Essential water supplies protected at manufacturing plant
Cold weather conditions can cause significant disruption to the operational capabilities of manufacturing facilities, with the prevention of frozen water pipes being a concern for most businesses.
Herrco Cosmetics Ltd has ensured their manufacturing facility is fully protected from the effects of freezing temperatures with the installation of frost protection trace heating. Working in conjunction with E&P Insulations, Diamond Controls provided a supply, design, installation and commissioning service for nine zones at their dedicated production facility.
Water is used throughout all stages of the manufacturing process and unheated, external pipe work is extremely vulnerable to the elements without adequate protection. Trace Heating replaces the heat lost through thermal insulation, offering freeze protection to pipes.
Energy Efficient Pipe Heating
For this project, over 800 metres of self regulating nVent RAYCHEM 10XL Trace frost protection cable was used alongside either ambient or line sensing thermostats depending on the water feed. Designed specifically to only energise when required, the thermostatic controls trigger gentle heating of pipework from the cable when a low temperature is detected, regulating the temperature of the water to prevent freezing.
Paul Davis, Senior Estimator and Project Manager, said “Frozen pipes would cause considerable damage, water wastage, and disruption to the plant so it was essential that Herrco Cosmetics had sufficient protection to their water supply pipework after new additions to the facility were built. There are various water supply channels and treatments so this informed our choice of thermostatic control – with raw, treated and softened water requiring ambient temperature monitoring, and chilled water pipework using a line sensing thermostat to determine when pipe temperatures drop below 50C.
The trace heating was installed directly to pipework with insulation contractors, E&P Insulations, completing the thermal covering to reduce heat loss. It’s the perfect combination for maximum protection against frozen pipes and cold weather conditions.”
Want to ensure the continuity of your operations all-year-round? Learn more about frost protection trace heating.
