According to insulation.org,
MECHANICAL INSULATION is defined to encompass all thermal, acoustical, and personnel safety requirements in:
a. Mechanical piping and equipment, hot and cold
applications
b. Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) applications
c. Refrigeration and other low-temperature piping and equipment applications
Mechanical insulation in the BUILDING SECTOR is defined to include education, health care, institutional, retail and wholesale, office, food processing, light manufacturing, and similar applications. This is often referred to as the commercial sector.
Mechanical insulation in the INDUSTRIAL SECTOR is defined to include power, petrochemical, chemical, pulp and paper, refining, gas processing, brewery, heavy manufacturing, and similar applications.
So what does this mean? Basically, mechanical insulation is used to insulate equipment or processes, as opposed to building envelope insulation, which is found in walls and roofs. You will also find mechanical insulation on ductwork and piping, in addition to equipment used in industrial processes.
Insulation is manufactured from a variety of materials, including cellular, fibrous, flake, granular, and reflective. Mechanical insulation is used on both high- and low-temperature applications and serves a number of functions, including protecting workers from burns on hot surfaces, lessening noise on air-handling systems (for occupant productivity and comfort in offices, for example), and maintaining the temperature of a substance in pipes or equipment to prevent more energy being used to re-heat or re-cool it when it reaches its destination.
At Preferred Mechanical Insulation in Minnesota, we would be happy to talk with you about your insulation needs. Talk to us today about a quote.
