Consilium's MPS TrueLEL™
Lowers total cost of ownership while providing the highest degree of protection
For sites that face mixed combustible hazards (including H₂) and want to cut routine field work, Consilium's molecular property spectrometer (MPS) TrueLEL is designed to reduce total cost of ownership by extending calibration cycles while improving reliability in environments that commonly degrade catalytic sensors.
Compared with infrared detection (IR), MPS can cover hydrogen and hydrocarbons in one sensor, reducing the need for multi-technology deployments and the associated commissioning, spares and ongoing labor.
Catalytic overview
- Lowest capex (typical); widely used, simple LEL point detection
- Detects H₂ and many combustibles
- Higher opex: typically requires frequent calibration/verification (e.g., ≤ 3 months in clean air is a common baseline for most industrial applications) and more technician access
- Sensitive to poisons / inhibitors; can "look healthy" while under-reading (a safety risk) and can have burn-out risk at high concentrations
Infrared overview
- Fast response among common fixed LEL sensor types (typ. T90 ~4 s for methane)
- High resistance to catalytic poisons, strong diagnostics, often factory calibrated with reduced routine calibration burden (still requires inspection/bump tests)
- Cannot detect H₂ (hydrogen is IR-inactive for typical NDIR LEL measurement), driving added sensors/technology if H₂ is required
- Higher capex (typical) and can be gas-specific (accuracy degrades if used far outside its calibration gas family)
MPS overview
- TrueLEL, multi-gas coverage: measures 14 flammables, including H₂, with no correction factors and one detector decision
- Lower opex: lowest requirement of calibration/verification; fewer routine interventions than catalytic programs
- Poisoning-resistant + no burn-out (per Consilium sensor-type matrix); improves uptime and reduces sensor replacement frequency driven by contamination events
- Consideration: suitability in anaerobic/inert atmospheres (vs IR)
Cost-focused recommendation
If your facility has any hydrogen gas or changing/flammable gases, specifying Consilium MPS delivers the lowest lifecycle cost by minimizing routine calibration labour, reducing poisoning-driven replacements and avoiding multi-technology designs. In most industrial deployments, the opex reduction (labour, access, downtime risk) is the dominant cost driver, making MPS the best cost-performance choice where it fits the atmosphere and application constraints.
Compact comparison
| Metric | Catalytic | Point IR (NDIR) | Consilium MPS (TrueLEL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capex | Low | High | Low |
| Opex (calibration frequency & labor) | High: frequent calibration/verification (baseline example: ≤6 mo) + more service calls after poisoning events | Medium: periodic inspection/bump tests; factory calibrated, routine calibration often not required | Low: limited calibration/verification requirements. Routine calibration not required |
| Sensor life | Typically 3–5 yrs (environment dependent) | 5+ yrs | >10+ yrs |
| H₂ detection | Yes | No | Yes |
| Poisoning resistance | Low (silicones/poisons are a known issue) | High | High |
| Response time (T90) | ~22 s | ~4 s | ~20 s |
| False-alarm tendency | Medium-high: drift/poisoning + wrong-gas calibration can cause bad readings (incl. under-reading risk) | Low-medium: good diagnostics; but gas-specific accuracy limits and no H₂ detection can create blind spots | Low: TrueLEL multi-gas + drift/poisoning resistance reduce nuisance alarms and missed alarms |
| Suitability for inert atmospheres | No | Yes | Limited |
Through our partnership with Consilium, we can offer all three of these technologies along with many others to meet your safety requirements — contact us today at sales@intrepid-group.ca.