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Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

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251–260 of 332 posts

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The WiFi versions have negative value to me, the apps are usually terrible and they are almost impossible to pair (typically only have 2.4ghz radios). I went with the P10 which does exactly what I want (AQI and PM2.5). It looks nice, it works, and is highly visible from a distance (even has a 6hr battery which makes it easy to move between rooms). The only other one I'd consider is the one that does CO2. As a bonus t…

i guess i should have been more specific with my non-wifi version questions: * is there a way to view sensor data historically and arbitrarily, preferably off device? * is there a way to use it to control other devices (possibly via a home automation gateway) like my air purifier? i see that it can be plugged in for power, but also has a battery, which is a nice feature. does that also allow for data transfer?

If you can do some really basic soldering then any i2c capable board (like raspberry) + PMSA003I + ccs811 and influx+grafana or something to dump the data into shoule give you the monitoring+archive solution.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#252
post #2

I’m in the midsts of this right now and it’s depressing. I spent yesterday morning with a sore throat and itchy eyes and most of the afternoon hopelessly driving hours away for a box fan and furnace filter (I finally found them). All the while I should have been working. Some of my coworkers have complained of week-long headaches. If anyone else is suffering from this: you are not alone.

I worry about the consequences of prolonged exposure. There is historical precedent that shows we should be concerned. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smog_of_London

Rightly so. Smoke inside the house is a leading cause of death. [0]

[0]https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-a...

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#253
post #108
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm not looking forward to any smoke now my dad has COPD, IPF, is on oxygen, and he's elderly. If we get any amount of smoke here it will be the end of him. It's hard enough trying to keep him from contracting SARS-Cov-2 and developing covid-19 Seriously, get a HEPA rated air filter. Speaking as someone who has some serious lung issues, it's literally life changing/saving. Honeywell sells a number of models, cost is…

This. My sleep has greatly improved since putting a HEPA filter in my bedroom and I rather enjoy the white noise of the fan. Good units like the Sharp Plasmacluster I use have a large, slow moving blower (not a higher speed fan with fewer, larger blades) so the noise is very subtle.

I also have HEPA filters throughout my house. They have improved my sleep and reduced my allergies even.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#254
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been using an app that converts AQI to equivalent cigarettes smoked per day. It’s not perfect but it’s something I can wrap my head around as a meaningfully bad number.

I'd really rather not download a whole app for this so my apologies if this answer is readily available in the app, but... I keep seeing these kinds of conversions (AQI to equivalent cigarettes per day) but I never see numbers on how long you need to be outside for that to be the case. Is it based on assuming someone on the coast (where AC is rare) having to keep their windows open all day? Is it based on 1-2 trips o…

I presumed it was 24h of outdoor exposure (aka camping), and based on the founder's response on ProductHunt[0] that seems to be the case.

[0] https://www.producthunt.com/posts/sh-t-i-smoke

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#255

Yup. It's been a fun weekend. Everyone in the family is feeling the cabin fever, but outside (Bellevue, WA) smells like inside of a fireplace. We put a few boxed fans with HEPA filters around the house and they are now black. In hindsight, should've bought more filters, but all the stores and Amazon are sold out for the near future. Speaking about the future, this puts planning in perspective. With the climate changi…

Be sure to have a bypass on your rain system to flush the smoke precipitates off your roof before they get into the tank. My parents water used to taste of tar over winter when they were lighting their fire.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but they don’t keep the air clean nearly as fast as putting room air purifiers near people (closer to source) unless you have an HVAC that is so powerful you feel wind inside..

It's really not related to wind speed or hvac power. If you have a well insulated house then a normal hvac system can maintain positive pressure and keep the air inside clean. Assuming it's designed for that purpose. Alternatively just having a bunch of box fans forcing air through filters is also good. That's essentially what a air purifier is.

Well insulated houses, unfortunately, are not a usual feature of West Coast architecture.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#257

Use room air purifiers with hepa quality, those remove particles down to Furnace filters are not designed to filter as much, or else they would need changing too often and put too much pressure on the furnace motors when people forget, which is a hazard in its own right.

Wow, corona viruses are ~0.1um in size, maybe a bit bigger. HEPA filters of appropriate quality then should trap many of the viruses. Thanks for the heads up!

Even more than that, because for the most part you're not filtering for viruses, but rather, aerosols: tiny mucus particles which contain the virus, but are themselves much larger, and also quite sticky.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#258
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no good timing for these fires but now just seems really bad. Can't socialize inside because of Covid, can't socialize outdoors because of smoke. Tough time to be in the West Coast.

And as someone in the PNW these last few weeks were going to be our last hurrah of nice warm weather before the long gray winter too.

I'm not looking forward to this winter. The pandemic so far has been bearable for me because I can go outside and work in the yard and enjoy the nice weather.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#259
post #29

This blog post went up on Saturday, September 12. It says: >> MUCH cleaner air will push in by 4 PM Sunday over the coastal zone and will just reach Seattle late in the afternoon >> By 1 AM Monday, air quality will be hugely better in western Washington As of now (Tuesday) there is no sign of clearing. Here in Seattle we are still in the "very unhealthy" range for AQI.

I'm seeing some improvement in Redmond as of 3pm. I can see more distant hilltops than yesterday, sky feels slightly more blue, and looking directly at the sun hurts the eyes more than yesterday. Still extremely smoky don't get me wrong. Looking at the NWS forecasts they mention smoke going forward until Thursday night when we may get a thunderstorm.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I put it behind the fan as well, but now I'm curious if there a difference in air quality between the two methods?

if the filter is the same distance from the fan, there really isn't much of a difference. Filter after the fan is perhaps a bit better from a turbulence and noise perspective. https://www.quora.com/Where-should-an-air-filter-be-placed-r... One thing to keep in mind though is most filters have an expected direction of airflow, which does matter both to its efficacy and efficiency.

I put the filter behind the fan, the reason being that the filter will be sucked onto the fan, thus providing a better seal between the fan and filter than it would be if the filter was in the front and being actively pushed away from the fan by the air.
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