Within the European Community, intrinsically safe pressure sensors may only be used in hazardous areas if they are installed together with an Ex barrier. The combination of pressure sensor and Ex barrier must meet the ?Proof of intrinsic safety? relative to the 94/9/EC ATEX directive. Not all combinations of sensor and barrier from different manufacturers fulfil this condition.
On the main one hand, it might be that the safety or Ex characteristic values do not match, alternatively, the functional characteristics must match the application. So, even though the safety-related data match, the pair of Ex barrier and pressure sensor may not match since, for instance, both components work ?passively?.
(Additional information about them ?active?/? Minimalist ? are available in the blog article ?Electrical circuitry for pressure sensors: when is really a sensor active, and when passive??)
Therefore, factors to consider that you only use barriers and sensors together whose safety-related data and function-related data match one another. We therefore directly recommend, inside our intrinsically safe pressure sensors? data sheets, a potentially compatible intrinsically safe Ex barrier.
If you have any further questions, our sales department will gladly offer you a detailed application consultation.