As temperature control steam traps open when the temperature drops below a fixed point, one can intentionally set that point to be far lower than the saturated temperature of the steam. This will cause condensate to accumulate on the inlet side of the trap until it cools to the set temperature. The idea behind this is to utilize the sensible heat available from the accumulated condensate to heat the equipment or product.

Steam tracing is often employed to protect meters or instrumentation from freezing, and to heat liquids with high viscosity and ensure smooth flow through pipelines.