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Imagine you sit down at a restaurant on the outdoor patio, and as you’re waiting to order your food, you glance at the large HVAC system on top of the building across the street. Several questions cross your mind: Why do they need such a big system? And what goes into it? Today I want to introduce one of the vital aspects of a building’s HVAC system, the air handler. Continue reading “What is an Air Handler?”
There are three main types of temperature sensors, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. Today we’ll be discussing the advantages/disadvantages of each RTD temperature sensors, thermistors, and thermocouples. Continue reading “How to Choose a Proper Temperature Sensor”
Dwyer Instruments, Inc. offers a wide variety of temperature sensors that use RTDs as the sensing element.
RTDs are based on the principal that the electrical resistance of the wire is a function of the temperature, with the resistance increasing as temperature increases. The resistance varies nearly linearly with temperature per the Callendar Van-Dusen equation. The wire used in RTDs as the sensing element is usually constructed of platinum, copper, or nickel. Platinum is the best material for this element, as it has the widest useful temperature range of these materials. It also has a very repeatable and linear temperature to resistance correlation. Continue reading “RTD Temperature Sensors”
Dwyer Instruments, Inc. manufactures and offers many temperature measuring products that use a thermistor as the sensing element.
Thermistors are based on the principal that the electrical resistance of semiconductor materials is a function of the temperature. Thermistors work well over smaller temperature ranges with better accuracy than (RTD) but are very non-linear. They also generally offer better response times. Thermistors have much higher resistance values than RTDs, with ranges typically ranging from 100 ohms to 100 megaohms.