Many monitoring applications require different sensor types to measure and report various parameters to a central Gateway, programmable logic controller (PLC), or other control device. For instance, in the upstream oil and gas market, level, temperature, pressure, flow and other points are monitored in different applications. Sensor choice is often driven by the environment, desired accuracy, cost and what is being monitoring. In tank level monitoring, for example, the contained materials as well as monitoring requirements dictate the best sensing technology for the job.

It is rare that an operator will want to use sensors for all required measurements from a single sensor manufacturer. In fact, a single manufacturer rarely supplies all these different types of sensors.

Consequently, the network connecting all these sensors together will need to interface with a variety of sensor types with various sensor interfaces. Common sensor interfaces are 4-20mA, 1-5 Volt, Modbus, HART, digital, pulse and SDI-12.  Others exist as well.  Wireless connectivity, if used correctly, will solve the issue of mixing multiple sensor interface types and allow all the different data formats to work with each other.

If you are looking for a wireless system that can connect all these different sensor types with different interfaces together, ensure that the wireless vendor has nodes that support different interface types. This allows you to choose the sensor that best solves your application problem and not be handcuffed to buy all your sensors from a single manufacturer and use their wireless system.

To sum up, sensor networks will often utilize different sensor types from different sensor manufacturers. Wireless connection can actually solve the connection problem and allow various sensor interfaces to coexist within the same network by supplying nodes with different sensor interfaces.

SignalFire, for example, can connect to any of the above-mentioned sensor interface types, with all data sent to the Gateway in a common format – Modbus. Unlike most tank level monitoring systems that limit sensor choice, the Signal Fire Remote Sensing System integrates an open architecture mesh network that allows users to choose the preferred sensor type for an application as well as mix sensor types in the same network. This capability provides the freedom to choose the best sensor for each type of measurement point.

For more information on the SignalFire Sensor Interfaces, visit  https://www.signal-fire.com/resources/commonly-supported-sensors/.

Download the article on Justifying the Move to Wireless Tank Level Monitoring at: http://www.flowcontrolnetwork.com/justifying-the-move-to-wireless-tank-level-monitoring/ .