{"id":9090,"date":"2022-09-23T08:54:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T12:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/?p=9090"},"modified":"2023-04-11T13:20:36","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T17:20:36","slug":"air-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/air-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"Measure Air Quality with Microcontrollers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Download<\/a> \"Parts<\/a> \"View<\/a> \"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

Today we are going to take a look at a multitude of air quality sensors, as well as a few temperature and humidity sensors.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see how we can use a microcontroller to monitor the quality of the air we breathe!<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

Air pollution<\/span><\/a> is a growing concern in almost every spot on the planet, including the inside of your home. In addition to the pollutants in the surrounding air, our indoor environments contain several sources of volatile organic chemicals (VOC) and other contaminants.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Monitoring the number of specific gases in the air will allow you to take steps to improve the air quality in your home. Often a strategically placed fan can work wonders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we will look at several sensors designed to measure gas levels and various aspects of air quality. These can be used to construct an air quality monitor, to create an alarm to alert you to specific gas concentrations, or to automatically activate a fan or open a vent when conditions warrant it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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These sensors can work with almost any microcontroller, as well as with many microcomputers. Some of these sensors use the I2C bus to interface with their host, while others use either a serial connection or provide a voltage output for use with an analog-to-digital converter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we will be using these environmental sensors with both an Arduino and an ESP32, but everything we do today applies to just about any microcontroller.<\/span><\/p>\n

Measuring Air Quality<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are several parameters that you can measure to determine the quality of the air you are breathing.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can look for levels of specific gases like ozone or carbon dioxide, and the sensors we will be using are available for a wide variety of gases. We will also look at sensors that measure the size of particulate matter, tiny particles of material that are a major cause of pollution and respiratory problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We will also measure temperature and humidity. These are not considered to be air quality factors, but accurate temperature and humidity measurements can be used to improve the accuracy of our other sensors.\u00a0 It could also be argued that an environment that is too humid or too dry is also unhealthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Noxious Chemicals<\/span><\/h3>\n

Several of these sensors measure the concentration of specific gases. They are made sensitive to these gases with a resistive sensor that is tuned to that specific element, or \u201celements,\u201d as many of these sensors work with multiple gases.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some gases that you want to be on the lookout for include:<\/span><\/p>\n