Why is industry dramatically increasing its use of electric trace heating?

In the last twenty years, the proportion of the trace heating market taken by electric heating has significantly increased whilst that taken by steam has diminished. Prior to 1970, steam was the default choice for trace heating needs. The technology was tried and tested, perceived to be safe and reliable and economic considerations were irrelevant. Since these times, electric trace heating has proven to be a safe and reliable technology and, as economic factors become evermore significant, the choice of steam or electric has become a major topic on many plants and projects. This paper highlights the pros and cons of both steam and electric technologies and how they should be compared to evaluate the economics. A recent case study is used to illustrate this evaluation