Electric Process Heaters vs Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers

Advantages of Electric Process Heaters over Shell and Tube Heat ExchangersIn the process industry electric process heaters are designed, simulated and specified similar to shell & tube heat exchangers as they are used in similar applications except that the tube side is replaced by an electric heater bundle made from tubular rod elements and the heat energy is driven by electricity instead of recovered heat. In many process applications, the replacement of the tube side with electric rod element bundles brings a lot of advantages.

Head-to-Head advantages of the two heating methods are as follows.

Electric Process Heaters Shell and Tube heat exchangers

Small foot print and low weight.

These normally require bigger space due to shell size and are lot more heavier

Electric heaters offer precise temperature control

Temperature control is good but not as good as Electric

Due to thyristor control, Electric heaters have 100% turn down capacity

Many restrictions on turndown capacity due to process linked to heat recovery elsewhere

In electric heaters, the process side energy is driven by electric power hence these are independent, without any need for process hook up

Shell and Tube heaters rely on recovering heat from some other source hence they are restricted by heat recovery; process hook up is required

Virtually 100% efficient since almost all electricity is converted to heat.

Efficiency is far less

Same kW electric heater can delivery high element temperature heat to achieve process temperature rise

Dependent on source, if heat source is not able to deliver high temperature recovery then they are not suitable in this service

Instant cold start facility because electricity is converted to heat.

Instant cold start is not possible because heat is recovered from some other application.

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