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While the whole process seems to look simple but some people get confused about the thickness
of duct insulation. To avoid buying the wrong insulation, it is necessary that we understand more
about insulations.

How to Select the Type of Duct Insulation?

There are mainly two types of duct insulations; a) fiberglass and b) cross-linked polyethylene.
Most of the time, fiberglass is the preferred choice due to its lower cost. Polyethylene (PE) is
more expensive but it is safer and more aesthetically appealing.

If you are insulating ducts that are located in the attic or above the ceiling or inside the wall,
fiberglass is your primary choice. But, if your ducts are under the ceiling where they are exposed
and other people can see them, you may consider using PE insulations.

For more information about insulations in general, see my post on the 5 types of insulation used
in air conditioning. If you want to know the details about duct insulations, see my post on the 4
common types of duct insulations.

How to Determine Duct Insulation Thickness?

Many people, including myself last time, have a hard time figuring out what is the necessary duct
insulation thickness. Although there are some standards that require much thicker duct insulation
to conserve energy, most people insulate ducts to prevent condensation.

To prevent condensation on ducts, the external surface temperature of the duct must not
approach and fall beyond the dew point of the air. Hence, the dew point of air is not a
constant and it is depending on temperature and relative humidity. In other words, it is
geographical location-dependent.

When calculating the dew point, we should use the initial temperature and relative humidity
values and not the desired room conditions value because condensation can happen right after
you switch on the air conditioner.

For example, I’m living in Malaysia. Usually, the room condition without air conditioning in the
afternoon is around 82°F (28°C) and 85% relative humidity. So, the dew point is 77°F (25°C)
and thus, I must not let the external duct surface temperature approach 77°F (25°C). The best is
to target the external duct surface temperature at around 3.6°F (2°C) above the dew point
temperature.

So, everyone should have their own dew point value and you can calculate your dew point value
using this simple online dew point calculator (link to http://www.dpcalc.org).
After finding the dew point, we need to estimate the supply air temperature inside the duct.
Typically, air conditioners supply air at 18°F (10°C) below the temperature set on the thermostat.
For example, if you set your thermostat at 77°F (25°C), the supply air temperature should be
around 59°F (15°C).

However, the supply air temperature should not exceed 61°F (16°C) under normal
circumstances. Otherwise, your house may be too humid and it may be a sign of oversized air
conditioners or other problems.

For concealed ducts such as above the ceiling and inside the wall, find the duct insulation
thickness based on the temperature difference between the dew point and the supply air
temperature using the below table:

Temperature Recommended
Difference Thickness

30°F (16.7°C) 1″ (25mm)

35°F (19.5°C) 1″ (25mm)

40°F (22.2°C) 1-1/2″(38mm)

45°F (25.0°C) 1-1/2″ (38mm)

50°F (27.8°C) 2″ (50mm)

Recommended Duct Insulation Thickness for Concealed Ducts

So, if my dew point is 77°F (25°C) and the supply air temperature is 59°F (15°C), the
temperature difference is 18°F (10°C) which is below 30°F (16.7°C). Therefore, my duct
insulation should be 1″ (25mm) thick.

Most duct insulations have a K value of 0.24 btu.in/ft2/hr/°F which is the thermal conductivity of
the insulation at 1″ thick. If the insulation is 2″ thick, divide the K value with the thickness to get
the corresponded thermal conductivity. For instance, 0.24 btu.in/ft2/hr/°F divided by 2 inch is
0.12 btu/ft2/hr/°F.

The thicker the insulation, the lesser the energy can travel through it.

However, some insulations are specified in R value and many people have a better understanding
when buying insulations based on R value. To convert the K value into R value, divide 1 by K
value. For example, 1 divided by 0.12 btu/ft2/hr/°F is 8.33 ft2.hr.°F/btu which is equivalent to R8.
 R=1/K

In other words, R value is dependent on the thickness and the thermal conductivity of the
insulation. Many houses in the United States are using R-8 duct insulations. However, if the duct
insulations have only 0.24 btu.in/ft2/hr/°F of thermal conductivity and they are only 1″ thick, the
duct insulations are actually R-4 only. To achieve R-8, you either use 2″ thick or use better
insulations that have a lower thermal conductivity.

In terms of SI unit, the K value 0.24 btu.in/ft2/hr/°F is equivalent to the K value 0.035 W/mK in
SI unit. At 25mm, the K value is 0.035 W/mK divided by 0.025 m which equals 1.4 m2K/W. The
R value expressed in SI unit is better known as RSI value. So, to convert the K value into RSI
value, divide 1 by 1.4 m2K/W which equals R-0.71 (RSI).

Then, to convert from RSI to R value used by the United States or Imperial unit, multiply the
RSI value by 5.678. So, RSI 0.71 is equivalent to R-4.

According to ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007, R-4 insulation is sufficient for most ducts
located in unconditioned spaces such as above the ceiling and inside the wall. However,
most ducts located on the attic above the insulated ceiling should use R-6 insulation.

Below is the recommended duct insulation R value derived from ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007
based on different climate zones in the United States:

U.S.
Climate Zone by 2012 IECC
 Attic Above
Climate Unconditioned
Insulated
Zone Space
Ceiling

Zone 1 R-8 R-4

Zone 2 R-6 R-4

Zone 3 R-6 R-4

Zone 4 R-6 R-4

Zone 5 R-6 R-4

Zone 6 R-6 R-4

Zone 7 R-6 R-4

Zone 8 R-8 R-6

SUPPLY Duct (Heating & Cooling) Recommended Duct Insulation R Value

Attic Above
Climate Unconditioned
Insulated
Zone Space
Ceiling

Zone 1 R-8 R-4

Zone 2 R-6 R-4

Zone 3 R-6 R-4

Zone 4 R-6 R-4

Zone 5 R-6 R-4

 Attic Above
Climate Unconditioned
Insulated
Zone Space
Ceiling

Zone 6 R-6 R-4

Zone 7 R-6 R-4

Zone 8 R-8 R-6

RETURN Duct (Heating & Cooling) Recommended Duct Insulation R Value

Many people were misled by the R value stated by insulation sellers. There are several duct
insulations sold on Amazon that claimed to be R-8 insulations. However, their thickness is only
1/2″ or 1/4″.

If we reverse calculate the R value, the thermal conductivity (K value) of the 1/4″ thick
insulation is 0.156 btu.in/ft2/hr/°F which is most likely impossible because some of the best
fiberglass insulation thermal conductivity is around 0.24 btu.in/ft2/hr/°F only. Even John
Manville datasheet shows a maximum of 0.24 btu.in/ft2/hr/°F only.

Therefore, when shopping for duct insulations, you should be extremely skeptical of the
claimed R value for anything below 1″ thick. In commercial air conditioning, our minimum
duct thickness is always 1″. If the surrounding temperature is higher, we usually use 2″ thick
fiberglass insulations.

To avoid you buying the wrong duct insulation, I recommend you get this fiberglass insulation if
you plan to buy it on Amazon. Once you have the insulation, you’ll need to know how to put it
on your duct.

How to Install Fiberglass Insulation on Duct?

Before you proceed to stick the fiberglass insulation on your ducts, it is very important that you
understand the characteristic of insulations in general. In case you’re wondering, flexible ducts
do not require external insulations as they come pre-insulated.

For most insulations, you don’t want to compress or reduce the thickness of the insulations
as much as you possibly can. The thermal conductivity or insulating capability of insulations is
dependent on their final thickness after installation. If you compress 1″ insulations to 1/2″ thick,
you essentially halved the insulating capability of the insulations.

Furthermore, you must not allow air to stay in between insulations and ducts. You need to
gently press the insulations onto the external surface of your ducts in all directions. Typically, we
apply dedicated insulation glues or adhesives on both the insulations and the ducts before we
gently press insulations against ducts.

When there is air stuck in between insulations and ducts, the air will condense into water
droplets and wet the insulations which reduce the thickness of the insulations thereby reducing
the performance of the insulations.

Thirdly, you should wipe your ducts with wet towels to ensure there is no dust and dirt
stays on the surface of the ducts before putting on the insulation so that the insulations will
stick onto the ducts. If there are leftover insulations on the duct surfaces, scrub them off.

The above three things are essentials and basics when insulating ducts, pipes and almost
everything. Now, let’s go through the step by step on how to install fiberglass insulations on
ducts.

1. Measure the Circumference of the Duct

Measure the circumference of your duct. For rectangular ducts, simply add the width and height
and then, multiply it by 2. For round ducts, measure the diameter, divide it by two and multiply it
by 6.28 (round circumference formula is 2πr). For example, if I have a 24×16″ duct, my duct
circumference is (24+16)x2=80″.

Rectangular Duct

Round Duct
2. Cut the Insulation to the Required Length
Unroll the insulation and cut it to the required length according to the duct circumference you’ve
just measured. For example, my duct circumference is 80″, so I measure 80″ and cut the entire
insulation.

Fiberglass Insulation Roll

The fiberglass insulation I recommended above has a width of 48″. So, when I cut it at 80″
length, the fiberglass insulation is now measured at 80×48″ where 80″ is used to wrap the duct
and 48″ becomes the length of the duct.

3. Apply Adhesive on Both the Duct and the Insulation

Once you cut the insulation, put adhesive on both the duct and the insulation. If your insulations
have a layer of aluminium foil, you must put adhesive on the fiberglass instead of the aluminium
foil. The aluminium foil is the new external appearance of your ducts.

If your ducts are hung up high, using the spray adhesive I recommended above is very handy as
glue (liquid form) will drip. In projects, we always use insulation glue (liquid form) instead of
spray because we insulate our ducts on the floor and glue is more cost-effective than spray.

4. Gently Wrap the Insulation around the Duct

Allow some time for the adhesive to settle according to the adhesive instruction manual. Once
done, get a helper to help you wrap the insulation around the duct. The insulation at the corner of
the duct may be compressed more and it is fine.

If you’ve measured the duct circumference and cut correctly, the insulation should fit perfectly
on the duct, with little to no extra length. Gently press the insulation against the duct to let it
stick onto the duct more.
 Front View

For duct joints, it is fine to wrap them with fiberglass insulations. If you’re using PE insulations
(cross-linked polyethylene foam), you’ll need to cut and wrap the duct joints separately.

5. Tape the Insulation Joint

Once you’ve done wrapping the insulation around the duct, you can use the aluminium tape I
recommended above to seal the gap between the insulation joint. The tape should be wide
enough for the joint. Usually, we use about 2″ wide aluminium tape. I don’t recommend you use
other types of tapes for duct insulations.

6. Final Inspection
If you apply the adhesive and wrap the insulation properly, the insulation should not appear to be
sagging from the bottom of your ducts. The final product should be something this:
Once you’re done with the first section, proceed to the next section accordingly. There will be
joints in between each section and you’ll need to tape them to seal the fiberglass.
Installation of Polyethylene Duct Insulation
If you are using or thinking of using polyethylene duct insulations, see this installation video
from Trocellen. It is very similar to fiberglass insulation but with extra length for overlapping.

If you need me to help with your HVAC system, consider my Email Consultation service.

This article was originally published on aircondlounge.com. Actions will be taken for
unauthorised republication of this article.
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