A pressure sensor datasheet is packed with numbers, and picking the wrong one is an easy, expensive mistake.
This guide walks through the eight specifications you must check before ordering, in the order they actually matter.
Pressure sensor specifications look like a wall of numbers on paper. Read them in the right order and the right sensor becomes obvious.
We will cover the eight specifications to check first, how accuracy actually breaks down into three parts, the different pressure reading types, and a checklist to run before you buy.
What Are Pressure Sensor Specifications?
These are the technical values a manufacturer publishes describing how a sensor behaves.
They tell you the range it can measure, how accurate its reading is, what signal it outputs, and where it can physically survive.
Reading them correctly, in order, is what separates a sensor that lasts for years from one replaced within months.
For a deeper look at the vocabulary manufacturers use, see our pressure sensor terms guide, which this article builds on.
8 Pressure Sensor Specifications to Check First
Every datasheet organises itself around the same eight items, whichever manufacturer printed it.
Understanding Accuracy: Linearity, Hysteresis and Repeatability
Accuracy is not one number. It hides three separate behaviours, and a sensor can be strong in one and weak in another.
Our pressure transmitter accuracy guide goes deeper into how these three combine into one published accuracy figure.
Types of Pressure Readings Compared
The same physical pressure can be reported six different ways, depending on what reference point the sensor uses.
| Reading Type | Reference Point | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute | Full vacuum | Vacuum systems, barometric measurement |
| Gauge | Local atmospheric pressure | Most industrial process measurement |
| Differential | A second process pressure | Flow measurement, filter monitoring |
| Sealed | Sea level atmospheric pressure | Sensors that must ignore altitude changes |
| Compound | Atmospheric, reads both directions | Systems that swing between vacuum and pressure |
| Vacuum | Atmospheric, negative side only | Sub atmospheric process monitoring |
See the full breakdown in our absolute versus gauge pressure guide if these two are still confusing.
A Quick Sizing Example
Sizing the range correctly avoids two failure modes at once, a sensor that overranges and one that reads too coarsely.
Safety margin: Add roughly 50 percent headroom
Sensor range to select: 15 psi full scale
Why: Leaves margin for spikes without wasting resolution on an oversized range
Datasheet Checklist Before You Order
Run through these six checks on any datasheet before a pressure sensor gets added to a purchase order.
Watch: Pressure Sensor Accuracy Explained
Pressure Sensor Specifications Questions Engineers Ask
Related Articles on This Site
- Pressure Transmitter Accuracy Specifications
- Absolute vs Gauge Pressure
- Static Pressure vs Differential Pressure
- Pressure Gauge Selection: 7 Factors
- Explosion Proof vs Intrinsically Safe Instruments
External References
- Pressure Sensor Accuracy Specifications | SensorsOne
- Technical Specifications of a Pressure Transducer | Setra
What We Learn Today
- Pressure sensor specifications cover eight areas: range, output, environment, accuracy, reading type, media, resolution and enclosure material.
- Accuracy is not a single figure. It combines linearity, hysteresis and repeatability into one percent of full scale value.
- Sizing the range with roughly 50 percent margin above working pressure avoids both overpressure risk and wasted resolution.