A new online tool that can help building engineers dramatically lower building carbon emissions is now available. The 3E Estimator®, which leverages the capabilities of North American Insulation Manufacturers Association’s (NAIMA’s) popular 3E Plus® pipe insulation thickness calculator for commercial and industrial facilities, can provide users with a ballpark estimate of the energy cost savings, payback periods, and CO2 emission savings that can be achieved by insulating piping in their facility.

Energy Savings and Sustainability

Reducing building energy use and lowering operating costs are vital goals for building engineers. Additionally, cutting carbon emissions is a priority for building owners, managers, and federal officials. That is why the free 3E Estimator tool is a great option for facility engineers. It is also easy to use for less technical stakeholders in their efforts to assess whether a pipe insulation project is right for their facility.

Leveraging the calculation abilities of 3E Plus and the operating assumptions from ICF’s Insulation Opportunity Study (available at www.insulation.org/carbon), which details data on the potential energy savings that can be achieved from insulating all types of buildings, the 3E Estimator displays potential energy cost and emission savings in a simplified way to make evaluating pipe insulation projects much easier.

8 More Insulation Calculators

By Julie McLaughlin, National Insulation Association

Designing an insulation system can be difficult, due to the lack of educational materials and available tools. NIA and NAIMA are both combating this, and they are great resources when questions arise. NIA’s Design Guide is a step-by-step guide to educate anyone on how to build an insulation system. It also offers eight online insulation industry calculators.

• Condensation Control Calculator for Horizontal Pipe
• Energy Calculator for Equipment (Vertical Flat Surfaces)
• Energy Calculator for Horizontal Piping
• Mechanical Insulation Financial Calculator
• Estimated Time to Freezing for Water in an Insulated Pipe Calculator
• Temperature Drop Calculator for Air Ducts
  • Temperature Drop Calculator for Hydronic Piping
  • Personnel Protection Calculator for Horizontal Piping

Visit www.insulation.org/designguide to use these tools.

Simple and Free to Use

By entering a few simple inputs, such as the type of facility, square footage of the building, its location, and fuel type used, the 3E Estimator gives users projected cost savings, expected payback period, and emission reductions capacity to help internal decision makers move forward with insulation projects that can have a significant impact. The tool is accessible on desktop and mobile devices, and it can be easily shared via a customized link. It also allows users to create a report to share with other stakeholders. To access NAIMA’s 3E Estimator, visit www.3eplus.org/estimator.

3E Plus Calculator

The 3E Estimator was created from NAIMA’s popular 3E Plus calculator tool, which is used by more than 13,000 companies. 3E Plus has always been free, and it does not require registration.

Calculating appropriate insulation thickness is critical to the success or failure of an insulation system, but it has been tricky to do. 3E Plus software ensures accuracy, with customizable inputs for every aspect of your job. The insulation selections are based on k-values from ASTM material standards. The software also provides data from every major insulation manufacturer, so you can easily use the k-values of the specific material you are considering. Personnel protection and condensation control can also be calculated.

3E Plus benefits and capabilities include:

• Energy – You can calculate energy reduction and cost savings from insulating mechanical systems.
• Economics – You can calculate the most cost-effective thickness for any application.
• Environment – You can quantify the operational emission reductions from insulating mechanical systems to reach your decarbonization goals.
• Reliable, repeatable results – Built on ASTM Standard C680, just like previous versions of 3E Plus, the tool delivers clear, unbiased results.
• Material standards – The tool includes ASTM material standard k–values for all insulation types.