Why does superheated steam require more energy than saturated steam?
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Online sources state that saturated steam is more suitable for heating; more superheated steam is required to achieve the same level of heating. Why is that? When the equipment and operating conditions are the same, why is more superheated steam required? Where does the remaining heat go? It must be conserved, could it have gone into the condensate water? But the steam trap prevents steam from entering; yet heat is still released after the steam condenses. Can someone explain this?
Steam serves as a heat source primarily due to the latent heat released during its condensation. Superheated steam must undergo cooling and condensation processes inside the heat exchanger; unless it stays there long enough for it to condense, the flow rate of steam will be very low. Therefore, as a heat source for heat exchange, superheated steam is not as good as saturated steam.
By looking at the nameplates of air conditioners and chillers, it can be seen that their cooling capacity is much greater than the electrical power they consume, which seems to violate the law of conservation of energy. You don’t understand because you haven’t identified and clarified every single source of energy
The enthalpy of superheated steam can be lower than that of saturated steam, and it reduces the heat transfer coefficient