Electric steam boiler

Electric steam boilers are used to generate steam for process purposes in many locations, e.g. laundries, food processing factories and hospitals. Although they are more expensive to run than gas-fired or oil-fired boilers they are popular because of their simplicity and ease of use. Because of the large currents required, they are normally run from a three-phase electricity supply. They convert electrical energy into thermal energy with almost 100% efficiency but the overall thermal efficiency is variable, depending on the efficiency with which the electricity is generated.

Environmental issues

An electric steam boiler emits no pollutants at the point of use but it may be responsible for off-site pollution, depending on the source of the electricity. It is a very inefficient way of using fossil fuels because a thermal power station converts only about one third of the fossil fuel energy into electricity. However, if the power source is a wind turbine or water turbine then an electric steam boiler could be seen as a very environmentally friendly machine.

See also

• Steam generator (railroad)

External links

• Fulton electric steam boilers
• Simons electric steam boilers