Difference Between Steam Heat Tracing & Electrical Heat Tracing

What is Heat Tracing?

Heat Tracing is a process of heating pipe to keep the product in the pipe, vessel & equipment at a required set/constant temperature; fluid easily move through them and prevent the fluid from solidify.

How many category of heat tracing?

Basically heat- tracing systems divided into two categories:

1. Steam Heat Tracing

2. Electrical Heat Tracing

What is Steam Heat Tracing & where use it?

Steam tracing is a method of heat tracing that is implemented by circulating steam via metallic tube having dia ⅜” to ½” (mostly) around pipe surfaces to heat them to the desired temperature.

The metallic tube would be insulated and direct contact with the pipes surface that are to be heated.

Steam tracing can be used to:

Control temperatures

Prevent liquids from freezing due to outside temperature/winter season

Maintain a desired viscosity

What is Electrical Heat Tracing & where use it?

Electrical heat tracing is a method of heat tracing that is wrap heating cable around pipe surface to provide heat to the desired temperature.

Heating cable working based on Ohm’s Law. When electric current is flowing through the resistive elements, heat is created in proportion to the square of the electric current and the resistance of the elements to the current flow.

Steam tracing can be used to:

Freeze protection

Process temperature maintenance,

Process heat-up applications

What is advantage & disadvantage of Steam Heat Tracing?

Advantage:

If, where steam is already present because a boiler system is in place, steam heating is much less costly. 

Less probability of system failure

High heat transfer rate

Explosion environment safe

Recycle condensation through water recapture (closed loop system)

Disadvantage:

If, where boiler system is not present, steam heat tracing cost is very high.

Can effectively only run a max of 50 meter before steam begins to condense out (depending on tube size).

Can't install tracing on valves, flange, fillter, pumps etc heat sinks to get enough heat

Hard to do maintenance on valves and pumps, costs 70% more than piping to maintain

Requires dedicated crew time for maintaining steam trace regularly

Steam at high pressure is dangerous 

Boiler maintenance is costly

Steam temperatures don’t vary much (if you have 120°C steam, that’s what every application gets)

Costly steam trap audits and maintenance

What is advantage & disadvantage of Electrical Heat Tracing?

Advantage:

Much longer runs than steam trace in one run

A linear output of heat along its entire length

More variety in temperature ranges

Cut to length capability for most heat trace (except to company fitted) allows the user to keep extra on hand for quick jobs

Smaller runs of heat traced pipe can be used for drains that would be impossible to do with steam; put the heat right where you want it

Simple electrical maintenance, easy for any electrician to work with

Able to be monitor temprature locally & remotely and can set as required

Disadvantage:

Improperly installed can cause issues in a high Explosion environment

Intial cost is high

Can only produce enough heat to maintain a temperature, and it’s not used for product heat-up

Specific circuit breakers are required