Electric Heat Tracing Design from a Temperature Perspective

Many plant processes involve the transfer and storage of products in piping. Often it is found that the products being transferred and stored can freeze, become extremely viscous, or condense undesirably if allowed to cool to plant ambient temperatures. While it is sometimes possible to prevent excessive cool-down by a combination of insulation and flow maintenance during processing hours, it is usually not practical to do so during non-processing periods. Hence, the addition of heat to the insulated piping and equipment is a common plant requirement. Today, one of the more widely used techniques for adding the desired heat is electric heat tracers.