## Choosing Sensors Often the first step is to look for a sensor for what you're hoping to measure. In the community posts below, we're collecting info on different kinds of air quality sensors, and their: * cost * sensitivity/accuracy * links and documentation Can you afford a sensor? Can it detect what you're looking for? Where can you learn more about it? ### Posts about choosing and evaluating an air sensor [notes:grid:air-sensor-eval] ### Expected ranges and useful detection limits for pollutants of interest This [table](https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/air_sensors_webinar_slides_06-29-16.pdf) from an EPA [Air Quality Monitoring and Community Science webinar](https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/air_sensors_webinar_slides_06-29-16.pdf) lists the six criteria air pollutants and a couple additional pollutants, with background levels you might see in the environment in the “Range to Expect” column and useful detection limits for sensors. **** ## Wikis about air sensors [wikis:air-sensors] ## Air sensor projects Public Lab pages and posts tagged `air-sensor-projects` will appear here [nodes:air-sensor-projects] ## Questions [questions:air-sensors] ## Further reading and resources + Environmental consultant Tim Dye’s “[4 questions to ask before buying an air quality sensor](http://tdenviro.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/4-questions-when-buying-air-sensors.pdf)” neatly summarizes what to consider when choosing an air sensor. + [Snuffle.org](http://www.snuffle.org/): lots of information on low-cost sensors for various air pollutants. + [Air Quality Sensor Performance Evaluation Center (AQ-SPEC)](http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations): from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, this program tests and evaluates air sensors “in the field, under ambient conditions, and in the laboratory under controlled environmental conditions.” + [Air Sensor Toolbox](https://www.epa.gov/air-sensor-toolbox): from the US Environmental Protection Agency, this toolbox includes guidance on how to use air sensors and their data, plus information on sensor performance and evaluation results. ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| warren | "@wmacfarl also did you do your workshop with these yet? " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| warren | " Hi @sadieprego - would you like us to send you one of these? " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| Ag8n | " A good step forward. Congratulations! Maybe @falbriard could use these ideas for some of his work. " | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| nshapiro | " @nshapiro has marked @haines241 as a co-author. " | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| nshapiro | " @nshapiro has marked @gretchengehrke as a co-author. " | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| zengirl2 | " Happy to see that the light conditions were a minor issue. I would love to get another sensor to re-test my bedroom to see what the reading is now. " | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| hamza151 | " Nice information. If you really want to buy new mobile then visit the site. https://kokania.com/product-category/digital/accessories-digital/mobil..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| warren | " Just linking in your excellent question here: https://publiclab.org/questions/wu_ming2/02-02-2019/how-do-i-calculate-error-for-averages " | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| onedollarwebhostings | " Get a great lesson for this post. Visit at http://www.onedollarwebhostings.com/rs-99-web-hosting-domain-godaddy-india.html to get a best hosting o..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| wu_ming2 | "I posted a related question awaiting approval but may be more useful to follow up here. I am trying to estimate the error for PA2.5 values as prov..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| wu_ming2 | "Wanted simply to upload a zip file with everything but for some reasons didn't work. Anyway here is it: https://repo.or.cz/purpleair-notify.git ..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| bohemian | " Got it. Yeah, IFTT is one of those things - you either use it or you don't and it's not worth taking the leap unless you are doing a bunch of thi..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| wu_ming2 | " @bohemian let me see what I can do. Didn’t use IFTTT because don’t wanted to install another iOS messaging app. So I used Discord instead. " | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| bohemian | "wu_ming2 - I just installed my PurpleAir and like the idea of triggers, maybe even through IFTT. WOuld love to see what you've done. Care to share..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| wu_ming2 | " I took a different route. Wanting to know when to switch on the air purifier based on readings, I developed a micro service pulling JSON data at..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| newjetnet | " Now, decide how you want to manipulate and present your data. You can use excel to insert graphs or you can use a programming language such as Pyt..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| selema | " instagram takipçi " | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| bps | " This sensor can also be used with an Arduino which allows you to create a data logger but you probably knew that. I see that you have it talking t..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| david_uwi | " It's going from 0-250 ug/m3 (and the x-axis is 42 days).The average value (over 6 weeks) is 17 ug/m3. So the graph shows there are some large spik..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| dswenson | " What is your unit scale reading on the output (y axis)? I can't get a clear visual, but it appears to be something other than micrograms/cubic me..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Liz, it's great to know that you (or I guess your Mom) were well coiffed in the 80s, although I regret that you did not include photographic eviden..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| liz | " Dear Chris, as a child of the eighties myself, i can corroborate that the effects of Aquanet hairspray on respiration are quite significant. Were ..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| B-winters | " Love this. I am definitely going to try building this at some point, but don't have the time right now. Perhaps after January term. I am coming b..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago | |||
| lincomatic | "Some anecdotal evidence.. I've built my own PM2.5 monitor using the PMS5003, and have found it to be very resistant to influences of high humidity,..." | Read more » | almost 6 years ago |