Industrial Sensors & Instrumentation worked example

Temperature Probe Cost at 61% transmitter installation rate: a worked example

Suppose transmitter installation rate falls to 61%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Calculate total installed cost for temperature probes (RTDs or thermocouples) including sensor element, thermowell, wiring, transmitter, and commissioning labor.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Temperature probes to install: 12 probes (held at the documented default)
  • Variable cost per probe: 380 $ / probe (held at the documented default)
  • Transmitter installation rate: 61 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 85)
  • Fixed engineering and commissioning: 2,800 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Variable probe cost = probes to install x cost per probe x (transmitter rate / 100).
  • Total installed cost works out to 5,582 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Cost per installed probe works out to 465 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable probe cost works out to 2,782 $ at these inputs.
  • Engineering and commissioning works out to 2,800 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where transmitter installation rate sits at 85% and the headline result is 6,676 $, this scenario comes in 16.39% below the baseline at 5,582 $.
  • It computes total installed temperature probe cost by adding a transmitter-weighted variable cost across all probes to fixed engineering and commissioning, and reports cost per installed probe. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Total installed cost: 5,582 $ (headline result)
  • Cost per installed probe: 465 $ / piece
  • Variable probe cost: 2,782 $
  • Engineering and commissioning: 2,800 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Temperature Probe Cost calculator, set transmitter installation rate to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.