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5 Thermistor Sensor Considerations When Selecting an NTC Thermistor
Selecting a thermistor temperature sensor can be confusing, and you have a lot of options to choose from. You don’t want to risk equipment failure or circuit breaker short-outs. So, how do you make the right selection without sacrificing performance and giving up quality?
NTC thermistors have been around for many decades and have become the default component for thermistor-based temperature sensing because of their low price point.
Because of their dependence on resistance and temperature, thermistors can be used as temperature sensors or heat sensors. Thermistors are the most sensitive and so are used in precision applications which rely on system adjustments based on even slight temperature changes.
- NTC thermistors come in different sizes and types. Going through with a careful analysis of the application of the thermistor should allow users to narrow down choices, even when lacking other data.
- Thermistors have different electrical properties. The three most common types are current-time, resistance-temperature, and voltage-current characteristics.
- The resistance-temperature curve must be exact for specific applications.
- Some applications demand that the curve is matched or point matched. This is the only way to allow for resistance values at different temperatures.
- Resistance tolerance is also necessary. Ensuring this resistance helps to save on costs while also protecting gear.
Temperature Range
NTC thermistors are well suited to applications from -50° up to +250°C and so are well suited to a range of applications.
Accuracy
NTC thermistors and thermistor probes are the most accurate between -50C and +150°C and if they are glass encapsulated can also be extremely accurate at 250°C.
Ametherm thermistors are produced from carefully selected and tested raw materials. The starting materials are different oxides of metals such as manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc, to which chemically stabilizing oxides may be added to achieve better reproducibility and stability of the thermistor characteristics.
