How to Reduce Energy Consumption in Steam Systems

Reducing energy consumption is a priority for many organisations, whether the goal is to lower operating costs, reduce carbon emissions or simply get more from existing assets. Improvements in steam system efficiency are also closely linked to savings in water and water-treatment chemicals.

For sites that rely on steam, there can be significant opportunities to improve efficiency without completely redesigning the system. Over time, changes in infrastructure, shift patterns and process temperatures, together with the condition and maintenance regime of capital equipment, can all affect steam system performance.

The good news is that many opportunities can be addressed through relatively straightforward improvements.

If you're looking to reduce energy consumption in your steam system, here are some practical places to start.

1. Understand where your energy is going

Before making changes, it’s important to understand how your steam system is currently performing.

A steam system audit can help uncover issues that may otherwise go unnoticed during everyday operation, including:

• Steam leaks
  
  
• Failed or incorrectly sized or selected steam traps
  
  
• Missing or damaged insulation, or non-steam grade insulation
  
  
• Inefficient pressure control
  
  
• Boiler control and sequencing issues
  
  
• Unnecessary steam consumption
  
  
• Opportunities to recover flash steam and waste heat
  
  
• Poor distribution system design, leading to energy loss
   
• Taking a whole-system view makes it easier to identify where energy is being wasted and prioritise improvements.

2. Find and fix steam trap problems

Steam traps might be relatively small components, but they play a vital role in an efficient steam system.

Their job is to remove condensate — and, in some cases, air and other non-condensable gases — while preventing valuable live steam from escaping. When a steam trap fails, it can lead to wasted energy, water and chemicals, reduced system performance and potentially reliability issues.

Regular steam trap surveys can identify failing traps and give maintenance teams a clear picture of where attention is needed. By combining survey findings with an understanding of the cost of steam, teams can also estimate the expected return on investment from repairs or replacements.

For many sites, repairing or replacing failed steam traps can be one of the quickest ways to tackle unnecessary energy loss.

3. Stop valuable heat escaping

Some energy losses are easier to spot than others.

Poor quality insulation, or uninsulated or poorly insulated pipes, valves, flanges and fittings can continuously release heat into the surrounding environment. Damaged insulation, or insulation removed during maintenance and not replaced, can also contribute to unnecessary heat loss.

Regularly inspecting insulation and reinstating it where necessary is a relatively simple way to improve efficiency.

Removable insulation jackets can also help retain heat around components such as valves while still allowing easy access for inspection and maintenance.

4. Recover and reuse condensate

Once steam has transferred its useful heat, the resulting condensate still contains valuable thermal energy.

Rather than allowing hot condensate to go to waste, returning it to the boiler feed system can reduce the amount of energy needed to heat incoming water.

It can also help reduce make-up water requirements and associated water treatment.

It’s therefore worth reviewing how much condensate your site currently recovers and identifying areas where recovery could be increased.

There may also be opportunities to capture flash steam and put that energy to use elsewhere in your system.

5. Review your steam pressure

At the point of use, more pressure doesn’t necessarily mean better performance.

At the point of use, operating at a higher steam pressure than your processes require can contribute to unnecessary energy use and place additional demands on equipment. Lower-pressure steam can provide more usable energy, so the aim is to match the pressure to the needs of the process.

Reviewing your actual steam requirements and making sure pressure-reducing valves and control systems are correctly configured can help ensure steam is delivered at the right pressure, in the right place and at the right time. This guidance refers to pressure at the point of use, not at the point of generation. At the boiler, steam should be generated at the boiler’s design pressure. Higher-pressure steam has a higher temperature and occupies a smaller volume, allowing smaller, more responsive boilers and smaller distribution pipes. Pressure can then be reduced to suit the process at the point of use.

6. Look at the boilerhouse

Reducing steam system energy consumption isn't only about what happens out across your site. The boilerhouse is another important place to look for opportunities.

Areas to consider include:

• Boiler sequencing and loading
  
  
• Combustion performance
  
  
• Fuel, steam and feedwater consumption
  
  
• Blowdown control
  
  
• Waste heat recovery
  
  
• Operating pressures
  
  
• Understanding how individual boilers are performing can help identify where improvements could be made and where energy may be going to waste.

7. Use monitoring to maintain the savings

Finding an efficiency problem once is useful. Knowing when performance starts to change again is even better.

Monitoring and control technologies can provide greater visibility of steam flow, pressure, temperature, condensate return and equipment condition.

This can help engineering and maintenance teams spot changing performance sooner and take action before inefficiencies become bigger problems.

It also makes energy efficiency an ongoing process rather than a one-off exercise.

Start with the quick wins

Improving steam system efficiency doesn't always require significant investment.

Some of the first areas to investigate include:

Quick wins

• Repair steam leaks
  
  
• Identify and replace failed steam traps
  
  
• Reinstate missing or damaged insulation
  
  
• Review steam pressure
  
  
• Check controls and operating practices

Longer-term opportunities

• Increase condensate recovery
  
  
• Introduce flash steam or heat recovery
  
  
• Improve boilerhouse controls and sequencing
  
  
• Optimise blowdown
  
  
• Introduce continuous monitoring
  
  
• Review the complete steam and condensate loop

Taking a phased approach allows you to address the most obvious energy losses first while building a longer-term improvement plan.

Small improvements can make a big difference

Reducing energy consumption in a steam system doesn't necessarily mean replacing everything.

Often, the biggest opportunity comes from understanding where energy is being lost in the system you already have.

From steam trap management and insulation to condensate recovery, pressure control and boilerhouse optimisation, individual improvements can add up to lower energy consumption, reduced operating costs and a more efficient, reliable steam system.

How Spirax Sarco can help

At Spirax Sarco, we help organisations understand and improve the performance of their steam and thermal energy systems.

From steam system assessments and steam trap surveys to condensate recovery, heat-loss reduction, controls and monitoring, our specialists can help identify where energy is being used, where it may be going to waste and where improvements could have the greatest impact.

Looking to reduce energy consumption across your steam system? Speak to Spirax Sarco to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and make more of the energy you already use.Reducing energy consumption is a priority for many organisations, whether the goal is to lower operating costs, reduce carbon emissions or simply get more from existing assets. Improvements in steam system efficiency are also closely linked to savings in water and water-treatment chemicals.

For sites that rely on steam, there can be significant opportunities to improve efficiency without completely redesigning the system. Over time, changes in infrastructure, shift patterns and process temperatures, together with the condition and maintenance regime of capital equipment, can all affect steam system performance.

The good news is that many opportunities can be addressed through relatively straightforward improvements.

If you're looking to reduce energy consumption in your steam system, here are some practical places to start.