Heat bypassing the insulation through conductive paths: supports, hangers, uninsulated valve bonnets, jacketing screws, the tie-wire collars of insulation bags. A handful of bridges can dominate a system's loss — a single bare pipe support shoe conducts more than metres of insulated run. Controls: insulated supports (load-bearing blocks — calcium silicate, cellular glass, dense PUR), covering the WHOLE component (engineered covers wrap bonnets, not just bodies), and thermal imaging after install — the bridges glow.
Compute your own case: free heat-loss calculator · materials library: 12 datasheets · related: What is CUI (corrosion under insulation)? · What is economic thickness of insulation? · R-value vs k-value (λ) — what's the difference? · What insulation works at 600 °C?
