First, a little background: Rockwool or glasswool was used for the first time in the early 1950’s. At that time the industrial world was booming and saving energy was rarely considered due to the relatively low cost of energy and labour. So cladding was primarily developed to protect personnel from contact burns with steam pipes.
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The energy that comes out of the pipe is dissipated slowly in the rock wool and thus in the air throughout its mass. This explains why the temperature of the aluminum hull is close to 60°C. This simple fact shows that energy is still being lost to heat the aluminum. It can only comes from the pipe, which despite the cladding continues to dissipate heat demonstrating its low capacity to conserve energy. So there are big energy losses occuring under the cladding. Additionally, the more humidity is present in the air (and therefore in the rock wool), the higher your energy losses will be.
The calculated loss of cladding’s insulation capacity is directly proportional to the rate of humidity in the air. For example: with 80% humidity in the air, (which is common in Mauritius), the coefficient of thermal conductivity loss is 80% of its capacity to provide thermal insulation.
In comparison, Métaltec TC, adheres so well against the pipe surface, that it does not allow a large volume of energy to escape. The rule of three, based on a principle of simple thermodynamics, measures the amount of energy savings achieved by measuring the coating surface temperature (and thus the pipe): With a temperature of 100°C at the surface of the bare pipe, and a measured temperature of 50 ° C at the surface of the subsequently coated MetalTec TC pipe, an energy retention of 50/100 = 50% is shown because 50% of the energy has remained at the pipe surface.
Rockwool manufacturers will show a maximum energy saving produced by Rockwool of 10-15%. Métaltec TC provides up to 60-70% in energy savings. Many tests have been undertaken (results available) and given proven results in food, textile, chemical and thermal power plants. The future of thermal insulation is now within your reach!