There are many energy saving opportunities for steam raising and distribution.  However, the fundamental question is whether steam should be used at all.  When process hot water is required best practice is to use MPHW (medium pressure hot water) boilers instead of steam boilers and heat exchangers.  Alternatives to boiler plant would include heat recovery from refrigeration systems, ground source heat pumps and solar panels.

For the photo below, the steam lost in kg/hour can be estimated from the size of the plume and a cost benefit justification made for fixing the leak.  In addition to insulating the bare pipes, best practice is to insulate valves and flanges.

Environmental Efficiency has many years of experience in energy audits of steam plant, please contact us for further information.