Electric heat tape in the fire pipeline installation

　　The reliable operation of fire protection piping systems during the cold season is directly related to the safety and security of buildings. The traditional fire pipeline is very easy to freeze under the low temperature environment, leading to the failure of water supply in emergency. The introduction of electric heat tracing system provides an effective solution to this safety hazard, ensuring that fire pipelines can still maintain normal function under extreme climatic conditions through a scientific and reasonable installation process.

　　This professional temperature maintenance system not only needs precise engineering design, but also needs standardised installation operation to ensure its long-term stable operation.

　　The installation of a fire protection pipework electric trace heating system begins with rigorous pre-preparation. The installation team firstly needs to carry out detailed mapping of the pipeline layout and record key information such as changes in pipeline diameter, valve positions, distribution of support frames and so on. According to the local historical minimum temperature, pipeline material, insulation layer thickness and other parameters, calculate and determine the power and length of the required electric trace heat tape. Particular attention should be paid to the fire pipeline as a lifeline project, its heat tracing system must leave enough safety margin to ensure that in the worst weather conditions can still meet the frost requirements. Design stage also need to plan the power access point, temperature controller installation position and circuit protection programme, for subsequent construction to lay the foundation.

　　The laying way of electric accompanying tropical belt in the fire pipeline directly affects the heating effect and service life of the system. Common installation methods include straight line single laying, spiral winding laying and parallel double laying, the specific selection needs to be determined according to the size of the pipe diameter and ambient temperature. When installing, it is necessary to use special aluminium foil tape to fix, first paste the aluminium foil tape along the axial direction of the pipeline, and then lay the electric accompanied by the tropical strip, and finally use the aluminium foil tape to cover completely. This kind of fixing method can ensure good heat conduction, and also can prevent the accompanying heat tape from shifting or loosening.

　　The installation at the pipeline attachment needs special attention. Valves, flanges, pumps and other parts of the complex structure, is easy to lose the heat of the key points, usually need to increase the length of additional heating tape to achieve adequate heating. The professional practice is to use several times the straight pipe section in these parts of the winding of the accompanying heat tape. Care should be taken during installation to avoid excessive bending of the heating tape, with the minimum bending radius generally not less than six times its diameter. After the completion of all accessory parts, the junction box should be sealed with high-temperature silicone to ensure electrical safety in a humid environment. These details are directly related to the reliability of the system in extreme conditions.

　　The installation of temperature control system is the core link to ensure the efficient operation of electric heat tracing system. Fire piping usually adopts the combination of on-site temperature control and centralised monitoring. Each independent circuit should be installed with mechanical thermostat or electronic temperature controller, and the setting value is generally kept between 5-10℃. Important places are recommended to add temperature sensors to achieve multi-point monitoring of pipelines. The installation location of the control box needs to choose a dry, ventilated and easy-to-operate place, and the box is equipped with circuit protectors, contactors and status indicators. Modern intelligent systems can also be connected to the building monitoring centre to achieve remote alarms and energy management, significantly improving the maintainability of the system.

　　The construction quality of the electrical connection link is crucial. Power supply wiring must be operated by professional electricians to ensure compliance with electrical installation specifications. The connection between the heating tape and the power supply line must use a special waterproof junction box, filled with waterproof adhesive sealing. End processing must be correctly installed header, using cold shrinkable sleeve or heat shrinkable tube for insulation sealing. After the completion of all electrical connections, the need to use megohmmeter test insulation resistance, to ensure that the insulation value of each circuit is not less than 20MΩ. The power supply system should be set up independently of the leakage protection device, grounding resistance must be less than 4Ω, these safety measures are the basic protection to prevent electrical accidents.

　　System commissioning is an important part of the installation work. The first time before the power needs to be fully checked with tropical laying is standardised, whether the electrical connection is correct, whether the insulation layer is complete. Use infrared thermometer to detect the temperature distribution on the surface of the pipeline after the power is turned on, and confirm that there is no overheating or insufficiently heated area. The control system needs to be tested in different ambient temperatures to start and stop the function, to verify the accuracy of the temperature sensor. Complete commissioning records should include the current value of each circuit, insulation resistance, temperature response time and other key parameters, these data are both the basis for acceptance, but also for future maintenance to provide a benchmark reference.

　　The construction quality of insulation layer directly affects the energy consumption efficiency of the system. After the electric accompanying heat system installation and acceptance, need to carry on the heat preservation construction immediately. The heat preservation material should choose the flame retardant type product, the thickness is determined according to the climate area, generally not less than 30mm. when constructing, pay special attention to the continuity of the heat preservation layer and the sealing, all the seams need to use the aluminium foil tape to seal, avoid forming the heat bridge. Outdoor part also need to increase the waterproof protection layer, to prevent rainwater immersion to reduce the insulation effect. High-quality thermal insulation construction can make the system energy consumption reduced by more than 30%, significantly improve the operating economy.

　　The standardised installation process provides a guarantee for the long-term reliable operation of the electric heat tracing system. Scientific installation programme with high quality construction, can provide durable and stable anti-freezing protection for fire protection system. With the progress of technology, the promotion and application of new type of self-regulating electric accompanying heat tape will further simplify the installation process, enhance the reliability of the system, and provide better protection for the fire safety of the building.