Hall Effect Sensors use the Hall effect- ie, applying magnetic field to a conducting material – to measure current or voltage precisely. This makes them an indispensable component of measurement systems across industries – be it for traction systems, inverters or even EV motor control systems.
The Hall Effect
But before we proceed, let’s understand what is the Hall effect in detail and how it came to be:
In 1879, Edwin Hall identified that a conductor placed at right angles to a magnetic field develops voltage across it. He did this while working on his doctoral degree at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Hall Effect represents this discovery. Hall Effect sensors operate through the Hall Effect principle to measure conductor current or voltage by detecting the resulting magnetic fields.
Types of Hall Effect Sensors
Hall Effect sensors are used to measure both current and voltage – as a result LEM, a leader in this category, provides two types of sensors – Hall Effect Current Sensors and Hall Effect Voltage sensors.
The current sensors from LEM are of a wide range of galvanically isolated sensors that have become industry standards. The broad range of sizes, measuring range, from tiny currents to 24kA, and integration options, busbar, PCB mounted, make them ideal solutions for a broad range of applications.
The voltage sensors allow isolated measurement of voltage. The broad range of products from LEM measures voltage from 10 V to 6.4 kV, with a variety of technologies including Hall Effect, Fluxgate and insulating digital.
How Do Hall Effect Sensors Work?
Hall Effect Current Sensor
In a Hall Effect current sensor, the component includes a Hall Effect sensor combined with a magnetic core and signal processing circuitry. The current-carrying conductor passes through the sensor which detects the magnetic field produced by the current. The Hall Effect sensor generates a voltage output that corresponds to the magnetic field strength and the signal processing circuit converts this voltage into an accurate current reading.
Hall Effect Voltage Sensor
For a voltage sensor – the main difference from a current sensor is the addition of an internal primary winding with a large number of turns, allowing the sensor to create the necessary ampere-turns to measure the small primary current.
Advantages of Hall Effect Sensors
There are four main advantages:
1) High accuracy: Hall Effect sensors provide accurate measurements, even in the presence of noise or interference.
2) Non-invasive: Hall Effect sensors do not require physical contact, making them ideal for use in high-voltage or high-current applications.
3) Robust: Hall Effect sensors are resistant to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and can operate in harsh environments.
4) Low power consumption: Hall Effect sensors typically consume low power, making them suitable for use in many applications.
Different operating principles of Hall Effect sensors
There are two types of Hall Effect sensors:
1) Open Loop
2) Closed Loop
Both use a magnetic core and a Hall Effect sensor for measurement, but they differ in their design and the manner in which they measure.
Applications of Hall Effect Sensors
Because of the many advantages, Hall Effect sensors are widely used in various industries, including:
1) Industrial automation: to monitor current levels in motors, pumps, and other industrial equipment.
2) Renewable energy: to measure current levels in solar panels and wind turbines.
3) Electrical vehicles: to monitor current levels in electric vehicle batteries and motors.
4) Medical devices: such as MRI machines and defibrillators.
How to procure Hall effect sensors?
At Globetek India, we have a long-standing partnership with LEM – for Hall Effect current and voltage sensors.
Our partnership enables you to leverage LEM’s expertise and Globetek’s local support: ie, procuring, solutioning and offering an end-to-end experience that works for your solution.
The transducers also carry the CE marking to denote the high levels of precision and accuracy while manufacturing the product. LEM transducers also bag the UL Recognition (UR) for most of its products. LEM sensors are made of high-quality heat-resistant materials that have a low hysteresis loss and perform outstandingly over a wide range of temperatures.
Globetek extends the warranty supplied by LEM to all its customers. With the LEM products, you can get a worldwide ISO 9000 and ISO TS16494:2000 qualification along with a long 5-year period of warranty.
If you have any queries or requirements, please feel free to reach out via call or email. We look forward to working with you.
