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Assessment of PM2.5 Concentration and Transport in Indoor Environments Using Low-cost Sensors
SUMIT SANKHYAN, Julia Witteman, Sameer Patel, Marina Vance, University of Colorado Boulder
Abstract Number: 428
Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an important constituent of air pollution and has been linked to a variety of health effects. Consumer-grade, low-cost PM sensors are gaining popularity as a convenient tool for consumers to monitor indoor air quality inside their homes. We investigated five commercially available air quality monitors (IQAir AirVisual Pro, Foobot Home, PurpleAir PA-II-SD, and PurpleAir PA-I-Indoor) and compared them to a research-grade optical particle monitor (TSI Optical Particle Sizer, OPS 3330) by deploying them in three homes of different sizes over a period of 9-12 weeks each. Two identical units of each monitor were deployed in the kitchen and bedroom of each home to evaluate PM2.5 transport between those spaces. Indoor monitors were collocated for 3 days at the beginning and end of each deployment period to assess their accuracy over time. A second component of the project included an investigation on the effects of deploying a consumer-grade portable air cleaner in the kitchen and in the bedroom on PM2.5 levels. A range of sensors (Samsung SmartThings) were also deployed to detect the opening of doors and windows and the operation of the air purifier. Preliminary results show a range of correlation levels between low-cost monitors and the OPS, with R2 values ranging from 0.75 to 0.94, and among pairs of the same low-cost monitor models, with R2 values between 0.60 and 0.99.