Sensing in ovens, stoves and range hood

2nd January 2018

Lanna Deamer

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The kitchen is said to be the most important room of a home, while cooking is the centre and focal point when using the kitchen. The design of ranges, which includes the stove and cook top have improved with better cooking features and efficiencies. Electric ranges are the most popular while gas controlled ovens are also available.

Like many modern appliances, gas and electric ranges are usually equipped with microprocessor controls. A range uses a variety of sensors to ensure proper, safe, and energy efficient operation and reliability.

Reed sensors and Hall Effect sensors are very reliable and will operate over millions of cycles with long term integrity when used with microprocessor electrical loads.

Both reed and Hall Effect devices are operated by a magnetic field. Reed switches and sensors consume no power, while Hall Effect devices are semiconductors and will consume a small amount of current in both the activated and de-activated state.

Oven door closure sensor

The oven door latch serves two purposes for the signal sent to the controller unit. The first purpose is to sense that the door is closed. The second purpose of the switch is to send a signal to the controller that the LED light inside the oven is in the proper state.

The reed sensor may need to be rated at 150°C, since the sensor is fixed on the outer frame and can be exposed to high temperatures. In addition the magnet will also need an elevated temperature rating.

Littelfuse recommends the following products as door closure sensor and actuator because these are rated to 150°C and have proven to be durable in this application.

Find out more here.