The pressure transmitter market has grown substantially in recent years, according to a study done by Flow Research. In an article due to be publish in the Flow Control Magazine this August, several important new trends are revealed.

Energy Market Growth: Increased investments in the energy markets are driving pressure transmitter growth. More measurement points have to be monitored, as it becomes more difficult to access natural resources in remote locations. Likewise, environmental regulations are making it necessary to increase the number of measurement points. This is true for both absolute and gauge pressure transmitters, as well as for DP flow transmitters.

Wireless Transmitters: Wireless pressure transmitters are becoming more popular, especially for new installations. They can be installed in hard-to-reach locations, and typically offer lower installation costs by eliminating wiring runs. While wireless still represents a small percentage of the total pressure transmitter market, expect this trend to grow. Battery-operated transmitters, which often accompany wireless installations, are also growing in popularity.

Multivariable Transmitters: These measure more than one process variable in a single instrument, and are growing in popularity among end-users. Typically these transmitters measure pressure, differential pressure, and temperature. As such, a multivariable transmitter can actually replace three single variable transmitters. In many cases, they use these values to produce a mass flow measurement. Multivariable transmitters can be used to reduce the need to buy a separate flow computer to perform the flow calculation. If individual pressure and temperature transmitters are used, the value outputs are sent to a flow computer that performs the flow calculation. For multivariable computers, the computing power of the flow computer is typically brought on board through the multivariable transmitter, which also performs the flow calculation. The trend toward multivariable transmitters can be expected to continue in the DP transmitter and flowmeter markets. These products typically sell for less than it would cost to buy the transmitters separately.

There are multiple trends driving the pressure transmitter market, and these are some of the main ones. With improved economic conditions worldwide and many delayed projects coming back online, we can expect to see growth in pressure transmitter applications in the near term.