Why industrial hot oil heating systems should be more commonly used than steam boilers?
Steam heating systems are already in place in many plants and manufacturing facilities. Rather than replace these systems with hot oil heating systems, plant managers tend to simply update or repair the infrastructure they already have.
These plant managers are missing out on a huge opportunity to increase their efficiency and save on operating costs. Hot oil heating systems are the better choice when it comes to industrial process heating and they can be easily implemented in most factories and facilities. The cost of a hot oil heating system is lower than a boiler system, and the operational costs of a hot oil heating system are MUCH lower as well.
In general, hot oil is a resource that is often overlooked as a source of energy. Engineers and operators are often under the misconception that water is plentiful and inexpensive, so many plants and facilities tend to gravitate towards that as an energy source.
What they don't realize is that they will need to continuously treat that water with expensive water treatment chemical and condensate collection systems. They will also need to maintain steam traps (that tend to be high maintenance) and expensive condensation collection systems. In addition, they will have to continuously deal with blow down and make up water requirements.
Don't forget that water is highly corrosive, so if the water chemistry is slightly off the system can corrode very quickly! Additionally, water can freeze, so boiler systems require heated buildings (adding costs) and if a boiler goes down in the water and ice forms, an entire system can easily be destroyed.
All of these headaches and high maintenance costs are completely eliminated with a hot oil system. There are no steam traps, condensation systems, chemical treatment systems or blow down requirements to deal with. Most importantly, oil is not corrosive like water and it will not freeze in cold temperatures. It is simply the best way to heat equipment.
