Technical descriptions of flammable gas sensors
Flammable Gas Sensors
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The gas sensor of Senseair, Sunlight R32, a group company of Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM), is a solutions for the detection of mildly flammable gases suitable for the construction of IEC 60335-2-40 edition 7 and UL 60335-2-40 edition 4 compliant air conditioning equipment.
AKM will outline the standard and the points of its compliance, and the features of Sunlight R32 and its merits in compliance with the standard.
Types and Features of Flammable Gases
Gas sensors are developed according to the characteristics of the gases to be measured.
In the NDIR method, since the gas concentration is measured using the absorption of infrared rays of the target gas, it is essential to understand the infrared absorption peak wavelength that is specific to the gas.
Therefore, we will introduce here the infrared absorption spectra of inflammable gases and micro-inflammable gases and the common peaks derived from the molecular structure.
Gas Sensors types and mechanism
There are various types of gas sensor, and it is important to select the most suitable gas sensor according to the target gas and application.
Typical gas sensor types are an NDIR: Non-Dispersive InfraRed type, a semiconductor type, and an electrochemical type.
This section explains the principles of the detection method applied by each gas sensor and its advantages and disadvantages.
What is NDIR (Non-Dispersive Infrared)?
NDIR type gas sensor uses the property of gas molecules (example: CO2) that absorb infrared rays to calculate the concentration.
Therefore, an NDIR type gas sensor is equipped with an infrared light source that emits infrared rays and an infrared sensor that detects infrared rays. The performance of the NDIR type gas sensor varies depending on the type of the infrared light source and the type of the infrared sensor that are installed.
The principles of the NDIR method and the infrared light source and gas sensor, which are the components, are described here.
About Senseair
Senseair, which became a member of the Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) Group in 2018, is a provider of gas sensors using NDIR: Non-Dispersive InfraRed technology. Our goal is to constantly develop and mass-produce new gas sensor technologies.