Cumulus Support

Hi,

With the recent Air pollution wafting across the country, I thought I would have a look
and see if there are any home Air Pollution Monitors that I could have as a seperate addition
to my weather station.

I found the "Air Quality Egg" at the below link. And just wondered if anyone has got one of
these installed and if so what they thought of it?

It retails for about £111 ukp
http://shop.wickeddevice.com/product/air-quality-egg/

Map of installed monitors, with NO2 and CO values.
http://airqualityegg.com/egg/115453


Mark

I am really surprised that there are not more of this type of device on the market. I have looked into this in the past but this is the first time I have seen such a comprehensive solution. The reviews are good and the 'egg' network is growing. An air monitoring network from the public by the public that does not have 'government tampered' figures.

Where's that credit card?

Thanks for posting this Mark. And if anyone else is interested, take a look at the 'add on' sensors.

I found this topic when I was searching the forum for ways of dragging the data back down to NZ
I had followed the progress of two groups from New York and Amsterdam concerned re the ‘air that we breath’ for the last couple of years and finally decided at the end of last year to add my local environment.
To quote one of the developers:
‘Look outside your window — have you ever wondered what the quality of the air is out there? I mean RIGHT. OUT. THERE. 12 inches from your face. If so, you are out of luck. The air quality data collected by the government is likely sampled from far, far away and then applied to you on a regional level, almost completely useless from the standpoint of trying to understand or change the local dynamics of pollution that affect you. Not good.’

So they built an air quality system and called it ‘Air Quality Egg’ as that is what they look like.
Here is the blog re the history of the Open Air Quality Sensor Network:
http://blog.xively.com/2011/12/07/you-c ... or-network

The setup consists of a base which plugs straight into your modem/router and a wireless sensor. No software or drivers to install. Easy.
The wireless sensor is hanging out my window at present as both base and sensor need to be plugged into a power socket. They are bigger than they look, more the size of a coconut than an egg. They can be placed out in a shed, on a window sill, hung outside or inside. I have read some use them to help children with asthma, monitoring their bedrooms.
The sensors have the capability of reading the levels of Ozone, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Volatile Organics and Air Quality Particulates , Temperature and Humidity depending what you purchase. You can buy the base unit and then add to it as your pocket or husband/wife allows

My data is being fed up to London every minute or so and can be found live on their Map. Click on any egg for their data. Links are at the bottom of that page if you are interested in buying, plus links to wiki help and the Google forum group.
http://airqualityegg.com/

Data feeds are provided by xively.com owned by Logmein. Here is mine.
https://xively.com/feeds/1962124815

Needless to say I wanted to go one step further and add a page to my website. One has to have a project
With the usual help from the very patient beteljuice I drew up the page and he did the coding to extract my data from the xively feeds.

I am finding it really interesting moving the sensor around the place as to the Ozone, Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Dioxide levels around me. One thing I have proven, it is safer to shut all doors and windows and stay inside.
Needless to say our rural levels are low compared to the larger cities.

Here is my page; it is a work in progress as I would like to add to the dashboard with more visual info regarding the levels and the health risk.
If anyone is interested it has been well worth the investment so go for it.

http://wairoa.net/weather/aqeDay.htm
Links to week and month graphs are at the bottom.

Cheers
Jenny

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for the informative post and your website looks great with all the graphs and information.

I am still thinking of getting one, just need to persuade the other half we need one. But as
the local council are looking to use a quiet road outside our cul de sac as a new distributor road
to divert traffic from our town center around the outskirts and down this road. We could see an
increase of 800% traffic volume! coming down this qiet road. To say the least all the residents
are not happy.

So I may be able to justify the purchase so that we can monitor the polution levels now and
show any discrepancies with the polution monitoring that the council have undertaken. To make
sure they are not softening the figures and giving unrealistic projected figures for the levels if
the traffic is increased.


BTW.
Would you know if instead of connecting the base station directly into the router,
would it be possible to connect it via a 'HomePlugPowerline Ethernet Adapter'?

HomePlugPowerline Ethernet Adapter

HomePlugPowerline adapters, also known as HomePlugs are devices used for home networking
typically where you need to connect a gadget or box to the Internet in a room where there is no Internet.

i.e. If you have your Internet router in one room, but you need Internet in another room in your home.
You could use wi-fi, but there are some situations where wi-fi isn't an option, such as the distance involved,
or if your device doesn't support wi-fi.

Mark

I can vouch for the home plugs, I run them in my house and to install firmware updated on my camera.
They act like the device is plugged straight into the router/hub.
I have my PS3/TV/media center, main pc/other PC and router together.
I run 2 network hubs on either end, been using these for about 5 years..
Great....

Hi Mark,

This sensor would be perfect to prove that the Carbon Monoxide levels have increased as we know they will hugely.
Run it inside, doors and windows closed. Then take it outside..... this should turn you into a Agoraphobic if nothing else...lol

and yes no reason as ace2 said that you could not bounce off the HomePlugPowerline Ethernet Adapter.

Cheers

People who expect 'fracking' to be taking place could also find them useful ammunition .....

Although you would probably need both the Volatile Organics (for methane) and Air Quality Particulate (dust) optional boards.

See UK gov info: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 19/Air.pdf

As an aside, all these gas sensors are significantly affected by temperature and humidity, and it is recommended that external 'eggs' are in the shade.

These units do report their temp / RH and hopefully the readings returned are corrected ? - perhaps Jenny can confirm ...

Very Basically,
Globally, quantities of nitrogen oxides produced naturally outweigh anthropogenic emissions. Anthropogenic emissions are mainly due to fossil fuel combustion from both stationary sources, i.e. power generation (21%), and mobile sources, i.e. transport (44%).

Volatile Organic Compounds, Carbon Monoxide, Benzene, Particulate Matter, Sulphur Dioxide etc, all contribute to the level of NO and NO2.

Most O3 in the troposphere (lower atmosphere) is formed indirectly by the action of sunlight on nitrogen dioxide

So yes the Temperature and humidity play a large role in the emissions of O3. The higher the temp and NO2 the higher the O3 emissions.

My main area of concern down here is the Ozone levels hence why I have purchased that ad on board first.

Correct beteljuice, very good ammunition regarding fracking and yes definitely advisable to add the Volatile Organics (VoC) Sensor and Air Quality Particulate Add-on boards.

The sensor does need to be in the shade. The housing is not as protective as our weather station housings obviously as air flow is high priority. It is actually suggested to open the shell for better air flow.

So far the temp and humidity readings have been fairly well correct.

Cheers