The SECT system provides an epochal concept of heating pipelines electrically, with a variety of technical and economic features, job-proven for many years in the field that any other conventional heating system has never realized.

EFFICIENT Close thermal contact by welding provides excellent heat conduction between the SECT tube and carrier pipe. The temperature difference between them is not more than 10 Deg C. Since 70-90% of heat the required is generated in the SECT tube and the remainder is generated in the internal cable, the heating, efficiency is 100%. Moreover, since the pipeline is heated uniformly, temperature variations in the longitudinal direction are small as long as the thermal insulation is uniform.
DEPENDABLE Since the vulnerable cable is totally enclosed in the steel tube, the structure is rugged and durable. The heating system can be used safely wherever the pipelines are located, whether above or below ground. If the internal cable should break, it can be easily replaced through the joint boxes and pull boxes installed at intervals along the length of the SECT heat tube. This means that the heating section can be replaced without dismantling the thermal insulation layer or digging up the soil along the entire length of the pipeline. The system requires little maintenance and attention.
SAFE Electric potential leaking out of the heat tube is infinitesimal. When the heat tube is energized, voltage of the pipeline measured against ground is normally 10-200 milli-volt, and current flowing through the grounded wire of the pipeline 10-200 milli-amperes. Stray electric potential in such a milli-volts order can be observed on ordinary electric installations which are found everywhere in factories, and it is far less than the voltage and current in the corrosion protection systems for underground pipelines.
ECONOMICAL The SECT cable inside the SECT tube, a heat resistant cable, specially developed for the SECT system, serves as a feeder cable. And a length of approx. 20km can be covered without any additional feeder cable or power source by supplying power through the SECT cable inside the SECT tube from either the middle or both ends of the line. Consequently, the installation cost for a long-distance pipeline is low.

Compared with heating cable method, The SECT method becomes more advantageous as the pipeline bore becomes larger and the transporting distance becomes longer. It is also suitable for offshore pipelines and buried pipelines since it has great durability. The heating cable method is mainly used for heating of small scale piping and local heating of peripheral equipment.