Why Transmitters over Direct Wiring?

http://www.rosemount.com/products/temperature/why_transmitters.html
Advantages of Using Temperature Transmitters
1. Reduced Wiring Costs

4. Improved Reliability with Sensor

Diagnostics

2. Less Susceptibility to EMI Interference

5. Reduced Downtime with Cost-Effective

Sensor Redundancy

3. Better Accuracy and Repeatability

Transmitter Installation

Direct Wiring Costs

Reduced Wiring Costs
Wiring sensors direct back to a control system necessitates the use of
expensive sensor leadwire extensions which can cost substantially more
than standard copper wires used for transmitter communications.
Wiring cost savings are dependent on wiring distances, specific plant
architecture, material and labor costs.
Click here to download Rosemounts Cost Savings Calculator. This
interactive tool allows you to compare various wiring architectures based
on actual inputs from your plant installation.

Less Susceptibility to EMI Interference for Better Reliability

Todays industrial environments are continuously subjected to
numerous forms of EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) and RFI (Radio
Frequency Interference). Common sources include transformers,
various AC and DC motors, welding equipment and radio
communications equipment.
EMI and RFI emissions may be negatively affecting your plant,
particularly if direct wiring of instrumentation is used. RTD and
thermocouple sensor signals are relatively small in magnitude and
hence more susceptible to being affected by various EMI/RFI
interference. Furthermore, sensor leadwires can contribute to the
problem be acting as an antenna and actually drawing additional
amounts of spurious EMI/RFI into the sensing circuit. Any extraneous
EMI/RFI "picked up" by the measurement circuit will cause an
erroneous Temperature measurement, and at high enough levels, a
plant shutdown.
On the other hand, an installation using temperature transmitters is able
to withstand greater levels of EMI/RFI . A transmitter accomplishes this
by converting the low-level (ohm or mV) sensor signal into a relatively
robust and high magnitude signal, which is typically a 4-20mA analog
signal or a digital fieldbus signal.
Lastly, it is important to select transmitters that are themselves resistant
to the negative effects of EMI/RFI. Not doing so will introduce another
potential EMI/RFI failure point into the measurement circuit.

Improved Measurement Accuracy for Optimal Yields

In a typical application, the majority of Temperature measurement error is inherent to the Temperature
sensor (RTD, thermocouple, etc..) and not to the signal communications equipment (i.e. transmitter, PLC, or
DCS input card).
Todays advanced Temperature transmitters are able to eliminate the majority of this Temperature sensor
error by utilizing Transmitter-Sensor Matching. First, an RTDs precise resistance versus temperature
relationship is determined by sensor calibration. Next, the resultant sensor calibration information is
"Matched" to a device enabled with Transmitter-Sensor Matching by loading it onto the transmitters internal
memory. As a result, the transmitter is able to process the sensors resistance information and calculate the
exact Temperature of the process, thereby eliminating the bulk of the sensors error.

Improved Reliability with Sensor Diagnostics

All sensors drift. Use of the appropriate Temperature Transmitter enabled with Sensor Drift Alert a the
concurrent monitoring of two separate sensors or one dual-element sensor.
By setting a user definable drift limit between the two sensors, the transmitter will automatically alert the user
when the difference between the two sensor readings is greater than the drift limit. This enables pro-active
user investigation of the process and instrumentation long before a severe condition is encountered,
improving measurement reliability and helping to ensure a smooth running process.

Reduced Downtime with Cost-Effective Sensor Redundancy

Most Temperature measurement points fail due to a sensor malfunction. A temperature transmitter enabled
with Hot Backup capability can be wired to two separate sensors or one dual-element sensor.
Should the primary sensor fail, the transmitter will automatically and seamlessly switch to the secondary
sensor, thereby avoiding a lost reading and allowing the user time to replace the failed sensor.
Hot Backup is an easy and cost-effective way to provide redundancy for critical applications and reduce
costly process downtime due to sensor failures.