For a facility that uses steam in it’s manufacturing process is there a rough percentage that can be attributed to the steams portion of that plants overall energy bill?

True energy savings come from three basic sources: (1) energy-efficiency baked into the design of a building and its mechanical systems, (2) operating and maintenance procedures, and (3) the behavior of its occupants. Read another way, energy savings are not simply a function of building design; human choices also play a role.

Read more from Energy Pathfinder Blog…….

http://energypathfinder.blogspot.com/2010/01/energy-savings-what-are-they-and-where.html

Energy and energy conservation is on everyone’s mind these days.  As the world’s population grows and the standards of living increases so does our demand for energy.  This is why each of us should be aware of our individual energy use and the resulting impact on the environment or what’s called our carbon footprint.

An insightful resource is the BP Energy Lab website.  Here you can learn about ways to conserve energy in our daily lives such as in our homes or the way we travel.  Using the BP Energy Calculator you can estimate your energy use and determine your carbon footprint.  There are also many facts about energy consumption that reminds us of our substantial dependency on energy.

As mentioned in a previous blog, insulation provides energy savings for a steam system.   Often, valves are not insulated for a variety of reasons, yet they offer a substantial energy savings as well.   We would be interested in hearing from you as to what heat loss value you utilize for your valves, flanges and other steam components.

Flash Steam is a consistent occurrence in a steam system. Whenever condensate is being released from a higher pressure steam line to a lower pressure it occurs. For example, a steam line operating at 100 psig will have a saturation temperature of 338oF. When the condensate that is formed in this steam line is discharged to the atmosphere, the condensate temperature at atmospheric conditions can not be more than 212oF. This change in energy must be converted and that is accomplished by flashing some of the condensate into steam. Keep in mind that when the condensate is flashed back into steam, the steam takes up a much larger volume and this volume needs to be accounted for when sizing condensate return lines. The amount of flash steam that is going to be produced can be calculated and should be done when designing a condensate return line, however utilizing a Flash Steam Chart can also provide a quick reference tool to help calculate the amount of flash steam that will occur. When designing condensate return lines for condensate/flash steam flow the line velocity should not exceed 4500 feet per minute. Velocities above this rate can cause water hammer issues in your return line.

For additional information of Flash Steam and Condensate Return lines refer to the following Best Practices from Swagelok Energy (www.swagelokenergy.com):

Swagelok Energy Best Practices No.7 – Flash Steam
Swagelok Energy Best Practices No 14 – Condensate Return

Great web site for past and future energy cost.  Pricing is provided on natural gas,  electricity,  coal and even information on emissions.

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/cfapps/STEO_TableBuilder/index.cfm

Updated Annual Energy Outlook 2009 Reference Case Service Report, April 2009

The Annual Energy Outlook 2009 (AEO2009) reference case was updated to reflect the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that were enacted in mid-February 2009.  The reference case in the recently published AEO2009, which reflected laws and regulations in effect as of November 2008, does not include ARRA. The need to develop an updated reference case following the passage of ARRA also provided the Energy Information Administration (EIA) with an opportunity to update the macroeconomic outlook for the United States and global economies, which has been changing at an unusually rapid rate in recent months. Therefore, the difference between the recently published AEO2009 reference case and the updated reference case incorporating both ARRA and the updated economic forecast reflects more than the energy-related provisions in ARRA alone. Although future analyses will focus on the difference between the updated reference case and cases using that as a baseline and incorporating proposed changes in laws and regulations, users of EIA’s projections may want to understand the relative roles of ARRA and the change in the macroeconomic outlook in driving the difference between the updated reference case and the one presented in AEO2009.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html

It is helpful to remind ourselves the substantial benefits of insulating steam piping.  Huge amounts of energy is put into producing steam and yet as we transport it from point A to point B we often allow large energy losses to radiate freely into the ambient air.  Heat energy as we know moves from a higher temperature to a lower temperature and the rate of this transfer is proportional to the temperature differential and the surface area of the pipe (other factors do impact the losses such as wind speed, surface emittance, and thermal conductivity of the pipe material). 

For example 100 psi steam is 338 F and if the ambient temperature is 60F, that is a  278F incentive for the heat to radiate out of the piping.  Now if we use 3″ piping that is also lots of opportunity for the heat to escape.  So, for every foot of 3″ piping carrying 100 psi steam and exposed to 60F ambient temperature, 778 BTUs per hour are lost.  That is nearly 6.5 million BTUs or the equivalent of 21,000 lbs of steam per year lost for each foot of piping.

We are looking from our readers recommendations and comments on steam valve insulation covers.  For outside installations.   Sizes 1/2″ to 14″

We have a large number of questions regarding this subject.

Thanks

Kelly Paffel

Technical Manager

Steam and condensate leaks cost industrial plants millions of dollars in lost energy, while concurrently increasing emissions, creating safety hazards, and lowering the reliability of plant operations. 

Steam leaks result in the loss of both latent and sensible energy.  While plant personnel would be well advised to pay attention to all utility losses, greater attention should be paid to the costs and problems associated with those losses related to steam. 

Read the full fact sheet on the SEA’s Best Practice

http://www.plantsupport.com/download/Best-Practices-24.pdf