Industries are exploring and leveraging the newer benefits of pressure sensor tech not only to stay relevant but to drive optimization as well.

FREMONT, CA: History has shown that advancements in technology and material science are the essential drivers of the development of sensor technologies. Today, pressure sensors play a critical role in several processes in various industrial applications. The sky is probably the limit when it comes to applications of pressure sensors. Here is more to it.

• Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is highly important to reduce excessive power consumptions and its associated costs for an enterprise and to minimize the environmental impact, including a business' ecological footprint. For enhanced energy conservation, accurate pressure measurements are required. Pressure sensors allow reducing energy consumption and saving money by optimizing the indoor climate in offices and homes as well. Pressure sensors in buildings also open up a wide range of possibilities to conserve energy. This technology improves the inhabitants' quality of life, monitors parameters, including temperature and pressure in buildings while also boosting energy efficiency. Pressure sensors are also used to control the cooling levels in cars and weather stations, and in testing, devices measuring diesel truck emissions levels, wind energy systems, and wind engineering concerning new building designs for the same purpose of energy conservation.  

• Quality Control and Data Acquisition

Applications of pressure sensors increase based on the need for more rigidly controlled processes associated with quality control requirements. Monitoring of pressure and vacuum can detect the need for equipment maintenance before untimely failures that cause excessive downtime and increase manufacturing costs. Pressure sensors also play an increasing role in applications such as, bottle and equipment leak detection, compressed air pressure monitoring, gas detection, suction check, pneumatic controls, and many others which require static measurements. Brewing and dairy applications use individual sanitary pressure transducers to measure the pressure in bottling lines. Pressure sensors are of the most significant utility for industrial and laboratory data acquisition too. Useful data acquired using pressure sensors include inlet-outlet or system pressure in the engine test setup, pressure drops for preventive maintenance, fluid height levels in tanks, sanitary pressure in bio or pharmaceutical industry—all of which contributes to performance monitoring and preventive maintenance.  

• Safety Instrumentation

The devices used in the mining industry, including cranes, haul trucks, and hydraulic shovels can be operated with great care with pressure sensors to avoid accidents. Heavy equipment typically has numerous safety features based on pressure sensor technology. They can detect a change in pressure and convert the changes to an electrical signal that is relayed to the operator through a dial, gauge, monitor, or other instruments. Pressure sensors also reside in hydraulic booms, measuring the load to ensure it is within the capacity to avoid dangerous tip-over. These sensors can detect overloads both at initial loading and when the load shifts during transport, warning the operator to take necessary steps to prevent a loss of load.  Mining sites function in all climatic conditions so that mining equipment is designed to operate across a broad range of temperatures, making pressure sensors an integral part of them. To detect a gas leak, utility providers will need a reference pressure against which the pressure that is going into the tank is measured. Pressure sensors can be of great help, indicating the presence of the leak.

Pressure sensor technology is relevant in almost all aspects of various industries, including safety, security, surveillance, monitoring, and energy efficiency. Pressure sensors are becoming central to multiple sectors, and, inevitably, they can further improve the world in many ways. 

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