We manufacture the largest range of electric heating cables in the world: self-regulating, constant wattage, longline and mineral insulated. Our in-house engineering team handles the full design process, from initial FEED assessment through to commissioning, backed by our TraceIT guaranteed heat tracing system design.

Whether you're specifying freeze protection for above-ground pipework, process temperature maintenance on a critical production line, or a long-distance tracing solution on a 50-kilometre export pipeline, this page covers our complete industrial offering.

Use the navigation below to reach the application detail you need, or contact our engineering team directly for project-specific support.

Heat Tracing for Hazardous Areas: ATEX Heat Tracing and EXd Certified Systems

A significant proportion of industrial heat tracing installations are in classified hazardous areas: oil and gas production facilities, fuel storage and handling areas, solvent processing plants and petrochemical sites where flammable gas or vapour may be present under normal or fault conditions.

Correct ATEX heat tracing specification begins at area classification. Zone 0, Zone 1 and Zone 2 locations each require products certified to the appropriate protection concept, temperature class and gas group. Selecting cable or termination equipment outside the certified parameters for the zone is a safety and compliance failure.

When specifying heat tracing for hazardous areas, all system components must comply with the appropriate classification standard. In the UK, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) govern classified area installations; in Europe, the ATEX Directive applies. ATEX heat tracing equipment, including cables, junction boxes and thermostats, must all be selected to the correct zone, temperature class and gas group. Heat Trace manufactures and supplies a complete certified system solution for Zone 1 and Zone 2 applications.

R-Series EXd Junction Boxes and Enclosures

Our R-Series enclosures carry Ex (db) protection to IEC 60529:2013 and EN 60529:1992, rated IP66. They are approved for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous locations across gas groups IIA, IIB and IIC. The operating temperature range is -60°C to +600°C ambient.
Available in three sizes: R100 (100mm), R130 (130mm) and R160 (160mm). Options include standard junction boxes for power supply and heat tracing cables, power junction boxes, end boxes with indicator light, and junction boxes with integral thermostats (mechanical and electronic). All are manufactured in high-grade cast aluminium with RAL 7035 paint finish.
International certification is managed through the IECEx scheme, which provides mutual recognition of equipment certifications across participating countries. Equipment certified under IECEx is accepted in all IECEx member countries without re-certification.

Self-Regulating Cables for Hazardous Area Use

Self-regulating cables are inherently temperature-safe in normal operation: their resistance increases as temperature rises, which prevents thermal runaway. For classified area applications, the FailSafe Super (FSS) and FailSafe Ultimo (FSU) ranges carry ATEX certification and are approved for use in hazardous areas to worldwide standards. FSS is certified 19ATEX3377 (T3 for 15-60W/m outputs, T2 for 75W/m). FSU is certified 19ATEX3385 (T3 for 15-60W/m outputs, T2 for 75W/m) and additionally holds DNV type approval TAE00002KC, making it the standard specification for offshore and marine-classified installations.
For ATEX specification support, our engineering team provides system documentation, area classification reference drawings and installation guidance. Hazardous area classification follows IEC 60079-10-1 (gas) to support your project's electrical area classification schedule.

Industrial Sectors We Cover

Heat tracing is a specification requirement across a wide range of industrial sectors. Our systems are in active service across the following:

Agriculture: Frost protection for irrigation pipework, water supply lines and specialist growing facilities. Robust, self-regulating systems with low maintenance requirements, suitable for unattended operation across the winter season.

Aviation & Defence: Hangar door heating to maintain aircraft hangar access in sub-zero conditions. Systems are designed to civil and military aviation facility standards, with installation in steel track sections and exposed door seals.

Food Processing: Temperature maintenance on product pipework, storage vessels and filling lines. Cable and component materials are selected to meet food-contact and hygiene requirements where needed.

Oil & Gas Production and Storage: Freeze protection and process temperature maintenance on wellheads, flowlines, export pipelines and storage tank systems. Our products are used in both offshore and onshore facilities, including installations in Arctic conditions. For hazardous area locations, all components are selected to the appropriate ATEX zone classification.

Petrochemical & Refineries: Process temperature maintenance on reaction vessels, distillation columns, heat exchangers and associated pipework where fluid viscosity or solidification is a process risk. Constant wattage and self-regulating systems are both used in refinery environments depending on the temperature class required.

Pharmaceutical Production: Close-tolerance temperature maintenance on product pipelines and storage vessels, with full documentation to support regulated manufacturing environments. Our engineering designs include the calculation records and material traceability required for pharmaceutical QA systems.

Power Generation: Freeze protection on cooling water systems, fire suppression pipework and fuel oil systems at thermal, nuclear and renewable energy facilities. Our systems are used at power stations across the UK and continental Europe.

Water and Waste Treatment: Freeze protection on exposed pipework, valve stations and instrument lines at treatment works, pumping stations and remote monitoring sites. Simple self-regulating systems with self-limiting temperature response, suitable for installation by on-site maintenance teams.

Application Areas

The 11 application areas below each have a dedicated technical page covering design considerations, cable selection guidance and relevant project context. If you're at specification stage, start with the application that most closely matches your requirement.

Freeze Protection - Industrial Applications

Above Ground Pipelines - Industrial Applications

(up to 5km)

(up to 50km)

Internal Pipe Tracing - Industrial Applications

Freeze Protection: Prevent pipework, valves and instrument connections from freezing in sub-zero ambient conditions. Self-regulating cables are the standard selection for freeze protection duties, automatically adjusting output to match heat loss. Applicable across all industrial sectors.

Above-Ground Pipelines (up to 5km): Single-circuit and multi-circuit tracing for above-ground process and utility pipelines. Cable selection follows heat loss calculations based on pipe size, insulation specification and the required maintenance temperature.

Long-Distance Pipelines (up to 50km): Longline heating cable systems for export and transfer pipelines where conventional cables are unsuitable due to circuit length. Our LLR and HTP/HTS ranges support single-feed circuit runs to 50 kilometres.

Internal Pipe Tracing: Direct-immersion heating for applications where external tracing is not practical or where close temperature control is required. Used in pharmaceutical, food-grade and high-viscosity fluid applications.

Process Temperature Maintenance - Industrial Applications

(up to 5km)

Process Temperature Maintenance: Maintain process fluids at a defined operating temperature throughout the pipe network. Constant wattage and self-regulating cables are selected based on the required temperature class, pipe size and system response time.

Long Buried Pipelines (up to 5km): Heating systems for buried service pipework where frost depth or soil thermal properties require active temperature maintenance. Installation method and cable selection are based on BS EN and IEC design standards.

Tanks and Vessels: Tank sidewall and base heating for storage tanks, process vessels and IBCs. Includes self-regulating and constant wattage solutions, with full coverage calculations provided by our engineering team.

Instrument Pipes: Small-bore instrument impulse lines require careful thermal design to avoid both freezing and overheating. Our team provides instrument tracing calculations to NORSOK and EPC project standards.

Agriculture: Frost protection for irrigation systems, water supply lines and specialist growing environments. Simple, self-regulating systems suited to varied installation conditions and unattended operation.

Tank Base Heating: Underfloor heating beneath storage tank bases to prevent ground freeze, slab damage and product congealing. Mineral insulated or constant wattage cables depending on tank base construction and temperature requirements.

Hangar Door Heating: Prevent ice build-up on hangar door tracks, seals and exposed metalwork in cold climates. Systems designed to civil and military aviation facility standards.

Cable Types for Industrial Heat Tracing

Heat Trace manufactures the largest range of electric heating cables in the world. Cable selection for an industrial application depends on the maintenance temperature required, the pipe or vessel dimensions, the ambient conditions, the circuit length and whether the installation is in a classified hazardous area.

Self-Regulating Cables

Self-regulating cables automatically adjust their heat output in response to ambient temperature. As the pipe temperature drops, output increases; as it rises, output decreases. This makes them the standard choice for freeze protection and low-to-medium temperature maintenance across most industrial pipe sizes and configurations.

Key ranges for industrial use include the FailSafe Super (FSS) and FailSafe Ultimo (FSU) for process-critical and hazardous area applications; the Freezstop Extra (FSE) and Freezstop Extra Wide (FSEw) for general freeze protection on larger pipe diameters; and the G-Trace (GT) for higher-temperature process maintenance duties. View the full self-regulating cable range.

Constant Wattage Heating Cables

Constant wattage cables deliver a fixed heat output per metre regardless of ambient temperature. They are the right choice where precise, consistent heat input is required: process maintenance at elevated temperatures, longer circuits where uniform output is critical, or applications outside the thermal range of self-regulating cable.

Our MicroTracer (EMTS/EMTF), MiniTracer (MTF) and PowerHeat (PHT/AHT) ranges cover the full span of industrial constant wattage requirements. View the full constant wattage cable range.

Longline Heating Cables

For pipeline runs beyond the practical circuit length of conventional cables, our longline range supports single-circuit runs up to 50 kilometres. The LLR series and HTP/HTS series are used on export pipelines, inter-plant transfer lines and remote wellhead connections. Skin effect systems are available for the longest and highest-power applications.

Mineral Insulated (MI) Cables

For the highest operating temperatures and the most demanding mechanical environments, our mineral insulated cable range provides reliable performance where polymer-based cables cannot be used. The MAL, MCN, MCU/MHC and MSS ranges cover a broad span of industrial process and high-temperature applications.

Heat Tracing System Design: FEED, Engineering and Project Support

A heat tracing system is a design-intensive solution. Getting the cable selection right depends on accurate heat loss calculations, correct installation details and a system design that accounts for the full range of operating conditions. Errors at specification stage lead to underperformance, process downtime or, in hazardous areas, safety non-compliance.

Heat Trace has an in-house engineering group that handles the full industrial heat tracing design process. We work with EPCs, end-users and specifying engineers at every stage: from preliminary heat loss assessment at FEED through to full system design, material schedules, panel designs and commissioning documentation.

TraceIT Guaranteed System Design

TraceIT is our proprietary system design process. It produces a fully optimised, documented heat tracing design covering cable selection, circuit layout, panel schedules, instrument hook-ups and installation drawings. Designs produced under TraceIT carry a performance guarantee: if the system is installed to our specification and fails to maintain the design temperature, we'll rectify it.
For EPC procurement teams, TraceIT documentation is available in the formats required for project handover and as-built records, including material take-off schedules and tagged equipment lists.

FEED Enquiries

At FEED stage, we can provide indicative thermal designs, cable specifications, system cost estimates and area classification input to support engineering development. Where a project includes heat tracing for hazardous areas, our FEED assessment covers certified product selection and zone-specific design requirements from the outset. Early engagement reduces the risk of costly redesign at detailed engineering.
Contact our engineering team directly to discuss FEED involvement via our Design and Engineering Services page, or submit an enquiry using the form below.

Why Specifying Engineers and EPC Companies Choose Heat Trace

Close to 50 Years of Industrial Experience

We've been manufacturing electric heat tracing equipment since the 1970s. Our products are proven in the operating conditions you're designing for: Arctic freeze protection, petrochemical process maintenance, offshore pipeline heating and pharmaceutical clean-room environments. Thousands of completed turnkey projects across more than 50 countries.

Complete Project Delivery

We don't just supply cable. We design the complete heat tracing system, supply all components, support installation and commission the finished installation. Our Engineering Group manages program control, cost, quality and safety as an integrated part of each project. Turnkey delivery on projects of any scale, from a single instrument line to a multi-thousand-point refinery system.

Global Support

Our products are installed in more than 50 countries, supported by a network of affiliate offices, partner companies, distributors and agents working alongside our UK headquarters. For international EPC projects, we provide consistent technical support across project borders.

The Only UK Manufacturer

We design and manufacture our own cables at our facility in Helsby, Cheshire. That gives us full control over product performance, quality standards and delivery, with no dependence on third-party supply chains for our core product range. It also means our engineering team is working with cables they know in precise technical detail.
The Widest Cable Range

No single cable type covers every industrial application. Our range spans self-regulating, constant wattage, longline and mineral insulated cables, with temperature and voltage ratings beyond any other manufacturer worldwide. A Heat Trace specification doesn't require compromise on performance.

Accreditations

Approvals & Certifications

All of our products are certified and carry a range of internationally recognised approvals, making them suitable for industrial heat tracing applications worldwide.