New IR technology for refrigerant leak detection hits the market with astonishing performance/price ratio.

For refrigerant leak detection the predominant sensing technologies are undoubtedly Non-Dispersive InfraRed (NDIR) and Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (MOS). NDIR is the best performing and reliable technology, but its cost has so far prevented a widespread use in light commercial and residential applications, whereas MOS has remained the predominant choice.

Although MOS requires periodic calibration (usually every 6 months or less) and replacing every 2 - 4 years, as well as encountering problems from poisoning effects, interference from chemicals other than the target gas and a variety of environmental conditions, the affordable price has tipped the balance in its favour in settings such as food retail, hotel rooms, apartments and offices.

This is about to change with the new IREF Lite series from N.E.T. – a complete line of NDIR sensors for refrigerant leak detection, set to hit the market at an astonishing price.

This will make the gas selectivity, accuracy, poison immunity and extended lifetime of NDIR technology affordable for any setting, dramatically improving gas detection performances in the HVAC-R market, improving occupants’ safety and lowering cost-of-ownership.

The IREF Lite series from N.E.T. include solutions for R-32, R-1234yf and R-1234ze in %LEL range.

The analogue output provides a user-programmable threshold output consisting of different voltage levels – by default, 10% LEL=1V, 25% LEL=1.5V. The user can freely select the output level, the corresponding output and the hysteresis of the thresholds through Modbus RTU commands – which also allow complete access to the sensor functioning parameters, diagnostics and recalibration.

The standard industrial 7-series size and pinout can fit in existing detectors and is significantly smaller than most NDIR-based alternatives available.