The right heat trace solution could mean the difference between having your venture shut down and being able to stay up & running. It feels easier to just go with the big name solutions or just choosing the cheaper solution. But before you do, make sure to do your research first.

For theend user of heat trace products whether it be EPC Engineering Contractors or Operators, these days the main topic of concern is cost, cost, cost. It is true that due to the recent drop in oil prices, capital expenditure has been under a great deal of downward pressure. So it is easy to simply look for the cheapest solution on “by meter” basis or by “material unit basis”. However, when you focus only on material cost, you lose sight of the “true cost”. True cost of heat tracing solution is TIC+M which stands for Total Install Cost + Maintenance (Cost). There are three major aspects to “TIC”: Material Cost, Engineering Cost and Installation Cost.

Too often, the three costs (material, engineering and installation) are calculated separately. However the fact is that these three aspects of TIC are interdependent on each other. For example by utilizing Quick Connect components, the installation time of self-regulating heaters can be reduced by up to 75% while increasing reliability. In areas of the world where labor is expensive (i.e. North America, Europe), higher cost of Quick Component is more than covered by savings in labor. Another strategy is to utilize standard cut-to-length heaters in the field. Heat trace design is always the very last item on the plant design. And most often the heat trace design cannot start until the piping an instrumentation design is complete. With cut-to-length heaters, you can start design and estimation before the piping design is completed thus shortening heat tracing engineering lead time and cost as much as 70%. You can have the cables on site as inventory ready to be installed the moment piping design/installation is complete. Also if custom built cables break on the field as they often do, you would have to re-order the cables, waiting the standard lead time of 4~6 weeks. Meanwhile, you are paying the installers/contractors to do nothing. Instead with cut-to-length cables you can restart the project right away.

This is just a small example of cost saving that can be achieved through taking into account Total Install Cost.

Marubeni Heat Tracing Solution could be your one stop shop if you are looking for highest quality & cost effective heat tracing solution in no time. So, contact us today!

About Author :

Rolando Teodoro is a regular freelance writer who had his reputation in the heat tracing industry. He had successfully written several articles on heat tracing engineering, heat tracing drawing and heat tracing design. For more information visit at : www.marubeniheattracing.com