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Air Quality monitoring with Conrad Connect. Getting Started

Air quality has become a really important thing in a modern world. A proper monitoring may help people staying safe. Conrad Connect can offer a convenient solution for automating a process of air quality monitoring.

Getting started

I Compatible Devices 

First of all, you need a device which is capable to measure CO2 level and detect Particle Matters in the air.

There is a range of device which a capable of monitoring the air quality.

Air quality: CO2
Other parameters: Sound level, Temperature, Humidity, Air pressure
Special features : Reliable CO2 measurement; Has a relatively good price; May be extendable by other weather sensors; Well known brand; 
 
Available at Conrad.de
 
Air quality: CO2
Other parameters: Sound level, Temperature, Humidity, Air pressure, health index
Special features : Reliable CO2 measurement; Has a good price; provides indoor health information
 
Available at Conrad.de
Air quality: CO2, particulate matters (PM 2.5), Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Ozone (O3), Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Other parameters: temperature, humidity, air pressure
Special features: Lots of air quality parameters (almost full air quality monitoring); Fast update time; Indoor only
 
 

CO2 traffic light with alarm function as kit for programming for schools

 

Air quality: CO2

Other Parameters: temperature, humidity

Compatible with Conrad Connect via Adafruit IO

  • Elsys CO2 (LoRa gateway of Smart City Solutions is required)
Air quality: CO2
Other parameters: temperature, humidity, light, motion (passive IR sensor)
Special features: Long lasting battery powered (10 years battery life time); Sensors can be used to equip buildings via LoRa; Motion and Light detection; only CO2, not advanced air quality measurements, LoRa gateway required
 
Air quality: CO2, particulate matters (PM), Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), Air quality index (total value)
Other parameters: temperature, humidity
Special features: Several important of air quality parameters; Real-time updates; Indoor use only
 
II Service
 
In order to monitor the air quality, getting data form the devices and creating projects to automate the process it is required to have an active Conrad Connect Premium or Power subscription
More details about different subscription option you can find here
Once you have a subscription you can connect your device on the Devices & Apps page
III Dashboard
A dashboard can be set up in order to view any data from your devices in a live mode from any device with an access to the Internet
Open the Dashboard page and press + symbol in the bottom right corner. There select a device parameter you want and select the proffered way to show the data. All devices are categorized by brands.
Here you can see an example of data and view options for Netatmo device
netatmo_parameters.png
For monitoring air quality CO2 parameter is needed. To add it to the dashboard just click on one or multiple view options, like Gauge, Bar Chart, Table etc.
Later on dashboard can also be shared, so a URL will be generated allowing anyone viewing it's data without being logged in on Conrad Connect
IV Project
A project is a next step in monitoring air quality. Creating one may help you to automate the process.

Go to the Projects page and create a new project. In the editor on the left side there is a list of Sensors, Additional tools, Logic gates and Actuators. 

Start with selecting a needed parameter from the sensor, e.g. CO2 and add it to the canvas with drag'n'drop. 

On the left side you can find settings area, where you can adjust the parameters for a selected element

Here is an example of Netatmo CO2 parameter
opera_8m7SsWsOOP.png
You can see that this sensor has In Range, Below and Above states. Lower and upper bound can be adjusted accordingly, so the sensor will have one of these states depending on a current value. A current value can be check by pressing Test button. 
The values entered are the examples of CO2 thresholds. Those bounds can be used in the project or changed according to your preferences. 

A project also needs actuators - thing that will actually do something. For our use case we could use different notifications - to notify people about a need to air the room as well as a smart lamp, so it can change colors according to the co2 levels.

There are different notification options on the platform, such as:

 Different notifications are available among Actuators in Messages section.

Drag and drop the needed element to the canvas an connect it with a line from the sensor.

In the setting area fill in the fields and select a state when this actor should be triggered.

opera_yikQJm2Jyy.png

 

Multiple Actuators can be connected to the single Sensor, as well as multiple states could be selected at the same time.

Once done, project can be already saved. 

Also, the project can be published to the community as well as imported. You import and edit a public project created by someone else and use it with your own devices.

You can learn about Importing public projects here

Here is also some of our project examples for air quality monitoring:
Air quality light notifier

CO2 & Humidity monitoring

 

 

 

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