The Relationship Between Humidity and PID Sensors

Humidity is the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere or in a given space. Water vapor is known as the gaseous state of water and is invisible to the human eye, even though we can feel it in certain environmental conditions. Warmer weather causes water to evaporate at a faster pace, usually near oceans or massive bodies of water. Relative humidity is the ratio of the amount of atmospheric moisture present relative to the amount that would be present if the air was saturated, and is dependent on moisture content and temperature.

Environmental conditions like extreme weather and humidity can affect many sensors, such as PIDs. Humidity can affect PID sensors by either decreasing the response time due to VOCs participating in a quenching effect as humidity increases, leading to false-negative readings or by a drifting response when very high humidity is in the atmosphere, resulting in a false-positive response.

Through advanced sensor technology, Otis Instruments combats humid and extreme weather conditions so our PID sensors remain accurate and reliable. For companies that have operations out in the ocean for oil and gas operations, high temperature and high humidity are consistent problems. Otis Instruments offers both Wired and WireFree gas detection solutions possessing PID sensors for ultimate detection and accuracy out in the field, ensuring top-of-the-line performance in humid conditions.  

Utilizing a 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz radio configuration, both detection methods can have a direct or alternating current power supply, and an explosion-proof or non-explosion-proof enclosure depending on current risks.

Otis Instruments offers a variety of Wired and WireFree easy-to-use, robust and configurable gas detectors. Made in the USA, our high-quality products are capable of detecting both toxic and non-toxic gases for diverse applications. If you would like more information about gas detection solutions for your application, implementing Otis Link services, or have a question for us, contact our team today.