![]() A 1-inch pipe will lose 10 watts per foot with no thermal insulation, but will only lose about 1.5 watts per foot with 1 inch of fiberglass thermal insulation. In regard to heat transfer, the first concept one must understand is the value of thermal insulation. Break any one of the legs and the system will not “stand.” Heat Transfer If any one of the legs is compromised, the system may not provide expected performance. One leg is “heating cable quality” (heat trace cable and thermal insulation) the second leg is “engineering quality” (choosing the proper wattage, thermal insulation, ambient temperature, safety factors, etc.) and the final leg is “installation quality,” or the quality of the installation of the piping system and heat tracing system. To make use of a visual symbol, electrical heat tracing is like a stool with 3 legs (see Figure 1). In 1960, about 95% of heat tracing was steam and in 1995, because of improvements in electrical tracing, that number dropped to between 30% and 40% of new installed tracing. This article will mainly focus on electrical heat tracing, the choice of many of new installations in both industrial and commercial projects. ![]() In other cases, however, temperature maintenance must be provided by the addition of heat in the form of electrical heaters, steam tubes, or hydronic fluids. Sometimes temperature maintenance can simply be accomplished by installing only thermal insulation. Both freeze protection and process temperature maintenance can indicate the need for heat tracing. When used alongside a temperature control device, self-regulating cable can also be applied in many more scenarios that require temperatures lower than 250☏ (121☌).A significant number of industrial and commercial piping systems require temperature maintenance. Freeze protection, condensation prevention, viscosity control, and deicing are perfect applications for self-regulating heating cable. Keep in mind, heating cable can be used for a variety of applications. The energy efficiency of the cable means lower energy costs, and the low voltage and low current used by the cable reduce the cost of electrical components.
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