These are tables that allow steam designers and users to look up data on the properties of steam. This allows calculations to be made to ensure the best use of steam, and to help in identifying and diagnosing problems.

Engineer looking at steam tables

The tables themselves are a collection of data on temperature, pressure, volume, and the energy contained in water and steam. This data is traditionally expressed in the form of a table with columns for reading the data. For ease of use this website uses a calculator whereby the user inputs their known data and the software provides the output data without the need for scanning long lists of columns.

The data in steam tables has been measured in laboratories with precision instruments. This has been verified a great many times and therefore the data is very reliable.

Steam tables provide;

  • Temperature of saturated steam if the pressure is known
  • Pressure of saturated steam if the temperature is known
  • The volume of water and steam at various temperatures and pressures.
  • The amount of energy used by water when it changes from liquid to steam (vaporization)
  • The amount of energy given up when steam changes from a vapour to a liquid (condenses)
  • Changes in energy in the steam as it goes from one pressure to another, or from one temperature to another.

Steam tables consist of tables for five regions. This from sub-saturated water through to superheated steam.

The most commonly used steam table is the saturated steam one.