H&V’s Air Exchange host, Bruce Lorange, kicks off Season 2 by sitting down with IAQ “Influencer”, Sotirios Papathanasiou of the weblog @ Seetheair.org to discuss the importance of healthy air.
Sotirios discusses the importance of air quality, clean air initiatives, and healthy buildings as he shares his background and passion for merging technology and the environment. Sotirios and Bruce also discuss the need for education and legislation to improve indoor air quality.
Read More »
For the privacy-conscious and perfectionist homeowners who crave customization, the AIR-1 Air Quality Sensor by Apollo Automation is a breath of fresh air (literally). This sensor goes beyond simply monitoring air quality; it empowers you to take control of your indoor environment.
A little background about Home Assistant: Home Assistant is an open-source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of DIY enthusiasts. Think of it as Apple’s HomeKit with the ability for endless customizations.
All the specifications and sensor manufactures are listed here.
Unlike many smart home devices, the AIR-1 doesn’t lock you into a proprietary ecosystem. It leverages the open-source power of Home Assistant, giving you complete control over your data and how it’s used. This is perfect for those who want to tinker and integrate the AIR-1 into their existing smart home setup.
Read More »
Social norms are like unwritten rules that a group of people follow. They’re the guidelines for how we behave in certain situations, and they help keep things running smoothly. Social norms are still a powerful tool for inspiring behavior change for a few reasons:
Here’s how social norms can be applied to air pollution:
For example, a campaign might feature a slogan like “Most people in our community use heat pumps – Join the Movement for Cleaner Air!” This approach uses social norms (descriptive norm – what people actually do) to encourage alternative heating to wood burning stoves (desired behavior).
By framing eco-friendly behaviors as the social norm, communities can create a more sustainable environment and improve air quality for everyone.
R Studio and its packages are used by hundreds of thousands of people to make millions of plots. I use it to compare air sensor data from different air quality monitors/sensors or to visualize air pollution levels.
In this article we will explore both how we can visualize air quality data from publicly available sources and how you can create statistical correlations between different pollutants or different sensors to find the correlation coefficient or correlation of determination.
Packages are collections of functions, data, and compiled code in a well-defined format, created to add specific functionality. Here are some of the packages that we will install inside RStudio and use.
#You can either get ggplot2 by installing the whole tidyverse library
install.packages(tidyverse)
#Alternatively, install just ggplot2
install.packages(ggplot2)
#saqgetr is a package to import European air quality monitoring data in a fast and easy way
install.packages(saqgetr)
#worldmet provides an easy way to access data from the NOAA Integrated Surface Database
install.packages(worldmet)
#Date-time data can be frustrating to work with in R and lubridate can help us fix possible issues
install.packages(lubridate)
#Openair is a package developed for the purpose of analysing air quality data
linstall.packages(openair)
The once booming Internet of Things (IoT) air quality monitoring market is facing a harsh reality check. Fueled by a surge in AI startups attracting investments and a subsequent saturation of low-cost air quality monitors, the industry is experiencing a period of upheaval. This downturn, dubbed “The Great IoT Air Quality Recession,” is forcing companies to adapt or face extinction. I see many high-profile executives leaving previously thought innovative startups in the realm of air quality in search of a more “stable” future.
AI startups like ChatGTP and similar, promising to leverage the power of machine learning to generate content or analyze data, became investor darlings. This new influx of cash is fueling the decline of IoT low-cost air quality solutions.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the market quickly became saturated with low-cost monitors that promised that will fix indoor and outdoor environments. Buildings were filled with cheap monitors, but actionable insights remained scarce. The promised AI-powered analysis, in many cases, failed to materialize. Consumers were left with a plethora of data points with no clear understanding of what it all meant or what to do.
Read More »
European cities are showing significant progress in combating air pollution, according to data collected from active official traffic air quality stations. There are positive trends which translate to cleaner air for residents, with reductions in harmful pollutants like PM2.5 and NO2. This article explores the known strategies that these cities have implemented to achieve such remarkable improvements, offering valuable insights for other urban centers striving for a healthier future.
These are the 5 cities and traffic air quality stations that I have analyzed data from.
Air pollution hangs heavy over many parts of the world, silently claiming millions of lives each year. Researchers and policymakers are locked in a crucial battle against this invisible enemy, and WHO AirQ+ software serves as a powerful weapon in their arsenal. Available for macOS, MS Windows, and Linux in English, French, German, Russian and Spanish.
This free, user-friendly software, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), quantifies the health impacts of air pollution. It’s not just about measuring harmful particles or gases; it translates those numbers into real-world consequences, shedding light on the human cost of poor air quality.
How AirQ+ Works:
The Spanish Association for Standardization presented the new UNE 171380 standard on CO2 monitoring for health prevention. The University of Seville has played a significant role in the development of these regulations through the Architecture, Heritage and Sustainability Research Group: Acoustics, Lighting, Optics and Energy, represented by researchers Samuel Domínguez and Miguel Ángel Campano.
This standard is a great achievement in the prevention of airborne disease transmission, based on everything learned after the SARS-CoV-2 health emergency, and transparent information to the public about the air quality of establishments.
Read More »
2023 was a year full of air quality news. From raising awareness about air pollution to sharing solutions and inspiring stories, the blog has been a valuable resource for people interested in the issue of air quality.
In addition, See The Air also continued to publish regular news updates, sharing the latest developments in the field of air quality and environmental policy. The blog also featured a number of guest posts from experts in the field, providing diverse perspectives on the issue of air pollution.
In 2023 my blog was visited by 110K people, slightly higher than last year. Keep in mind, my blog is all about air pollution/quality, a very narrow subject but at the same time very important for all of us. I am very satisfied that the blog is able to help people understand and see the air.
Google, LinkedIn, and Yahoo are the top three referrers to my blog during 2023.
Looking ahead to 2024, See The Air has ambitious plans to expand its reach and impact. I am working on developing new partnerships and collaborations to help raise awareness about the issue of air pollution and drive meaningful change. I look forward to seeing what the scientific community will achieve in the coming year.
I know it sounds very consumeristic, but we all have to give some kind of a gift to friends and family as this is the social norm. Why not give something that will also help people be aware of the air quality in the ambient they spend most of their time, indoors?
You can find air quality monitors for all wallets. The most important thing to consider is not the amount of sensors the monitor has, but the effectiveness of the monitor in communicating the air quality information to the users and always consider products that are meant to last. Super cheap products are not a good investment for your wallet and the environment. e-waste is a real issue on a global scale.
Read More »
See The Air 