Appliance sensors become hot stuff

摘要

Anew platform of electronic sensors is under development for the appliance industry. In particular, two types of heat-transfer-based sensors target the sensing, metering, and controlling of water volume. One directly measures water level inside appliances while the other mom'tors the flow rate of water dispensed through a valve. Water-level sensor development is currently driven by applications in the dish and clothes-washer industry where the U.S. Dept. of Energy has mandated conservation of energy and water. The water flow-rate sensor targets the refrigeration industry to more accurately fill ice-cube trays. There it's expected to reduce the number of over and underfill service calls.