How to Build an Air Quality Sensor and Upload Data – Guide
Become a citizen scientist by building your own DIY air quality station and uploading data to the Sensor.Community website. Are you worried about air pollution in your neighborhood? So why not define up your own air quality station? It doesn’t cost much to assemble from a few standard components and a few sensors to measure particle levels, along with temperature, pressure and relative humidity. You can also join thousands of others in uploading your data to the Sensor.Community citizen science project. let’s show you how to assemble an air quality station, install the software and get it up on the network in no time.
1. Source Components
To build the air quality station, you will need a selection of standard electronics and other components.
What you will need:
2. Install the driver
Connect your NodeMCU card to a computer with a USB cable. On a Linux machine, the serial connection should work by default; on a Windows PC or Mac, you will need to install a driver. Driver links are as follows:
Windows:
Open the CP210x folder and double-click the CP210xVCPInstaller_x64 (or x86) application. Open the CH341SER folder and double-click the SETUP application.
Mac:
Unzip the CP210x folder and double-click the CP210xVCPInstaller_x64 (or x86) application. Restart your Mac. Unzip the CH341SER folder and double click on the SETUP application. Restart your Mac.
3. Update firmware
Next, you will need to update the Sensor.Community firmware on the NodeMCU. To do this, download the Airrohr firmware update tool; choose the appropriate version for your computer’s operating system. Run the application, select latest_en.bin (or another language version) from the firmware version drop-down menu, and click Upload to update it to the connected NodeMCU card.
4. Connect your sensors
It’s time to connect your sensors to the NodeMCU board. If your BME280 does not have male pins, you will need to solder some to it.
5. Configure the station
when you call for the first time up the air quality station, it will create a wireless access point named airRohr (or Particulate Matter or Feinstaubsensor) followed by the NodeMCU chip ID (eg 12980979). Make a note of this number as you will need it to register the station later. Connect your computer to this wireless access point and point a web browser to http://192.168.4.1 to access your web dashboard. From here, go to Setup > WiFi Settings, select your wireless router and enter the password for it. Click on the Save configuration and restart option to save the settings and restart the station. It will then connect to your wireless network and be accessible at its allocated IP address; to find out, look in your router’s device list for a device called ‘Airrohr-‘ followed by its chip ID. Visit the IP address in your web browser and you can complete the setup. On the Setup > Sensors tab, make sure the sensors you are using are checked. Click on the Save Configuration and Restart option to save the settings. Reconnect to the web dashboard and click Current Data to verify that everything is working. Please note that it may take a few minutes to take the first readings.
6. Register the device
To allow your station to upload data to the Sensor.Community website, you will need to register it there. Go to the devices login page and create an account. Log in and go to My sensors > Register new sensor. For Sensor ID, enter the SIM ID number you wrote down; for Sensor Board, select ‘esp8266’. Fill in the basic and additional information, then verify that the correct sensors are selected in Hardware Setup. Choose your station’s location on the map and click Save settings. It will take a few minutes for the station to start sending data to Sensor.Community — you can check it by clicking the Data button button for this on the My Sensors page; you can also show it on the map.
7. Weatherproof box
To protect your station from the elements when placed outdoors, you can house it inside a few interlocking plastic downpipe bends. Insert the electronics into one of the tube bends. Depending on the type of tube used, you may be able to position the dust sensor further up and connect the flexible plastic tube to its shiny metal air inlet. You can then pass the pipe to the final of the piping, together with the BME280 sensor. Our square tube bends weren’t wide enough to push the dust sensor away. up, so we put it closer to the end and we don’t really need the hose, although we added a short length. Position the NodeMCU board further on up, near the junction with the second bend of the tube, and run the USB power cable through the end of that section of tube. Secure this and the sensors to the sides of the tube with adhesive putty or strips. When you’re happy and you’re sure the station is working, wrap tape around the junction of the tube bends. If you want to prevent insects and other creepers from entering the station, you can also put some fine mesh on the ends of the tube.
8. Outdoor mounting
It is recommended to position your weatherproof air quality station in a suitable outdoor location, preferably 5 to 12 feet above the ground and well ventilated. We secure ours under a roof gutter using three daisy-chained cable ties. Alternatively, you can attach it to a downpipe. To power your air quality station, you may need a long USB cable to reach an electrical outlet indoors. If your station is too far away from your wireless router to maintain a good signal, you might also consider placing a Wi-Fi range extender closer to the station.
9. Check your data
By visiting the Sensor.Community world map, you can check your station (and all others) and view your current readings and recent data in 24-hour charts and moving averages over a week. Particulate material levels for PM2.5 (fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 µm or less) and PM10 (coarse particles) can be viewed. You can also use the lower left menu to view temperature, pressure and relative humidity.
Building an Air Quality Station: Success
You have now set up your own air quality station and can view your data on a world map, along with that of thousands of other stations around the globe. In addition to being an interesting project, you will be contributing valuable data to the Sensor.Community citizen science program.
Final note
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