The Differences Between Personal and Professional Breathalyzers
Coming in both personal and professional varieties, breathalyzers allow individuals to self-monitor blood alcohol content (BAC) in order to ensure their personal safety and the safety of others. Personal and professional breathalyzer devices have many differences. If you’re torn between which device would best suit your needs, let’s break things down a little by examining the two options under the following 3 headings:
- Cost
Personal breathalyzers typically fall into the $30 to $80 price range, while professional grade ones vary from $150 to $500, depending on the model in both cases. The differences in cost are mainly attributed to their differing technologies. Personal breathalyzers use semiconductor sensors and professional ones function on fuel cell sensors. Fuel cell sensors are used by government organizations, providing more accurate results for thousands of tests, which is why these models tend to be more costly overall.
- Accuracy
Generally, it’s been found that fuel cell sensors provide more accurate results than semiconductor sensors. Fuel cell sensors, or professional breathalyzers, can remain accurate over the course of many repeated tests and offer the same advanced technology used by law enforcement for preliminary screenings. It’s also rare that professional breathalyzers will show false positives, which may be of concern for those with a necessary requirement for precision. On the other hand, semiconductor sensors tend to lose their accuracy with higher blood alcohol content (BAC) levels and a lack of regular calibration.
- Usage
Professional breathalyzers are typically used by the military, in hospitals, in clinics, in schools, and by individuals. Personal breathalyzers, on the other hand, are used solely for personal purposes. Both are utilized in order to ensure the safety of the individual being tested and those around them. With usage, comes maintenance as well, and it is recommended to re-calibrate breathalyzers with semiconductor sensors every 300 tests or once a year in order to maintain accuracy. Breathalyzers with fuel cell sensors can remain accurate for hundreds and maybe even thousands of tests, but should still be re-calibrated on an annual basis.
Personal and professional breathalyzers vary widely which is why you need to consider your specific requirements before you invest in a device to test your BAC level.