The design of solenoid valves allows them to have many applications. Their most common use is as water valves, oil valves, gas valves, steam valves, solvents valves, cryogenics valves, air and vapors valves, as well as many other applications as hydraulic valves and pneumatic valves. Typical environments for solenoid valves are in medical and biomedical equipment, analytical instrumentation, semiconductors, HVAC and other industrial OEM environments. A unique feature that solenoid valves have is the automatic triggering from remote locations by different voltages, making them useful in rough or hazardous locations.
Important items to consider when looking at solenoid valves are proportionality, linearity, frequency response, repeatability, power consumption, leakage, life expectancy and cost. With so many types of solenoid valves and other related valves, the application requirements are very important. Because solenoid valves are designed to perform operations, ranging from water valves, air valves pneumatic valves or used in applications such as ones to restrict, meter and maintain the flow of liquid and gaseous materials, they are widely used in vastly different fields and industries.