Insulating home water-pipe system

Would you tell me how to insulate the water pipes in my home so we can turn off the furnace from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. next winter and thus save fuel. James I. Fraser Weston, Conn.

I can't see any problem here at all. The water pipes can certainly be insulated and probably at reasonable cost. A number of commrcial products are available for doing the job.

Fred Creswick of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has told me about a number of products, including a glass-fiber tape which can be wrapped around the pipes, I believe.

The Monitor not long ago had an ad for a pipe-insulating product called Frelen, which has a patented Plasti-Zip lock which quickly seals the covering around the pipe. It is available in three pipe-diameter sizes: Half inch, three-quarter inch, and one inch. It is said to save fuel, eliminate sweating, can be painted, and is economical to install.

I'm sure there are competing products also available on the shelf.