Thermal insulation for pipes, flat surfaces and vessels: bare versus insulated heat loss, surface temperature for touch protection or dew point, economic thickness and payback, with temperature-dependent conductivity.
USD 39 one-time purchase
Download the sample report (PDF)
Need it once? Use it online: check your data free, unlock results from USD 9 for 3 runs.
What it does
Pipe, flat surface or sphere
Hot or cold service, indoor still air or outdoor wind.
Three thickness bases
Heat-loss target, surface-temperature target (touch protection or condensation) and economic thickness.
Heat loss with changing conductivity
Radial or flat conduction with the mean-conductivity method and the outer surface coefficient solved inside the sheet.
Materials and finishes
Generic table of seven insulation types, a user-defined curve for your supplier's data and a jacket emissivity table.
Bare, existing and design
Surface temperature, heat loss, reduction, coefficients, yearly energy and cost side by side.
Payback
Yearly heat and money saved, installed cost, net benefit and simple payback, with a what-if of five thicknesses.
Built for engineers
- Visible formulas — nothing hidden, so you can check every step.
- Fully referenced — methods from the standard references, checked against their published worked examples.
- Safe to share — sheets are protected against accidental edits, with an open password so you can still customise.
- Built-in input checks — clear warnings for impossible inputs and values outside typical ranges.
For engineering estimates; verify against site data. Code-based methods are aligned with the publicly documented procedure; they are not a licensed reproduction or a certification.
Preview the workbook
Real pages from the workbook with its built-in example loaded (example data, not a measured plant). Choose a page below, or select the large image to enlarge it.
Specification and checks
| Format | Excel workbook (.xlsx), no macros |
| Version | v1.0 |
| Works in | Excel 2010 or later, Windows and Mac |
| Units | SI, US and British, mixed freely |
| Includes | Guide tab with method and references, calculator, print-ready report |
| Checked against | 122 recalculated runs against an independent Python model: all 36 selector combinations, the material and finish tables, SI, US, British and alternative units and 39 edge cases; about 9,500 values compared. |
| Free version | Try the free pipe insulation heat loss calculator |
Online tool or Excel workbook?
A free web calculator for the key figures of this topic is on the free calculator page.
| Online tool | Excel workbook (this page) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | The same sheet as the Excel workbook, run in your browser | Thermal insulation for pipes, flat surfaces and vessels: bare versus insulated heat loss, surface temperature for touch protection or dew point, economic thickness and payback, with temperature-dependent conductivity. |
| Cost | Check your inputs free. Results: 3 runs for USD 9, or every online tool for USD 15 a month (USD 99 a year) | USD 39 once, yours to keep |
| Input checks and findings | Every input checked; findings with the unlocked results | Every input checked, with findings and recommendations |
| Report for your calculation file | Printable results sheet | Print-ready report with your plant, tag, document number, revision and sign-off |
| Formulas | Method described in the guide | Every formula visible in its cell |
| Save, edit and rerun your cases | Each run separately | Yes: keep and edit your own file |
| Works offline, on a plant PC | No, needs the internet | Yes: Excel 2010 or later, Windows and Mac |
Online access and the Excel workbook are separate licences: one does not include the other.
Compatibility, licence and support
| File | Excel workbook (.xlsx), no macros, version v1.0; works in Excel 2010 or later on Windows and Mac. Sheets are protected against accidental edits, with an open password so you can customise. |
| Licence | Single user. A team licence (up to 5 named users) is 3 × the shop price; site licences on request — licence terms. |
| Updates | Updates to this major version are included; download them again from the link in your receipt. |
| Support | Email [email protected] with your order number — questions on the method, your inputs or your results are welcome. |
| Refunds | If the tool does not work as described, or has an error we cannot fix, email [email protected] with your order number within 14 days of purchase and we will refund you in full. Refunds are not offered for a change of mind once a file has been downloaded. Read the full refund policy. |