Particulates or particulate matter in the Air in Freiburg

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This is an english summary of my page about my little air quality sensor.

The story behind it is explained very simply: One day I decided to visit the people of luftdaten.info in Stuttgart and have a look at their project. They have cleverly designes a particular matter sensor for both PM10 and PM2.5 that costs less then 30 Euros.

Because of their small size, particles on the order of 10 micrometers or less (PM₁₀) can penetrate the deepest part of the lungs such as the bronchioles or alveoli. Similarly, so called fine PM, (often referred to as PM_2.5), tend to penetrate into the gas exchange regions of the lung (alveolus), and very small particles (< 100 nanometers) may pass through the lungs to affect other organs. So these particles are not something you should take lightly. And these particulates are a good indicator for other Air polutants such as NOx. Both are caused by burning stuff, either to heat your house or when you drive around in a car.

The effects of inhaling particulate matter that have been widely studied in humans and animals include asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, premature delivery, birth defects, and premature death.

In Europe PM10 particulates should not exceed 50 µg/m³ on a Daily average for more then 35 days. The worst air in Germany is often found in Stuttgart, but Freiburg beeing in a valley also has problems. Thats why I decided to put upt he first sensor from this citizen science network.

The graphics you see are taken from my sensor outside on my balcony. The grey thing next to my little polar pear houses the sensor. You can build these fairly easy yourself.

These graphics should be refreshed every 15 min. This one shows the measurement over one week. Note 50 µg/m³  are the limit:

https://www.madavi.de/sensor/images/sensor-esp8266-924569-sds011-1-week.png

To see if the 50 µg/m³ for PM10 has been broken, see this chart:

https://www.madavi.de/sensor/images/sensor-esp8266-924569-sds011-1-floating.png

Besides that the sensor also gives you the value for PM2.5, here the chart for the last 24 hours. The EU hast no limits for particles in that size.

https://www.madavi.de/sensor/images/sensor-esp8266-924569-sds011-25-day.png

But the sensor also measures temperature:

https://www.madavi.de/sensor/images/sensor-esp8266-924569-dht-1-day.png

and humidity:

https://www.madavi.de/sensor/images/sensor-esp8266-924569-dht-25-day.png

For more information consult the wiki article.

Or see my german articles in this blog.