Controlling pipe and equipment operating temperatures with trace heating systems

It is a common application in the process industry to use trace heating on piping and equipment to maintain the temperature levels of process fluids. An equally important constraint is that trace heaters must operate within the limits imposed by the product sensitivities, the piping and equipment temperature limits, the temperature class of the installed location, and within its own acceptable temperature limits. With today's sophistication in trace heating products and innovative electronic control/limiter and monitoring systems, engineers now have a full battery of solutions to address their temperature control applications. This paper is intended to provide guidance in selecting the optimal trace heating and control and monitoring system combination for specific temperature control applications. Empirical performance data will be presented to illustrate the end results of selecting some of the optimal solutions discussed.