Setra Blog

Pressure Transmitter, Transducer, Sensor, or Switch: What are they and how are they different from each other?

The pressure sensing industry features a variety of devices, and their names can be confusing to those unfamiliar with the terminology. 

Ensuring the accuracy of transducers used in the measurement of room pressure in critical environments is extremely important in order to maintain patient safety. Because the differences in measured pressure are so small (only fractions of an inch of water column) calibrating these devices can be very tedious and usually difficult to perform without the right tools and processes.

In general, there are two industry standard methods of low pressure calibration: hand pump calibration and automated calibration.

When installing a pressure transducer system, selecting a power supply may not be one of the first things that comes to your mind. Since a single power supply can be used to power multiple pressure transducers, many regard it as a non-vital task. Nonetheless, it is essential to have the proper configurations between the power source and devices in order for all components to communicate properly and to avoid receiving inaccurate data. Here are some of the best practices we found for using a single power supply to power multiple devices.

Unidirectional Pressure Transducers

Unidirectional pressure transducers measure between zero and a positive pressure. The diaphragm of the sensor should only move in one direction and will produce a positive voltage or milliamp output.

After selecting your pressure transducer, it is now time to select a power supply. It is important to select the proper power supply to ensure all components are functioning properly and recording accurate data. 

We have gone over the best practices for selecting a unidirectional and a bidirectional differential pressure transducer based on usage and application. So why should you use a unidirectional differential pressure transducer over a bidirectional model for an isolation room? When requiring an increased accuracy reading for positive and negative pressure, it is best to use a unidirectional transducer. For positive pressurized rooms, you can place the low port on the reference area and the high port on the room of concern. For negative pressurized rooms, you place the low port on the negative pressure room of concern and the high port on the pressure reference area.