Pt1000, an extensively employed and most popular temperature sensor, is an integral part of modern PCR and molecular biology laboratories for its higher accuracy and stability. Adopting the appropriate Pt1000 sensor tool kit enables you to produce the most competent PCR products with higher precision without undergoing minimum trouble.
Are you in a hassle thinking about whether Pt1000 or Pt100 probe sensors would be the suitable choice for your industry? I am offering a comprehensive overview of both types of temperature sensors to help you make the best decision.

What is a PRT?
PRT (Platinum Resistance Thermometer) is an RTD (Resistance Temperature Detector) composed of Platinum as the conductor to measure temperature. Platinum Resistance Thermometers change the resistance proportionally to the changing temperature and show excellent stability over the range of –200°C to +650°C.
The benefits of PRTs are:
- They exhibit a relatively linear resistance-temperature relation over a wide temperature span
- Higher resistivity
- Excellent chemical passivity and stability
- Non-degradable resistance
- Non-corrosive for long
Pt1000
Pt1000 sensor is another widely used PRT temperature sensor that indicates,
- It is a platinum-based RTD
- It exhibits a nominal resistance of 1000ohms at 0°C temperature and operates in the temperature from -200°C to +850°C.
These platinum resistance thermometers probes are an indispensable part of wide applications, including:
- Heating
- Ventilation
- Automotive
- Refrigeration
- Machine building industries, etc.
Pt100
Pt100 is a PRT which indicates:
- The temperature sensor is constituted of Platinum as the base element
- The nominal resistance is 100ohm at 0°C.
The change of resistance in Pt100 sensors for each degree Celcius is 0.038ohm. For example, the resistance value of this temperature sensor increases to 138Ω at 100°C.
It is a regularly used RTD in process industries suitable in the temperature range of -200°C to 600°C, though most industries use it in -50 to +250°C.
Pt1000 VS Pt100
Both Pt100 and Pt1000 sensors are used enormously for industrial purposes.
Both exhibit:
- Identical temperature range
- Approximate linearity between resistance temperature
- Response time
- Stability
- Excellent repeatability
- Higher operating temperatures
Then which one will be the perfect fit for your industry requirement? Let’s get insight into the distinctions between these two thermometer sensors and decide which can be the right one to meet your industry specifications.
- The Pt1000 nominal resistance is 1000Ω, which is 10-times higher than the Pt100 base resistance. That makes Pt1000 a perfect fit for the 2-wire circuit combination to lessen the wire resistance error. When Pt100 shows an error of +1.0°C, the error gets reduced to +0.1°C for Pt1000 in 2-wire circuitry. Pt100 is best-fitted for 3-wire and 4-wire connections.
- Though Pt100 has both thin-film and wire-wound constructions, the Pt1000 temperature sensor mostly comes in thin-film form.
- While Pt100 is suitable to use in processes and machines, Pt100 is mostly competent with battery-operated tools.
- Pt1000 consumes less electricity and results in extended battery service life, lowering expense and downtimes than Pt100.
- Pt1000 produces less self-heating temperature than Pt100.
So, based on your industry requirement and circuit connection, you have to select the most competent one.
Are you searching for the best place to buy temperature probes? If yes, then there is no better option than Process Parameters – PT1000. No matter if you need HVAC & Air Temperature sensors, Surface RTDs, or Autoclave RTDs, Process Parameters can be your ultimate preference, offering you a wide range of temperature sensors compatible with your industry requirements.
They are a UK-based RTDs, thermocouples, and thermistor resistors manufacturer aiming to deliver the customers with high-quality industrial-grade sensors at an affordable price supported by seamless technical assistance.
RTD Connection Configuration: 2, 3, and 4-wire RTD
Selecting the most suitable circuit configuration is mandatory to avoid errors in the temperature measuring process. There are three types of circuit configuration while measuring temperature with RTD sensors:
- 2-wire
- 3-wire
- 4-wire
2-wire Connection
It is the simplest type of configuration, coming with no compensation for conductor resistance error. Hence it is less accurate than other combinations and suitable to use where:
- The length of connecting wires is notably short, and
- Higher precision is not required.
3-wire Configuration
It is an accurate and commonly used circuit configuration while using a PRT, specifically a Pt100. In a 3-wire system, an additional wire is included with the 2-wire scheme to neutralize the lead resistance.
4-wire Configuration
The 4-wire circuit connection is applied where accuracy is crucial. Here, two wires carry the excitation current to the RTD, and the other two are responsible for resistance measurement.
Operating Principle of RTDs
Resistance Thermometers operate based on the fundamental property of conductors: changing resistance with the change of temperature.
The working process:
- In an RTD, a constant electric current flows through the conductor at a constant temperature.
- At a specific temperature, the voltage across the conductor is a variant of the electric resistance at a constant current.
- With the increase in temperature, the atoms of the RTD conductor start vibrating. Thus the electric resistance increases and impedes the current flow, resulting in a voltage drop across the measuring conductor.
- With the varying temperature, you can measure the voltage hence the resistance, varied by the current flowing.
- As RTDs show an almost linearity between resistance and temperature over the operating range, you can get the corresponding value of temperature correlated to a specific resistance using the resistance vs. temperature chart for each PRT.
Both Pt1000 and Pt100 temperature sensors exhibit excellence in industrial applications. Pt1000, because of its higher nominal resistance, comes with higher accuracy in some specific uses.
No matter what temperature sensor you choose, you must buy from a legitimate and trustworthy seller to make the temperature measuring process precise and seamless.
