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Realtime California Air Quality

purpleair.com

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Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#51

Post by suzakus »

supernova87a wrote: post #44

Maybe someone can share/explain -- Purple Air sells you a sensor that you can install, and then takes the data, displays it on their website for lots of people to view, and then presumably makes money off the data you send them? Why should you have to pay for the sensor then?

You don't have to make it public. I bought a sensor from them and marked it private, so it doesn't appear on the map.

From installation guide:

https://www2.purpleair.com/pages/install

If you set your sensor to private, you may view it by logging in to the PurpleAir map using a Gmail address that matches the "Owner's Email" in the registration form. Alternatively, you can use the link provided in the registration confirmation email. You may share this link with family and friends.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#52

Post by mjrpes »

ericand wrote: post #13

What's with indoor sensors being default on? Is there some value to then that I don't understand?

If you bookmark the website after you have zoomed in on your area and toggled settings (unchecked indoor sensors, LRAPA), it will remember your settings.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#53

Post by mjrpes »

stbtrax wrote: post #19
ericand wrote: post #13

What's with indoor sensors being default on? Is there some value to then that I don't understand?

This is very frustrating. Agreed, they should turn them off by default.

I sent their team an email two years ago with exactly that feedback, and their response was:

"Thank you for the feedback. We are working on an update that will 'save' your preferred map view when logged in on the PurpleAir website. However, it is not published yet."

See my post above how I am able to bookmark the site after I choose the settings I want and it remember these choices when I visit again.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#54

Post by ilyagr »

rz2k wrote: post #41
ilyagr wrote: post #23

I've found http://www.airnow.gov very helpful and faster to load than the Purple Air map. They also have a simple but efficient app. Airnow's map is slow to load, but shows smoke, air monitors (including the Purple Air ones^[footnote]), and fires all at once: https://fire.airnow.gov/?lat=37.40&lng=-122.077&zoom=10# A less detailed, fast, static map for the SF Bay Area is available at http://www.baaqmd.gov . Last, but…

I hooked up a PM2.5 sensor[1] I ordered during wildfires a few years ago, and the EPA's AirNow has been far more consistent with what I'm measuring than Purple Air or IQAir. I think the source for that static map is here: https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/ , and includes some projections. Accuweather and Windy.com have pretty good forecasts, but the ones that have been the most accurate this week for me are the US Forest…

I found the "CANSAC-1.33km" California BlueSky forecast you linked to very helpful, thank you!

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#55

Post by athms »

coronadisaster wrote: post #7
RobLach wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately the same conditions are reappearing which will negatively compound the situation: https://www.chicoer.com/2020/08/23/national-weather-service-...

at least, those 1500 square miles can't burn again... maybe CA need to do controlled burns like FL does (if they don't already do it). IE: Burn dry brush in the forests.

The federal government owns about 45% of California land. Of the forests, 57% are owned by the federal government; 39% are privately owned by individuals, corporations, or land trusts; and the state, county, or local governments control only 2%.

Also, most fires start in grassy areas. The Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise started as a grass fire on federal land before it spread to shrubs and burned through mostly private land. California has almost 8 million acres of shrubs.

The Woosley Fire that burned almost half of Malibu was started on industrial property owned by Boeing and spread through chaparral along the steep Santa Monica Mountains.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#56

Post by IvyMike »

supernova87a wrote: post #44

Maybe someone can share/explain -- Purple Air sells you a sensor that you can install, and then takes the data, displays it on their website for lots of people to view, and then presumably makes money off the data you send them? Why should you have to pay for the sensor then?

Here's a NYT article on the origins of Purple Air.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/style/air-quality-polluti...

I have a Purple Air sensor; I view the money I spent on it as helping to sponsor a "citizen science" project. Could the nature of the project change in the future, to where I feel like I was taken advantage of? Sure, I guess. But I'm ok taking that risk.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#57

Post by ilyagr »

Zhenya wrote: post #45

Submitted a quick instruction on how to make an air purifier. Link: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24251509 Copy/pasta to help folks: Note: this is not my idea, but I have used it for 2 Cal fire seasons successfully. 1) Acquire a box fan 2) Acquire a large "FPR 10" rated filter from home depot 3) Duct tape filter to the out flow side of the box fan. Make sure the arrows on the filter point in the correct airflo…

How loud is it?

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#58

Post by supernova87a »

IvyMike wrote: post #56
supernova87a wrote: post #44

Maybe someone can share/explain -- Purple Air sells you a sensor that you can install, and then takes the data, displays it on their website for lots of people to view, and then presumably makes money off the data you send them? Why should you have to pay for the sensor then?

Here's a NYT article on the origins of Purple Air. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/style/air-quality-polluti... I have a Purple Air sensor; I view the money I spent on it as helping to sponsor a "citizen science" project. Could the nature of the project change in the future, to where I feel like I was taken advantage of? Sure, I guess. But I'm ok taking that risk.

I see. Ok, well at least it's not some tech app service trying to charge on the front end and make money off the back too.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#59

Post by Zhenya »

ilyagr wrote: post #57
Zhenya wrote: post #45

Submitted a quick instruction on how to make an air purifier. Link: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24251509 Copy/pasta to help folks: Note: this is not my idea, but I have used it for 2 Cal fire seasons successfully. 1) Acquire a box fan 2) Acquire a large "FPR 10" rated filter from home depot 3) Duct tape filter to the out flow side of the box fan. Make sure the arrows on the filter point in the correct airflo…

How loud is it?

Not loud at all. Just a background hum. However, I'm sure it's a function of the box fan motor. I have a cheap one and it's perfectly fine to sleep in the same room.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#60

Post by ahaucnx »

We are a new startup (currently doing Startup School) to provide air quality monitoring solutions especially for schools.

From the beginning it was important for us to give back to the community so we setup AirGradient for Education providing free tutorials and advise.

We just published our open source and open hardware air quality sensor measuring PM2.5, CO2, Temperature and Humdity. So you can build your own sensor with a small display to measure the air quality in and around your home. We call it the AirGradient DIY sensor.

Build instructions, Code and Hardware files can be found on our project page: https://www.airgradient.com/diy/

It would be great to hear feedback from you!

PS: We are also looking for schools that are interested in improving air quality to learn more about their needs and possible solutions. Please PM me for more information.

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