Blog · EIC Controls
Mounting, calibrating and maintaining instruments in the field: height and exposure, shields and brackets, reference checks and what to record on each visit.
In a study off the southern Baltic coast, a conductivity sensor moored at 2 m with a used TBT cell was out of specification at the first comparison after deployment, on day 32; with a UVC emitter, the last references, after 237 days, were within the margin. What this changes when planning visits and references.
The temperature that decides frost damage is that of the plant tissue, and it is hard to measure. Five decisions for measuring the air as close to it as possible: height, shield, points in the plot, the variable for your protection method, and threshold with alarm.
Hours of leaf wetness feed many disease warnings, yet there is no standard way to measure them. Where to put the sensor, at what angle and orientation, whether to paint it and how to set the threshold with your own observations.
A study published in 2025 compared CO2 readings at different points in Barcelona classrooms under several types of ventilation. In these classrooms, position and ventilation often mattered more than sensor accuracy, with differences of more than 100 ppm.
Five decisions for installing a water temperature logger in a river: compare the sensors, look for shade, look for moving water, plan for the level dropping and choose the interval. With the limits of each source.
A tipping-bucket rain gauge loses rain to wind and to its own mechanics, and the second loss grows with intensity. What four peer-reviewed studies say about installation height, dynamic calibration and maintenance.
A study published in May 2026 calibrated low-cost capacitive sensors in the laboratory and then moved them to real plots. The laboratory curve drifted in the field, and a single reference measurement on site recovered much of the accuracy.
The shield around the sensor can contribute more error than the sensor itself. What two peer-reviewed studies say about natural ventilation and forced aspiration, and what to document so the series is usable.
What to document about the site, level reference and installation before selecting a sensor.
