What Is Accuracy of Temperature Sensors?
Overview
Accuracy of temperature sensors is how close the sensor output is to the physical temperature being measured. There are international tolerance standards such as IEC 60584-1:2013 and IEC 60751:2008 which define the tolerance bands of temperature sensors. Often small inaccuracies are tolerable but temperature sensor calibration can be conducted to further prove the accuracy of a sensor, or batch of sensors.
Read more about temperature sensor accuracy in our temperature sensor design guide.
International Standards
This standard applies to thermocouples (Types R, S, B, J, T, E, K, N, C, and A). It specifies:
- Reference functions for each thermocouple type
- Tolerance bands for acceptable measurement deviations
- Temperatures expressed in degrees Celsius based on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90)
- EMF (electromotive force) expressed in microvolts (µV)
IEC 60751:2008
This standard applies to resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), defining tolerance classes and accuracy limits for platinum resistance thermometers (PRTs).
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