they just add cost to the project with little return on investment (ROI). This is an interesting project to solve because it gives students opportunity to ask questions about what exists and make discoveries that may change the way we build in the future.

“Over-engineering” can cost end users a lot of money and identifying areas which can be better designed and engineered for is a step in the right direction for helping build sustainable and affordable buildings.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technology

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning  refers to the technology that is currently used  in ensuring that the quality of the air in the designated rooms and buildings remain fresh. The system is designed to give warm air that is also very qualitative for human consumption. The ventilation has been considered a branch of mechanical engineering that is utilized in the building and construction industries. In order to ensure that there is proper regulation of the temperature, refrigeration is used. The technology of refrigeration is has been incorporated in the study of the thermodynamic properties of the buildings. The aspect of controlling the quality of the air within the buildings has been exploited in in the hotels, hospitals, halls for meetings, lodges and offices. In these structures, the mechanical technology functions to create conducive environment for the occupants. The temperatures are lowered when the weather is too hot and raised when the weather is too cold.

There has been the emergence of some pressing requirement for approaches to moderate this energy. In a normal year, the expense of vitality misfortune from structures is evaluated to be an insignificant amount of dollars. It has been found that this is the most method of ensuring that there are reductions in the management of energy and also the generation of the profit.

The attention has now been shifted to the conservation of the energy although this was once considered insignificant for the development of the energy resources. Today, insulation is considered to be one of the most significant approaches in the solution of the energy crisis in most of the parts of the world. The saving of the energy through the insulation of the pipes is commercially very important. It has been of benefit to the industries. One such example is in the case of the inadequately insulated piping system that will lead to the loss of the energy in the steam distribution system. The insulation will provide the resistance to the flow of heat through conduction from either the interior point to the exterior or from the exterior to the interior parts. These are the few cases of the circumstances for energy reduction.

The researchers have reported through most of studies that have been specifically used in the evaluation of piping work the significance of saving the energy. The thermal insulation has been used as one of the provisions made to assist in the retard of the heat transfer. When this particular method is made and properly installed, it will always offer a more energy saving and safety mechanism. The determination of the heat transfer across the insulated pipe is relatively very convenient. The process, however, becomes more complicated to be used for the cases of the already insulated component that is aged or in the cases where improvements are required using the newly available materials.

Significance of Insulation in Energy Conservation

Due to the current extensive research on the technology of the materials, a number of new insulation materials have been discovered. These materials have been applied in the industrial pipework so as to make the conservation of the heat more improved. The results have either shown that the use of this technique will significantly save a lot of the energy or lead to the establishment of more industries. The project seeks to evaluate the significance of the insulation methods in the industries alongside the changes that should be recommended in regard to the existing NCC requirements.

The control of the air properties within any room focuses on the characteristics or the parameters of the air itself. These parameters include temperature, the volume of the carbon dioxide and the moisture content .Other that the parameters that have been indicated above, there are other particles found in the air that should be considered including the dust, micro-organisms and smoke. The design of the components is done in a way that ensure carbon dioxide is eliminated from the room as soon as they are formed. The accumulation of air within the room is avoided as much as possible to prevent the spreading of contagious diseases like tuberculosis. The concept of air conditioning will balance the air outside with the air inside. In order to achieve this requirement, the building may be divided into portions and also certain other modifications included.

It is known that the capacity of the conduit pipes that are required to deliver  fresh air must meet the demand. The rate of the exchange of the air that is carbon dioxide removal and oxygen intake should not encounter any source of contamination. As a result system of insulation has been exploited to ensure that this contamination that is primarily thermal is eliminated fully .In the process of elimination, several factors come into the play including the quality of the material used to make the pipe. Control of the air quality consumes a lot of energy. However some of the energy normally go into a waste as a result of the poor insulation mechanism. The study is determined to establish the type of the insulation that have been exploited in the second floor of the 2 WEST RD building. The energy analysis is then performed to uncover the possible ROI. 

The location of the structure is in the map given above. It is obvious that the selected area of the study was easily accessible as can be seen from the map.

• Identify return on investment for BCA/NCC required insulation
• To determine a suitable ROI and relevant insulation R-Value, thickness, material etc. if the value is large

Evaluation of Insulation Methods in Industries

To provide a report of findings with recommendation on what should be done in order provide efficient ROI.

The rapid growth in the sector of the industry alongside increasing number of the building structures are some of the few reasons why the demand of energy has gone high. In every building with occupants, there is demand for quality air supply. The installation of the equipment’s used to control the air quality requires energy too. In the cold places where the air temperature is required to be warm, the supplied air must be heated. Also in the hot places, fans are used to regulate the temperature of the room. In any of the cases energy is considered very basic. The estimations that have been done on various energy consumption shows that more energy almost 40 percent is used in the control of the quality of air. Out of this percentage, 60 percentages is used in the regulation of the volume of carbon dioxide gas. When the system of the duct is not properly designed as required, there will be poor quality of air. This includes excessive gain of temperature and also accumulation of carbon dioxide that may reach toxic level. In order to have very effective system of the same, parameters of control are incorporated. The scale of the application of the system will vary from the industrial use to commercial. In the production industries, specific temperature must be achieved.

 This basically implies that the system requirements must be ideal. In this manner, ideal outline of duct is vital for vitality reserve funds in each part that finally prompted less natural effect as well as price of energy. Various scientists did direction power as well as price based investigations in various channel frameworks. The energy utilization information of building demonstrates that there is an extraordinary capability of vitality funds via proper heat security. Such adequacy of the heat operations of the system will tend to reduce the amount of the materials used as well as natural contamination too. In order to have a system of insulation that is cost effective, the activities involved must be properly planned. The end objective of insulating components must be achieved at a reasonable cost. It is important to note that in any case the level of insulation or the insulation thickness is increased; the amount of money used must also shoot on the positive end.

Statement of the Problem

The evaluation of the energy consumption by the selected duct starts by analyzing the specification of the design components. Therefore, ideal plan in pipe work is critical in any reserve funds in these areas that finally prompted less ecological effect as well as price of energy. Various specialists led vitality and cost based examinations of various pipe frameworks. The energy utilization information of building demonstrates that there is an incredible capability of vitality reserve funds via proper temperature assurance. Performance of the system in relation to energy conservation reduces as time progresses. This translates to contamination of the environment. The system performance must be achieved at relatively cheaper cost and with proper air dissemination framework (Fang, Cotton, Wang & Freer 2013)

The temperate as well as maximum protection width relies on the underlying price used within the protection in addition to cost spared in wording of energy reserve funds amid the normal prolonged system. This idea of relating time and degree for the most part is used to calculate the thickness of warm protection alongside its material. It is considered as least difficult strategy generally used in the stagnant situations. Therefore monetary investigation is done to decide protection width of the material used in various work of pipes especially those used in the fuel industry.

Such evaluation depended on costs that were not straight that normally incudes the initial or the original price of the material and also yearly vitality fund. There was use of the silicate of calcium and also a special type of the wool. The strongly heated vapor was used as the operation fluid. The other means of heat transfer was through convection .Some specific digits are generated and used to decide the ideal protection thickness and size of the pipe (Cho, Hong & Seo 2014).

The created PC code utilizes thermo-monetary parameters to decide energy pulverization of piping system. The approach that has been used in the utilization of the energy aims at ensuring that the components are properly insulated. In this specific evaluation, the focus was on the material type to ensure that there was consistency in the generated digits. The interior section of the pipe was considered as well as the exterior so as to ensure that whatever was obtained was a reliable system. (Audenaert, De Cleyn & Buyle 2012). The Australian insulation services require that the thermal insulation for the central water services or central heating water piping, the heating and the cooling duct must meet the following requirements;

Aim

The system must be protected against the effects of the harsh weather conditions and very strong sunlight. The system should be in a position to withstand the temperatures that accumulate within the piping work or the duct work for that matter. The thermal insulation material that is used must be able to meet the requirements that are stipulated in the AS/NZS4859.1.This kind of heisting system that is the central heating water piping provisions are considered to be applicable to those systems that are basically designed to have the temperature of the building improved via the water system (Liang, Wu, Huang, Yang & Wang 2017). The best example of such systems includes the hydronic heating system.

The central heating water piping that is not found within the space that is conditioned must have proper thermal insulation in order to achieve the minimum material R-Value and this should be as per the information is given in the table below

Table 1: NCC Requirements

Piping that is to be installed	Minimum R-value	For each of the		Climate Zone
	1,2,3 and 5	4,6.7	8
Internal piping	0.4,	0.4	0.4
This section includes all flow and the return piping that are; Found within the unventilated wall space Are found on the internal floor that is between the stores Also between the ceiling insulation and the sealing Finally, all the heating water system that is enclosed within the concrete floor with the slab This category only excludes the part that is made of the floor heating system.
Piping located within the ventilated wall space, enclosed subfloor of the building or the roof space	0.6	0.9	1.3
All flow and the return piping Cold water supply piping that is found within 500mm of the connection of the  of the central water heating system Relief valve piping that falls within the boundary of 500mm of the connection to the central water heating systems.
Piping that is located outside the building All flow and the return piping Cold water supply piping that falls within the 500mm of the connection to the central system Relief valve piping that falls within a space of 500mm from the central water supply system.	0.6	1.3	1.3

The cooling and the heating ducts must meet the following requirements: They must achieve the R-Value of the materials that have already been provided in the table above. The system must also be sealed against the loss of the air. In order to ensure that these particular requirements are met, all the openings on the surface must be closed. The joints and the seams that are found in the ductwork must have proper adhesive work done on them. The sealing can also be done using the mastics, sealants, as provided in the AS425 Part1 and for the case of class 2 only seal, is recommended.

The flexible duct worksite must be supplied with the draw band that is used alongside the adhesive tape. The insulation of the duct must about the known adjoining duct in order to ensure that there is the formation of a continuous barrier. The installation must be properly done so as to ensure that its position is maintained as well as the thickness other than the flanges and the points of the support.

In the cases where the duct work is allocated outside under the floor that is suspended and then attached to the class 10a building, there must be a protection by an outer sleeve of the protective sheeting. This is done to ensure that the insulation is protected from becoming damp. Also, it must have an outer protective sleeve that is properly sealed with the adhesive tape of more than 48mm wide. This will ensure the effective creation of the air proof and also waterproof seal. It is important to note that the above requirements are not applicable in the cases where the building is within an enclosed set up. The energy efficiency requires that the following R –Values are met;

Demand for Energy and Air Quality Control

Table 2: NCC sample parameters

Insulation	R-Value
50mm polyester(20kg/m3)	1.1
50mm glass wall(22kg/m3) 75mm polyester(20kg/m3)	1.5 1.7
Sheet metal duct work-internal insulation 38mm glass wool(32kg/m3) 50mm polyester(32KG/m3) 50mm glass wool(32kg/m3)	1.0 1.3 1.5
Flexible duct work 45mm glass wool(11kg/m3) 70mm polyester(6.4kg/m3) 63mm glass wool(11kg/m3) 90mm polyester((8.9kg/m3) 85mm glass wool(11kg/m3)	1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 2.0

The general requirements for the insulation of the water pipes include the following activities;

In the selection of the pipe for the water insulation, the R-value must be put into the consideration for various options that are available. The R-value has been basically considered as a measurement that gives the quantity of the resistance to the heat flow of any chosen material. The higher the R-value, the bigger the power of the insulating material. In most of the cases the R-value is never indicated on the pipes and therefore research is needed to establish the exact values of the R-values. In regard to the temperatures, the colder the temperatures, the higher the required R-values for the selection of the pipes.

The dirt should be removed be removed and any presence of the grease wiped out in the cases where insulation is to be done. Regardless of the pipe that is to be insulated, it is very important that the system to be given a quick wipe once over it so that the insulation can stick better. The pipes should, therefore, be very dry before the installation of an insulated material. The moisture of any kind will definitely make the insulation to become very loose.

Air conditioning framework hardware, for example, refrigeration are known as helper gear. Although in most designing examination, AC of HVAC framework has been assumed. In business structure all these components need to be used and they account for over 25 percent of the total consumption. Researchers introduced AC of various HVAC system composes utilized in place of business. The noticed was that nearly entire air frameworks possess greater estimations of AC as opposed to the humid air that normally results into the consumption of too much energy by the selected systems. Remarkably, ongoing exploration demonstrated that variable air volume stream framework has an incredible potential off a vitality sparing. It is accounted for that around 0.65kW of electricity is devoured by different helper gear of HVAC framework per ton of cooling load. There have been extensive change measures to reduce energy utilization of chiller and blower. In this regard outward chiller effectiveness is upgraded by 34% i.e. from CoP (Coefficient of Performance) of 4.24-5.67(0.83-0.62kW/ton). The GHG outflow results from HVAC framework energy utilization are around 0.97kg/kW.The request to evaluate the impacts of pressure of thermal insulation at chose purposes of the duct, an HVAC system of the 2 WEST RD has been picked for the analysis of insulation and ROI. Right off the bat, the preliminary information with respect to outline and activity (Mantilla, Gariboldi, Grob & Claessens 2014).

Ideal Design for Energy Savings and Less Environmental Impact

Scope of the project

The project was limited in the evaluation of the existing typical system configurations seen across in the second floor of 2 WEST RD building and analyzes the effects and energy savings of the NCC required insulation as compared to different levels or types of insulation. The analysis of the cost that is associated with each system was then done to determine the Return on Investment (ROI) for each level of insulation. This was then followed by a comparison of the energy savings versus the ROI period. The main areas of interests were ductwork insulation and refrigeration (air conditioning) pipe insulation. If time permits, insulation on water pipes can be investigated as well working for better plan, investigation, and activity of pipe protection applications.

Chapter	Chapter Title	Group	End date
1	System of units	1	Start of semester
2	Properties of fluids	1
3	Fluid statics	2
4	Fluid flow parameters	2
5	Fluid dynamics	3
6	Changes of the air characteristics	3
7	ROI analysis	Collectively	End of semester

With the end goal to evaluate the impacts of pressure of temperature protection at chose purpose of the organization was picked. Right off the bat, the original information with respect to plan and working parameters are gathered, or, in other words the growth within numerical prototype for programming. The prototype was reproduced in the  investigation of the impacts of using other means of protection.

• Digital camera alongside spare memory card for recording the types of the insulation system in the second floor
• Extra batteries plus charger for power security of the camera.
• Measuring tape for taking measurements of specific lengths
• Calipers for the determination of the insulation thickness
• First aid kit
• Field recording forms
• Note books, pens, pencils and marker pens.
• Electrical conductivity meter.
• Personal Protective Equipment’s, PPEs
• GPS receiver.

The commercial facility that was under the study consisted of the three buildings whose gross areas were 30455 square meters. One of such buildings has a total approximate of the air-conditioned area of the floor to about 12880 square meters. The businesses that are within the buildings include the engineering consulting, development of the software and its subsequent use, accounting, marketing alongside the other ventures. The spaces within the building are used for the activities like the conferences, office work etc. The period of the occupancy of the structure starts from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the entire work week.

During the weekends the place is primarily unoccupied. The miscellaneous appliances include the following: heaters, fans, microwave ovens alongside others. The heating and the cooking activities are provided from the central HVAC plant set up in the houses. The chillers and the boilers from which the chilled water and the steam are distributed in the building while using the system of the pipes. The circulation of the steam is through the perimeter heat that is commonly known as the radiators.

This steam is passed to the heating coils in the handlers of the air to provide the comfort zone. The hot water heating system of heaters is located in the different sections of the building so as to provide water that is used in the bathrooms and the cafeteria. Various air handlers in the penthouse of at least every building are used to assist in the circulation of the air that ensures proper ventilation within the building. The ventilation will either be hot or cold depending on the requirements.

Conclusion

For any proper economic development, the major key issue is energy. Access to energy is today regarded as one of the main requirement for the success of any project. For any economic, social and proper standards of living to be established, able, cheap and clean energy sources are needed. However, access to such kind of energy sources has remained to be the main challenge in the current set up. The increase in the consumption of the energy and also the general effects from the environment has been associated with the increased concerns globally. The researches that have been conducted have indicated that most of the energy has been consumed by the construction industry.

This particular sector of the development is linked to the consumption of over 50% of the total energy that is available worldwide. The emission of the carbon that is generated from the construction industry is averagely 30%.In some of the countries that experience a cold climate, the amount of energy that is just required for the space heating amounts to over 30%.In countries like the United States, the energy that is consumed for the space heating is nearly three times as much as the known consumed energy for other operations. The other sources of energy consumption included the use of energy in the water heating activities, food cooling and freezing and also the food cooking in general.

 The excessive use of the energy in various sectors can be attributed to the improper utilization of the insulation systems in the structures like the pipework. A lot of the studies have been carried out to assist in the investigation of proper means of insulation and also the choice of insulation material. Such studies have extended to the determination of the maximum insulation thickness that is required of a piping system. Some researchers have carried out the economic analysis of the thermal insulation. This has been in connection to the double layered insulated petroleum pipes while using materials of different insulation properties. The most commonly considered materials included the use of the Rockwool and calcium silicate. The nonlinear functions of cost were the basis of the economic analysis. This included the yearly losses on the amount of the energy and the initial costs of the insulation.

The analysis employed the technique of the pipes with the superheated steam, crude oil, and other 300 distillate. These researchers went ahead to numerically and analytically model the variation in the insulation thickness. This was meant to maximize the outer surface temperature of the pipes that were believed to be losing the energy through convection and radiation. The reports were actually on the variation on this particular thickness. The methods of ensuring that the water pipes are protected from freezing especially in the clod regions have attracted a substantial attention. This is because the practice involves the use of heating cables and heat insulation materials. The derived simple algebraic formula has been used in the performance of the thermal economic optimization analysis (Monteiro et al 2012).

References

The research did not put to notice the heat losses and the diameters of the pipes that were optimized in order to ensure that the costs were reduced to the minimum amount. In the second analysis was simultaneous optimization of the diameter of the pipe and the thickness of the insulation. This was guided by the first law of the thermodynamics alongside the general cost. In the third analysis, the cost was assumed or rather disregarded but there was simultaneous consideration of the insulation thickness and the pipe diameter. The fourth attempt focused on the pipe diameter and the thickness of the insulation. This was meant to maximize the efficiency of the energy while at the same time ensuring that the cost was minimized. The effects of the mass flow rate were put under the study, the operation time per year, the temperature of the water in the optimum pipe and finally the insulation thickness.

The obtained calculations were based on the yearly full loads of the temperature for the cooling process. In order to ensure that there was an investigation on the economic and environmental assessment of the insulation of the heating pipes, the life cycle cost analysis was used. This very analysis was used in the determination of the maximum thickness as per the effects of the inflations. The inflation was considered to be affecting the costs of the insulating materials and the fuel prices as well. The insulating material that was found to be containing the highest energy saving was the fiberglass while for the case of the large diameter pipes it was not efficient. The research literature that is available provides no indication to the application of the air gap to the pipes that are insulated.

The original study has only focused on the investigation of the variation in the annual total cost, the energy cost saving and the period for the payback that entirely depends on the insulation thickness. The study has also sought to determine the optimum thickness of the insulation in the cases of the application of the air gaps in the pipe insulation. Finally, the assessment of the variation in the diameter of the pipe, the thickness of the insulation of the air gap, the cost saving of the energy and finally the period of the payback ((Feng et al 2014).

It is well known that when more insulation is added to a plane wall, it will definitely result in the reduction of the transfer of the heat. This is on the grounds that the opposition (R) to warm move in plane dividers is straightforwardly relative to the thickness of the protection obstruction (Kim, Seo, Cha & Kim 2013). The circumstance is, in any case, unique for barrel-shaped funnels, in light of the fact that the protection thickness isn't specifically relative to the warmth exchange obstruction. This has useful achievement in the protection of funnels and electrical wires. Concentrates revealed by scholars additionally affirm that, at a specific pipe span, protection can really build the rate of warmth misfortune from a pipe, squandering profitable time, energy, and cash.

The schematic perspective of chose air dissemination system for the HVAC framework under examination is outlined in Fig 5.The air dissemination framework has been separated among five distribution segments i.e. A, B, C, D and E.

The bit a having length LA is associating the air dealing with unit with different parts of supply air conduit. The adapted air is appropriated to partition B having length LB and C having length LC. The portion C supplies conditioned air to Zone-I while conditioned air through B is further divided into two branches D having length LD and E having length LE.

The branches of portion B supplies air to region-II. The cooling load of Zone-II is greater than region-I therefore, conditioned air is supplied with two branches in region-II and with one in region-I. The design parameters of the duct are illustrated in the table. The length, width and height of the duct are represented with L, W and H. The thickness of the transverse joint i.e. projected part is tb and tt is the horizontal dimension of the joint. The thickness of the galvanize length LC. The bit C supplies molded air to Zone-I while adapted air through B is additionally isolated into two branches D having length LD and E having length LE.The parts of bit B supplies air to region-II. The cooling heap of region-II is more noteworthy than region-I therefore, conditioned air is provided with two branches in region-II and with one in region-I.

The outline parameters of the channel are delineated in the table. The length, width and tallness of the pipe are represented sheet and protection is spoken to by sheet and tins respectively, while thickness of the protection at selected points of the conduit is meant with the comp. The corresponding design and thermo-physical parameters are given in Fig 5, individually. The plan and working parameters of air distribution system are acquired from Novartis pharma Pvt. Ltd. with portable computerized hygrometer, versatile advanced anemometer and weight transducers as given in Table 2. The value of thickness, particular warmth, kinematic consistency, Prank number and warm conductivity of molded air inside the conduit are gotten by utilizing EES

The study considered the pipe system for the air gap and in the applications of the insulations in the mechanical systems. The pipes that were used had lengths of the cross-section value. The pipe system that was under consideration was the steel pipe. It was passing within a channel throughout the environment. The study allowed for the acceptance of the air gap layer between the pipes and the material for the insulation.

The value was actually 0 in the cases where there was no use of the air gap and this value increased significantly to around 5mm. The steel pipes that are used had minimum diameters of 50mm to 1000mm. The water that was used in the system was at a stable temperature of 80 degrees and flowed at a velocity of 0.8m/s. The velocity of the air that was outside the pipework was at 0.2m/s. The temperature of the environment was at 10 degrees Celsius. The assumption that was made was that there was no temperature reduction or the reduction in the pressure value throughout the pipe system.

The calculations that have been done involved the following factors:

• The determination of the theoretical and the real losses of the heat through the pipes of the system
• Determination of the loss of the heat in the new set up with the additional insulation on every pipe
• The calculations of the incurred savings due to the reduction in the losses of the heat as well as the Return on the Investment (ROI).

Heat loss was regarded as the movement of heat from the inside wall to the surface of the entire pipework. This was treated as follows

The T₀ was regarded as the design temperature. The pipe layers that had no air gaps, the internal fluid and finally the external fluid were effectively considered. The resistance that was offered to the flowing liquid was calculated using the formula below;

This particular formula was important in the determination of the movement of heat constant factor of pipework.

The knowledge about the amount of the heat stored or the amount of the heat transferred by the fluid within the cylindrical pipes is considered very important for the thermal system. The yearly heat amount that is transferred by these thermal systems will include the calculation of the heating temperatures of the day. This is calculated using the formula that is indicated below;

Where T_b is regarded as the basic temperature. The basic temperature corresponds to the degree of heating in the region and its values will always change depending on the geographical location of the pipework. In this particular study, the method that is used is basically anchored on the life cycle cost analysis. This particular analysis is used in the evaluation of the economy of the entire system of insulation in the technologies of the insulations. This particular method takes into consideration the effects on the discounted rates alongside the increased rates within a specific period of the time. The shortlisted parameters are very useful in the calculation of the cost of consumption in the entire lifetime of the systems of the pipes (Paiva, Pereira, Sá, Cruz, Varum & Pinto 2012). The actual amount of the power needed to facilitate the operation is given by the following formula;

Where M_s is considered as the ratio of the annual maintenance and cost of the operation

Some of the characteristics of the material that were used in the evaluation included the following;

Table5: Properties of the units

Recommended pipe size(mm)	Length	Surface diameter	Thickness of the wall	Class weight	No of SCH
50	2	60.3	3.91	STD	40
100	4	114.3	6.02	STD	40
200	8	219.1	8.18	STD	40
400	16	406.4	9.53	STD	30
600	24	610	9.53	STD	20
800	32	813.0	9.53	STD	10

The annual fuel consumption that is required to ensure that the heat supply was maintained was calculated using the formula given below;

The multiplication of the yearly consumption of the fuel and the cost for every unit will definitely assist in the generation of the annual energy expenditure and those can be calculated as

In this particular formula, the value of the C_f is the unit cost of any fuel sample as expressed in $/kg. The total cost of the insulation material is obtained through multiplication of the volume of the material that is used for the pipework by the cost of the insulation. This is calculated using the formula indicated below

Notation	Width	Wm	Height	Thickness(mm)
A	1.1	0.3	1.45	33
B	1.2	0.4	0.32	33
C	0.5	0.4	17.23	33
D	0.5	0.3	11.23	33
E	0.5	0.4	13.42	33

In the illustrated figures, the change of the graphs of the cost of the insulations with the thickness of the insulations has been plotted. The varied parameter in this particular case is the diameter of the pipe and also the values of the air gaps. As can be seen in the illustrated figure that the cost of the insulation is directly proportional to the thickness of the insulating material.

The examination of the graph, therefore, can be done on the basis of the pipe diameters or the values of the air gap as had been projected in the prior analysis. In the best case scenario is when the thickness is 0.2m for a 50mm pipe the cost per year is equivalent to almost 7.3$/year. Also under the same situation for 1000mm pipe, the cost of the insulation will vary from 24.4 to almost $32/m-year. In this particular analysis, it is evident that the cost of the large diameter pipes is almost 5 times the cost of insulation the small pipe diameter pipes

The other aspect of the insulation is that the thickness is directly proportional to the air gap thickness. In this particular case, the large diameter pipes have a yearly cost of the $24.4m/yr. In consideration of the cost value of the insulation, the pipe diameter variation in terms of the cost becomes 31.8-7.3. In the figure below, the total annual cost commence to depreciate immediately after the start of the process of the insulation. In contrary to other cases, values of the energy cost savings also increase. The annual cost, however, tends to reduce.

. There is a trend of falling soon after reaching the maximum point. Therefore, the thickness of the insulation at a point where the yearly total cost is at the minimum and energy cost saving are at the maximum, the description that is suitable is the optimum insulation thickness.

In order to check on the effects of the air gaps, the energy cost saving and the annual total are given as per the optimum insulation thickness. The comparision of the case that lacked air gap with the optimum insulation gave different results. The variation of the total annual cost was equivalent to over a 40% increase. The energy cost saving, however, increases by almost 8% of the total amount. The examination of the (d) indicates that there is almost 30% of the reduction and also 3% in the increase of the energy cost savings. From the above analysis, it can be said that the use of the air gap for the insulation process has got lots of the benefits when they are used in the small diameter pipes as opposed to the large diameter pipes.

The conclusion that is drawn here is that instead of having the air gaps used for the large diameter pipes, the appropriate decision should be the use of other insulation materials. In the cases where the air gaps and the insulation materials are used in the pipework,the cost saving will be great as the diameter increases. This will be so despite the fact that there will be an increase in the cost of the energy.

Table 6: Obtained values of ROI

Year	Purchase cost	Estimated cost of maintenance	Energy saving	ROI
YR1	430	50	355	-130
TR2	430	53	376	-97
YR3	430	57	396	-4
YR4	430	63	406	58
YR5	430	65	450	165
TR6	430	68	475	180

In order to properly compare the insulation properties of the materials, there is the provision of graphics that are similar to the given diameters. This particular case basically dictates that the cost of every unit volume is very effective. The choice of insulation material is not effective on the cost of the energy. The saving of this structure will entirely rely on the small and large pipes. The period of the payback on the construction has been considered one of the most important projections for the majority of the investors

The variations of the period of the payback have been different for every value of the pipe diameter. As can be seen from the figure, when the diameter of the pipe and the insulation thickness is increased, the period of the payback lengthens. In very simple terms, when the exceed maxim thickness in the air grappled in the insulated pipes, the payback period also increases. The increase is even greater for the case of the small diameter size pipes. In comparison, the air gap technique appears to be more effective on the period of the payback for the small diameter pipes. This circumstance demonstrates that for expansive breadth funnels warm protection might be connected as opposed to utilizing an air hole. For all width pipes, the vitality cost reserve funds because of utilization of an air hole do not change contingent upon fuel compose and protection compose. The protection material and fuel compose with most noteworthy vitality cost funds and most reduced recompense period are found as EPS and fuel-oil, separately.

 For little measurement channels, it gives the idea that the air hole is more powerful on recompense period. For expansive width pipes, the inverse is valid. Under all conditions, the least ideal protection thickness is given in gaseous petrol and XPS protection material. As far as protection thickness and life cycle costs, air hole is viable for little distance across channels, while protection thickness is powerful for huge distance across channels. This examination is relied upon to be compelling investors to the individuals who are intrigued and working for better plan, investigation, and activity of pipe protection applications.

Conclusion

It is very clear from the data that has been obtained that insulation is a practical energy saving efficiency. This particular technology can have an immediate impact that is also really on the global climate change. The use of the air gap in the insulation of the pipework, use of the slag wool thermal insulation has led to the saving of the considerable amount of energy. This kind of energy saving translates to the economic and environmental benefits. The energy that has been invested in that manufacture of these particular insulation materials is returned as many times as had not been seen before. Also, the efficiency of the energy is normally realized from the improved applications of the wool insulation materials. The major environmental impact of these applications is that the reduction of the greenhouse gases is great.

The bigger extent of this benefit is the lowered chances of global warming in the entire world. Similarly, the proper use of the insulation materials including the use of the air gap can really help the manufacturers of the industrial sectors and also in the other mechanical related applications. Such applications can contribute to additional energy savings and the prevention of pollution.

In figuring the current utilization and future working costs, investment funds, and straightforward restitution got from a redesigned framework (with prescribed fiberglass channeling protection) has been made accessible. Likewise, a stream graph clarifying figuring strategy for diverse properties was introduced. The utilization of flowcharts, alongside proper terminology, charts, and conditions turned out to be helpful for copying and breaking down the vitality sparing methodology. The computations should be possible and outlined utilizing spreadsheets, and ease of use can be included with graphical UI.

Vitality use frameworks in structures drop in execution and effectiveness as the age of the structure. Besides, because of the frequently generally low level of innovation in presence at the season of development (the case for some current structures today), any vitality framework is not liable to be at present working at the best execution level. A consequence of this is superfluous vitality misfortunes and higher vitality utilization. With HVAC expending a considerable piece of the building's yearly vitality, and also an unfaltering in-wrinkle in vitality costs in the course of recent decades, building proprietors are more worried about their vitality frameworks' operational proficiency and adequacy (Shi, Lu, Guo, Zhang & Cao 2013).

The applications that were documented included the savings of the at least 40 units of the water cooling system and the Air cooled system. The distribution of the hot water system within the insulated pipes consumed a lot of power. Upon the introduction of the insulation, there was a significant saving of the units of power. The variation or this particular difference was used for the calculation of the ROI.

Position	Air cooled	Water cooled
Primary current	54.0A	35.7A
Secondary current	2916A	3043A
Reduction in the sector of primary		17.1A
Factor of power	0.89	0.94
Cost of the kW per power	17.1KW	12.0KW
Saving in real power per year	$8386.94	$5782.50
Reactive power		$2504.34
Real power	1.9KVAR	0.91KVAR
Total power	17.2KVA	12.0Kva

The real power was approximated as 68.9% of all the existing applications. The cost of the power was taken as $0.055 per kWh; this translates to a saving of $2505.36 per year for every transformer. The power factor of the station increased by 3.3%. The peak demand of the current is 68.5% of the present applications. The reactive power is 47.4% of all the applications that exist. The total power is considered 69.5% of the known power source (Shimizu, Matsuura, Furue & Matsuzak 2013).

The water heating system that used the water-cooled transformers in their system realized that there is a large amount of the energy that is saved when the ductwork was insulated as the cost of the power shot to $100,214 for every year. The analysis indicated that when the piping system was insulated using the air gap method, the energy that could be saved from each transformer could be calculated as indicated in below

The real power cost saving per year was taken as =$100,215

The transformer equipment cost recovery=20 months

The total real power cost savings 12 years=$100210

The return on the investment (ROI) will be 7 to 1

As from the illustration that has been indicated in the diagrams above and other figures, there is a need to pay attention to the unrealized potential for the energy and also the savings of the environment (Zhang et al 2017). Such savings leads to the improved building insulation demands and the attention of the international forum. The reduction of greenhouse emissions that can be attributed to the use of insulation materials is equally very much important. The use of the specific materials that have the large capacity of reducing the heat loss to the environment should not go unrecognized. If such systems can go unrecognized then it would be to overlook readily available and the cost-effective energy efficient technology that will assist in the offering of the immediate solution to the environmental pollution challenges. The benefits are known to belong due.

From the study the following results were concluded:

• The mathematical model that was developed was actually confirmed through the  loss of heat which was calculated using the dimensions within the psychometric and the error was approximately 5.2%
• The rise in the temperature was attributed to the environmental effect and it was lowered as from the initial figure of v4.31 to 2.54KW when the insulation was increased from 10mm to 40mm at the specific selected parts on the duct.
• The energy loss due to the heat gain in the system of distribution that was selected could be possibly decreased from 13% to 8%
• The AC that is as a result of selected air distribution could be possibly is reduced from 0.8 to 0.45KW.
• The rise in the thickness of the material that was used for the processes of insulation also led to the increase in the insulation of the temperatures.

In order to ensure that the benefits of the thermal insulation are properly utilized in the entire world, it is very critical that most of the countries adopt the standards that have been laid down by Australia. Also, the companies and their staff should be taken through a proper training that seeks to equip them with the developments and guidance for the improved efficiency of the energy. It is important that the world campaign against pollution and other environmental defects be championed towards the use of safer insulation means. Such campaigns may involve the use of the air gap for the processes of insulating the pipework. The inclusion of the international protocol on the efforts of the energy saving will surely make the idea of insulation very popular. 

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