3 ms·

I've been looking at picking up an outdoor air quality monitor from PurpleAir. Can anyone vouch for them? I've found their air quality map the most helpful: h

I've been looking at picking up an outdoor air quality monitor from PurpleAir. Can anyone vouch for them? I've found their air quality map the most helpful: https://map.purpleair.com/1/mAQI/a10/p604800/cC0#5.16/41.047/-78.613 https://map.purpleair.com/1/mAQI/a10/p604800/cC0#5.16/41.047...

eunoia 3y ago
I can vouch. Have one at home and use their map as my go to for understanding air quality. I haven’t had time to play with it yet, but they have an API for the Home Assistant types out there.
S201 3y ago
I don't have one personally but I did some research into their hardware when making a DIY clone a few years ago: https://github.com/shanet/clearair https://github.com/shanet/clearair The EPA published a paper calibrating the sensors PurpleAir uses with their much more expensive sensors and found it was fairly close after applying a correction factor (which I also used in my implementation). https://github.com/shanet/ClearAir/blob/master/docs/PurpleAir%20PM2.5%20Correction%20and%20Performance%20During%20Smoke%20Events.pdf https://github.com/shanet/ClearAir/blob/master/docs/PurpleAi...
- iak8god 3y ago
  Very cool project. Do you run your clone device in any kind of enclosure?
  - S201 3y ago
    Yes, I keep mine indoors so I made a small wooden box with a cutout on top covered with a piece of window screen material to allow for airflow inside. I figured I'd leave the enclosure as an exercise for the reader since you'd likely have a different preference for it than I did.
- Eisenstein 3y ago
  Question about your project: can I swap out the Feather M0 for an ESP32 based board like HUZZAH32? * https://www.adafruit.com/product/3405 https://www.adafruit.com/product/3405
  - S201 3y ago
    I don't see why not as long as the Adafruit libraries I used still work on it (or you swap them out with something else). Overall it's a pretty simple project that just reads values from sensors and prints their values over a TCP socket so I'd imagine getting it to run on a different platform than I used would be fairly straightforward.
ahaucnx 3y ago
We maintain an open source, open hardware air quality monitor project that is quite popular. We also sell these monitors as easy to assemble kits. One of the monitors is an outdoor monitor similar to the Purple Air that uses dual PM sensors for enhanced accuracy. You can find more information of the kits here [1] and the built instructions including files for schematics, enclosure here [2]. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/kits/ https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/kits/ [2] https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/instructions/diy-open-air-presoldered-v11/ https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/instructions/di...
danenania 3y ago
Yes! I was going to post PurpleAir for all you east coast wildfire newbies. It has been an essential resource in CA for the last few years. I recommend limiting time outside as much as possible when the levels are high, like over 100. You might not notice it at first, but over time it can start to make you feel pretty bad--coughing, itchy eyes, fatigue, etc. Especially avoid doing any kind of vigorous exercise like running or cycling that makes you breathe hard. I learned that the hard way. Also, if it's anything like smoke season in CA, air filters are probably back-ordered and sold out at stores, but I recommend getting at least one so you have it for next time. They are so worth the cost. We have one for each room in our home, but we have a young child so we go a bit overboard.
grogenaut 3y ago
when this stuff hit hard in seattle 2 years ago I had a bunch of air particulate sensors and arduinos for covid research projects. Other than telling you not to cook inside and not to open the windows they didn't say much. AQI inside didn't change much with ac on or off... or when I quickly went outside. The purples were usually good but also not way off in a few cases. I drove to one that had crazy high readings and it was actually the lowest reading I found on 2 different devices. Basically all the monitor is going to have you do is fret. Like watching pandemic case load statuses. Take a bunch of anti-histamines, don't go outside, drink water, wear a respirator. Run in house hepas if you have em. Hope/cross fingers/pray for rain. Spend your money on a real respirator or filter. Work from the office, they yusuallly have good filters.
diebeforei485 3y ago
Californian here. PurpleAir is awesome.

eunoia 3y ago

I can vouch. Have one at home and use their map as my go to for understanding air quality. I haven’t had time to play with it yet, but they have an API for the Home Assistant types out there.

S201 3y ago

I don't have one personally but I did some research into their hardware when making a DIY clone a few years ago: https://github.com/shanet/clearair https://github.com/shanet/clearair The EPA published a paper calibrating the sensors PurpleAir uses with their much more expensive sensors and found it was fairly close after applying a correction factor (which I also used in my implementation). https://github.com/shanet/ClearAir/blob/master/docs/PurpleAir%20PM2.5%20Correction%20and%20Performance%20During%20Smoke%20Events.pdf https://github.com/shanet/ClearAir/blob/master/docs/PurpleAi...

iak8god 3y ago
Very cool project. Do you run your clone device in any kind of enclosure?
- S201 3y ago
  Yes, I keep mine indoors so I made a small wooden box with a cutout on top covered with a piece of window screen material to allow for airflow inside. I figured I'd leave the enclosure as an exercise for the reader since you'd likely have a different preference for it than I did.
Eisenstein 3y ago
Question about your project: can I swap out the Feather M0 for an ESP32 based board like HUZZAH32? * https://www.adafruit.com/product/3405 https://www.adafruit.com/product/3405
- S201 3y ago
  I don't see why not as long as the Adafruit libraries I used still work on it (or you swap them out with something else). Overall it's a pretty simple project that just reads values from sensors and prints their values over a TCP socket so I'd imagine getting it to run on a different platform than I used would be fairly straightforward.

ahaucnx 3y ago

We maintain an open source, open hardware air quality monitor project that is quite popular. We also sell these monitors as easy to assemble kits. One of the monitors is an outdoor monitor similar to the Purple Air that uses dual PM sensors for enhanced accuracy. You can find more information of the kits here [1] and the built instructions including files for schematics, enclosure here [2]. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/kits/ https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/kits/ [2] https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/instructions/diy-open-air-presoldered-v11/ https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/instructions/di...

danenania 3y ago

Yes! I was going to post PurpleAir for all you east coast wildfire newbies. It has been an essential resource in CA for the last few years. I recommend limiting time outside as much as possible when the levels are high, like over 100. You might not notice it at first, but over time it can start to make you feel pretty bad--coughing, itchy eyes, fatigue, etc. Especially avoid doing any kind of vigorous exercise like running or cycling that makes you breathe hard. I learned that the hard way. Also, if it's anything like smoke season in CA, air filters are probably back-ordered and sold out at stores, but I recommend getting at least one so you have it for next time. They are so worth the cost. We have one for each room in our home, but we have a young child so we go a bit overboard.

grogenaut 3y ago

when this stuff hit hard in seattle 2 years ago I had a bunch of air particulate sensors and arduinos for covid research projects. Other than telling you not to cook inside and not to open the windows they didn't say much. AQI inside didn't change much with ac on or off... or when I quickly went outside. The purples were usually good but also not way off in a few cases. I drove to one that had crazy high readings and it was actually the lowest reading I found on 2 different devices. Basically all the monitor is going to have you do is fret. Like watching pandemic case load statuses. Take a bunch of anti-histamines, don't go outside, drink water, wear a respirator. Run in house hepas if you have em. Hope/cross fingers/pray for rain. Spend your money on a real respirator or filter. Work from the office, they yusuallly have good filters.

diebeforei485 3y ago

Californian here. PurpleAir is awesome.