About Us
Steam Main is proud to be an independent steam and condensate design consultancy. By being both, experts in the field and being independent we can offer advice which means you are not tied to any manufacturer or vendor. This brings real value to our customers and helps drive down costs.
Some of the services we offer are summarised below:
New system design
Looking to install a new steam and condensate system or steam boiler house? We can provide a complete design including, P&IDs, system sizing, specifications, schedules, installation drawings, and much more.
Existing system modification design
Many systems evolve over time, we have extensive experience of how to expand existing steam and condensate systems within the constraints of an existing site, and we can provide the design support required to clients. For example, plant room design including heat exchanger sizing and selection, including LTHW and DHW services.
Improving your system efficiency
We can review how you currently utilise your steam, condensate, and flash steam and recommend improvements. We can complete this for focus areas, or we can provide a complete site audit. For example, increasing condensate recovery can provide good efficiency gains and quick financial paybacks. Condensate is a very valuable part of the steam and condensate cycle which can be re-used in the steam and condensate cycle again.
Decarbonisation advice and plans
We can develop plans for decarbonisation. This might involve whole or partial desteaming and converting to LTHW or Heat Pump technology to support achieving these decarbonisation plans. Sometimes a site has no unique need for steam (perhaps a steam using process has been removed), and where the heating and hot water can be better provided by using LTHW. In this scenario we can help you with removing the steam and recommending the best alternative. Steam Main can support this from concept to details design stage.
Complex Cascade Heat Pump systems and EN378
We have experience in the design of complex Cascade Heat Pump System to facilitate a decentralised or desteaming strategy. An example of this might be a cascade design using Air and Water Source Heat Pumps. We have practical real-world experience of ensuring that these systems comply with EN378.
Design oversight for large decarbonisation projects
We can provide design oversight of complex decarbonisation project, with this not just being limited to the steam and condensate systems. Examples of these types of projects are Public Sector Decarbonisation Schemes.
Temporary boiler installation design
There are many reasons why temporary steam boilers might be used, typically these could be for boiler annual inspection, replacement of permanent boilers, or while a site is being de-steamed. The installation and integration design of temporary steam boilers is often overlooked until it’s too late. Steam Main has the experience to design the installation and integration to work seamlessly with the existing steam and condensate system.
Integrating steam expanders and steam turbines
Steam Main has a unique level of experience of integrating steam expanders to existing or new process steam systems to generate electricity. Steam Main can assist from up front feasibility work to check a potential project’s viability to the detailed design of the installation.
Waste heat recovery system optimisation
Waste heat is a valuable resource, which Steam Main can bring the expertise to design a system to recover and reuse it. This might be from Combined Heat and Power systems to small scale medical waste incineration projects.
To find out more about how we can help you, please get in touch by going to the contact us page.
History of Steam Main
Steam Main was started as a steam and condensate engineering website. At the beginning it was simply a way of writing and posting about a subject that the founder had a passion for. There appeared to be no other website which covered the whole subject of steam and condensate engineering. Whilst a very small number of manufacturers would cover parts none appeared to have the coverage or to be the resource on the subject that Steam Main was aiming for. So steammain.com was launched to cover the subject of modern steam engineering.
Unfortunately to some of the public there seems to be a myth that steam is old fashioned and linked with the industrial revolution, or that steam was only ever used in steam trains. The hope is that this website may in some way help to dispel this myth by illustrating how integral it is to modern life and how it will be used into the future. The aim is to provide information on the wide use of steam and how vital it is to the modern-day goods and services we rely on. The Why Steam page and numerous articles are example of this.
As the Steam Main website became more established and better known, we started to get enquiries from people asking for advice on their steam and condensate systems. The next logical step of course was to evolve the company to where it is now and offer consultancy services for steam and condensate systems, and lots of related areas as well.