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Technical Tips & Information
Watlow electric heaters
For many process applications, electrical heating equipment provides a convenient alternative for your process needs from using steam, hot water and oil systems.The measure of electrical energy is the Watt and the measure of thermal energy is the BTU. The conversion is :
1 Watt = 3.41 BTU
Wattage varies directly as the ratio of the voltages squared. As an example, if the voltage is increased from 120 to 460, the Wattage would increase by a factor of 1.96. The square root of 460 is 21.95 and the square root of 120 is 10.95.
Ohms law wheel is a handy reference for computing wattage in various situations. Three phase Wattage is calculated:
Total Watts = (3 phase amps) X (volts) X 1.732
Watlow offers electrical heating elements for virtually any application. Some handy reference formulas to tuck away when considering an electrical heater are as follows:
For flowing water
kW = GPM x temp rise x .16
For water in tanks
kW = Gallons x temp rise/(375 x hours heat up)
For air
kW = CFM x temp rise/(3000)
Watlow Electric Heaters can be configured for virtually any application and load requirement. Heaters are available in a wide variety of materials for most any corrosive environment.
An electric process heater control system is generally much simpler in equipment and installation when compared to steam, hot water, and hot oil systems. Cost of operations of the systems should be considered.
At 98% efficiency, an electrically based process heater system will require 287 kW of power to deliver one million BTU’s of thermal energy. As a comparison, a gas fired system at 75% efficiency will require 1.33 mcf of natural gas. Cost differences between energy sources and suppliers can be substantial and should be considered against equipment and installation costs.
The Watlow family of products includes electric heaters of all types, temperature sensors, single and multi-loop controllers, and a complete range of power controllers. In a nut shell, a complete electric process heater system matched to your requirements.
Next time you are in the market for process heating equipment of any type and style, give us a call for application assistance and complete pricing information.