Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor • Hacker News Board

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#71

Post by ted_dunning » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 1:20 AM UTC

codetrotter wrote: post #58

ahaucnx wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two main advantages of having two sensors: a) Data quality: You can detect if one sensor fails as the two readings will start to deviate and then replace the faulty one b) Extend the life of the monitor: The PM sensors with the laser and optics have a limited life. By having two inside, you can alternate the measurement and put them in sleep mode inbetween. Thus extending the life of the monitor.

> You can detect if one sensor fails as the two readings will start to deviate and then replace the faulty one But how do you know which one is the faulty one?

The failure modes are commonly fairly apparent. One sensor will go to a static low value and the other will show normal variability.

In the theoretical limit of all mathematically possible failure modes and all possible environmental conditions, this would be impossible of course. But we live in a fairly predictable environment and the nature of the failures is not unlimited. As such, it is pragmatically pretty easy to see the difference.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#72

Post by ted_dunning » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 1:26 AM UTC

frognumber wrote: post #44

traceroute66 wrote: post #5

Time for the usual reminder that there is a search function on the bottom of every single YC page. Air gradient has been extensively discussed here multiple times already.

I don't mind the repost. It's doing good work. It's good to be reminded of it, and it's a slightly different thing each time. I'll buy it when it's ready for prime time. The founder reads this. Founder: What's held me back from buying this is a lack of github links and instructions. EVERY place you say "open source" should link to the repo. The repo should have CLEAR instructions for how to hack this. There's a lot o…

You sound like me.

The supplier answers all your questions on their website (and as you can see, the founder is taking your suggestions)

Also, their software is just as hackable as you seem to want. I was able to create my own dashboard in a very short time using numpy and plotly. I query my archive using duckdb.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#73

Post by ted_dunning » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 1:27 AM UTC

xvfLJfx9 wrote: post #6

If the device worked with ZigBee, I would get it immediately. However, it seems to support only WiFi, which means if someone gains physical access to the AirQuality monitor (which isn't exactly difficult since it is placed outside), they can potentially extract the WiFi password and gain full access to my network.

I keep my sensors on a separate network. There's very little they can do.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#74

Post by ted_dunning » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 1:33 AM UTC

majkinetor wrote: post #29

Can I get the data as CSV or similar for custom presentation, backup and analysis?

It is the work of a moment to adjust the source code to send your data to any server you like. The server can be as simple as a few lines of Python to catch the JSON data and archive it.

The simplest format is to send JSON data like the system does anyway, just change the URL it sends to. From there, you can accumulate the data and present it any way you like. I keep my historical data in parquet format on a Pi4. YMMV.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#75

Post by nathan_f77 » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 2:32 AM UTC

This company is pretty awesome! I lived in Chiang Mai for a few years and the burning seasons were absolutely horrible. I will never live there again. I bought an air quality sensor from a makerspace in Chiang Mai, and I was a bit frustrated that they kept it closed source so I couldn't get the data into Home Assistant.

I currently have TuYa TS0601 Zigbee air quality sensors in every room of my house. I don't think the data is very accurate, but I just use it to automatically turn on the rangehood fan when the PM25 spikes in the kitchen, and an extractor fan in the workshop. Also to monitor CO2 in the bedroom and our offices and turn on the nearby bathroom fans. So I use them more as a boolean sensor and don't really need precise measurements.

I live in New Zealand and fortunately our outdoor air quality is very good all year. If I lived somewhere with frequent wildfires (e.g. Sydney or Melbourne), then I'd probably upgrade to the airgradient indoor sensors.

New Zealand is small and we have a lot of problems (cost of living, housing crisis, low salaries, etc.) so we've been thinking about moving somewhere else, but I don't know if I can give up the clean air. It's actually a pretty nice place to live.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#76

Post by weinzierl » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 5:14 AM UTC

dano wrote: post #57

ahaucnx wrote: post #2

I'm the founder of AirGradient and last year we have decided to focus our company on open hardware air quality monitors that we produce professionally. Our outdoor monitor Open Air has been designed from the start as an open hardware project with a beautiful plastic injected enclosure to demonstrate that open source hardware can look and perform on the same level like traditional products. We do also work intensively…

A battery backed solar powered unit would be ideal for installation where power is not readily available. Scheduled WiFi or the addition of LoRa would also be a benefit. Nice project.

Came here to ask that: Any chance for battery powered LoRaWAN version?

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#77

Post by cyberax » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 6:36 AM UTC

xvfLJfx9 wrote: post #6

If the device worked with ZigBee, I would get it immediately. However, it seems to support only WiFi, which means if someone gains physical access to the AirQuality monitor (which isn't exactly difficult since it is placed outside), they can potentially extract the WiFi password and gain full access to my network.

> If the device worked with ZigBee, I would get it immediately.

A huge problem with ZigBee is that it's not OpenSource-friendly. The tools are proprietary and devkits are pretty pricey.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#78

Post by hlandau » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 6:48 AM UTC

I always get surprised by how many sensor products offer temperature and humidity but not pressure, considering that combined MEMS temperature/humidity/pressure chips are available. Having a sensor which can do temperature/humidity/pressure as well as air quality/CO2 would definitely be of interest to me.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#79

Post by aequitas » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 6:50 AM UTC

CommanderData wrote: post #18

ahaucnx wrote: post #2

I'm the founder of AirGradient and last year we have decided to focus our company on open hardware air quality monitors that we produce professionally. Our outdoor monitor Open Air has been designed from the start as an open hardware project with a beautiful plastic injected enclosure to demonstrate that open source hardware can look and perform on the same level like traditional products. We do also work intensively…

I'm struggling to see the benefit of your product. Apart from the outdoor element. You can buy a 4 in 1 air monitor from Amazon for half the price (Co2, PM, Temp and Humidity) i.e. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Indoor-Air-Quality-Monitor-Multifun... There are others with 6 in 1 with app control for less. Aren't there other sensors that would be more useful providing better insights on pollutants and health you could provi…

This is the cheapest option I found that would do MQTT or allow me to include my own HTTP endpoint for scraping Prometheus metrics over WiFi.

Re: Open Source Outdoor Air Quality Monitor

#80

Post by defrost » Sun, Jul 30, 2023, 6:53 AM UTC

hlandau wrote: post #78

I always get surprised by how many sensor products offer temperature and humidity but not pressure, considering that combined MEMS temperature/humidity/pressure chips are available. Having a sensor which can do temperature/humidity/pressure as well as air quality/CO2 would definitely be of interest to me.

Not just you.

Doing geophysical air surveys back in the day we'd record distance to ground, temp, humidity, and air pressure in order to have a running estimated mass between craft and ground to correctly scale readings such as radiometric spectrums from ground decay which weaken with mass between source (ground) and detector (craft).