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Steam Properties Calculator — Saturated & Superheated Steam Tables

Look Up Enthalpy, Entropy, Specific Volume & Quality from Pressure or Temperature

Free steam property calculator for boiler operators, stationary engineers, and process plant technicians. Enter pressure or temperature to look up saturated steam properties including enthalpy of liquid (hf), enthalpy of evaporation (hfg), enthalpy of steam (hg), specific volume, entropy, and saturation temperature or pressure. For superheated steam, enter pressure and temperature to get all properties above the saturation point.

Based on the IAPWS-IF97 industrial formulation for water and steam. Covers the full range from vacuum conditions through high-pressure boiler operations. Essential for sizing steam traps, calculating boiler efficiency, determining flash steam recovery, and verifying deaerator performance.

Pro Tip: When calculating steam trap capacity, use the enthalpy of the condensate at the trap inlet pressure, not the boiler pressure. If condensate flashes across a pressure drop before reaching the trap, the enthalpy changes and the trap must handle the flash steam volume as well as the liquid. Use the steam tables to find hf at both pressures and the difference tells you how much flash steam is produced.

Calculate heat exchanger duty for steam heating applications

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Size piping for steam and condensate systems

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Read the complete steam tables guide

Steam Properties & Boiler Operations Guide →

Convert pressure and temperature units

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Start Using This Tool See How It Works

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Steam Properties Calculator
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How It Works

  1. Select Lookup Mode

    Choose saturated steam by pressure, saturated steam by temperature, or superheated steam. For most boiler and steam trap work, saturated steam by pressure is the starting point. For process heating calculations involving superheated steam, use the superheated mode.

  2. Enter Pressure or Temperature

    Enter the steam pressure in PSIG, PSIA, bar, or kPa. Or enter the temperature in degrees F or C. The calculator converts units internally and returns results in your selected unit system. For gauge pressure, the calculator adds atmospheric pressure to convert to absolute.

  3. Review Saturated Properties

    For saturated steam, the output includes saturation temperature (Tsat), specific enthalpy of liquid (hf), enthalpy of evaporation (hfg), enthalpy of saturated vapor (hg), specific volume of liquid (vf) and vapor (vg), and entropy values (sf, sfg, sg). These are the building blocks for all steam system calculations.

  4. Enter Quality or Superheat (Optional)

    For wet steam, enter the steam quality (dryness fraction, 0-1) to calculate the actual enthalpy and specific volume of the steam-water mixture. For superheated steam, enter the temperature above saturation and the calculator returns enthalpy, specific volume, and entropy at the superheated state.

  5. Apply Results

    Use enthalpy values to calculate heat transfer rates (Q = m x delta-h), boiler efficiency, flash steam percentage, steam trap sizing, and deaerator performance. Use specific volume to convert mass flow to volumetric flow for pipe sizing.

Built For

  • Boiler operators checking steam properties for daily log entries, efficiency calculations, and trend analysis
  • Stationary engineers sizing steam traps based on condensate load and pressure differential
  • Process engineers calculating heat duty for steam-heated heat exchangers, reboilers, and jacketed vessels
  • Plant maintenance techs verifying deaerator operating temperature against saturation tables to ensure proper oxygen removal
  • Energy managers calculating flash steam recovery potential from high-pressure condensate to low-pressure steam systems
  • Mechanical engineering students verifying thermodynamic cycle calculations against published steam table values

Features & Capabilities

Saturated Steam Tables

Full saturated steam properties from 1 psia to 3,200 psia covering the entire range of industrial boiler operations. Returns Tsat, hf, hfg, hg, vf, vg, sf, sfg, and sg with IAPWS-IF97 accuracy.

Superheated Steam Properties

Enter pressure and temperature above saturation to get superheated steam enthalpy, specific volume, and entropy. Essential for power plant calculations, superheated steam piping, and turbine performance analysis.

Steam Quality (Wet Steam)

Enter steam quality (dryness fraction) to calculate the properties of wet steam mixtures. Quality of 0 = saturated liquid, 1 = saturated vapor. Real boiler steam typically has quality of 0.95-0.99 depending on steam drum internals and load.

Flash Steam Calculator

Enter the high-pressure condensate conditions and the low-pressure system pressure to calculate the percentage of flash steam produced and the enthalpy available for recovery. Identifies flash steam savings opportunities in condensate return systems.

Multiple Unit Systems

Pressure in PSIG, PSIA, bar, or kPa. Temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius. Enthalpy in BTU/lb or kJ/kg. Specific volume in ft3/lb or m3/kg. Input and output in your preferred unit system.

PDF Export

Export steam property lookup results as a branded PDF for boiler logs, engineering calculations, or training documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

hf is the enthalpy (heat content) of saturated liquid water at a given pressure. hfg is the enthalpy of evaporation, the energy required to convert saturated liquid to saturated vapor at constant pressure. hg is the enthalpy of saturated vapor. The relationship is hg = hf + hfg. For steam heating calculations, hfg is the useful latent heat released when steam condenses.
Steam tables use absolute pressure (PSIA). Your pressure gauge reads gauge pressure (PSIG). PSIA = PSIG + atmospheric pressure (approximately 14.7 at sea level). The calculator accepts both and converts internally. At 100 PSIG, the absolute pressure is about 114.7 PSIA, and the saturation temperature is 338 degrees F.
Steam quality is the mass fraction of vapor in a steam-water mixture. Quality of 1.0 means 100% dry saturated steam. Quality of 0.95 means 95% vapor and 5% liquid water by mass. Low steam quality reduces the effective heat transfer in heat exchangers because the entrained liquid water carries less energy per pound. Most boilers produce steam at 0.95-0.99 quality. Steam separators and proper steam drum internals improve quality.
When high-pressure condensate drops to a lower pressure, some of the liquid flashes to steam. The flash percentage = (hf_high - hf_low) / hfg_low x 100. For example, condensate at 150 PSIG (hf = 338 BTU/lb) dropping to 15 PSIG (hf = 249 BTU/lb, hfg = 946 BTU/lb): flash % = (338 - 249) / 946 x 100 = 9.4%. This flash steam contains recoverable energy.

Learn More

Industrial & Plant

Steam Properties and Boiler Operations Guide

How to use steam tables for steam trap sizing, boiler efficiency calculations, flash steam recovery, deaerator verification, and superheated steam applications. Covers hf, hfg, hg, and specific volume.

Read Guide →

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