Domestic humidity sensors

The production of gas sensors. The production records of various types of gas sensors for past five years in Japan are listed in Table I except for the oxygen and humidity sensors. The sensors produced in the largest quantity are of the semiconductive type, followed by the catalytic combustion and thermistor types. These sensors have been mostly applied to domestic uses such as gas leakage alarms or gas control systems for LP gas and town gas which are extensively used for cooking and heating in Japanese houses. This is why these sensors are manufactured on a large scale. Other electrochemical sensors have been developed mainly to monitor other gases. 

Humidity sensor. There exists a strong demand for humidity sensors especially in Japan because of humid weather in summer. The use of humidity sensors has been widely spreading in industrial fields as well as domestic. The production record is listed in Table I. 

For domestic use, more useful humidity sensors, CO sensors and combustion monitoring sensors will be developed with their increased integration into safety systems for homes and offices. 

Recently the use of humidity sensors has greatly increased in a range of industries such as in the production of electronic devices, precision instruments and foodstuffs. As humidity is a permanent environmental factor, its measurement and/or control are of importance not only for human comfort but also for many industries and technologies. In recent years, major domestic applications of humidity sensors have been eg, automatic humidity control in air conditioners, automatic cooking by microwave ovens, and dew sensing on the cylinder heads of VTRs [1, 2]. 

Not only gas sensors but humidity sensors are also important in many fields including paper or electronic industries, domestic environment equipment such as air conditioner, and medical supphes... 

Testing conducted under the Domestic Preparedness Program has confirmed that the SAW sensor can detect and differentiate the HD and the G nerve agents. Results indicated that sensitivity toward the more volatile GB is lower than that of the less volatile GA. Humidity effects on detection were avoided with the use of a preconcentrator. Temperature affected some of the detection algorithms due to the insufficient size of the heater used. 

---