Performance Evaluation of Lower-Cost Sensors in Simulated Smoke
Citation:
Kumar, M., A. Clements, AND A. Holder. Performance Evaluation of Lower-Cost Sensors in Simulated Smoke . Air Sensors International Conference, Riverside, CA, April 30 - May 03, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
Concern for air quality has grown as wildfires, containing a harmful mixture of pollutants like PM2.5 and CO, become more overwhelming. Simultaneously, popularity in lower-cost sensors to supplement regulatory monitoring has grown. However, due to lack of regulation, some sensors return inaccurate data. Therefore, it pertinent to understand how to get accurate, actionable data from these real-time sensors to quickly reduce smoke exposure for the public and first responders. As it’s challenging to capture high concentrations in the field due to infrequent smoke events, elevated pollution concentrations can be achieved in an environmental test chamber. This presentation covers results of laboratory evaluations of several lower-cost sensors such as the Lunar Outpost Canary X, the Lascar CO Data Logger, and the EPA developed Vehicle Add-on Mobile Monitoring System (VAMMS) relative to Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) instruments under high concentration conditions.
Description:
The rise of lower-cost air sensors allows higher spatial and temporal resolved measurements of air pollutants, supplementing traditional regulatory air monitoring. Supplemental data is especially important during wildfire episodes when first responders and nearby communities are overwhelmed with high concentrations of smoke. Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of air pollutants including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO), which have well-known health impacts. Real-time PM2.5 and CO measurements near fires can be used to communicate with the public and incident command team to reduce smoke exposure. However, lack of regulation for these sensors allows for some of the sensors to return inaccurate data, causing confusion and distrust. This poor data quality results in the need to test sensor performance under elevated pollutant concentrations. Evaluations in elevated pollutant concentrations can be challenging to capture in the field due to infrequent smoke events but can be more easily achieved in an environmental test chamber. This work summarizes the results of laboratory evaluations of several lower-cost sensors such as the Lunar Outpost Canary X, the Lascar CO Data Logger, and the EPA developed Vehicle Add-on Mobile Monitoring System (VAMMS) relative to Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) instruments under high concentration conditions. In addition, the influence of environmental conditions, including temperature and relative humidity, are explored. This work adds to the on-going effort to improve lower-cost sensors’ data quality by providing a better estimate of accuracy. Also, this work is the first evaluation of these carbon monoxide (CO) sensors for wildfire smoke applications. As a considerable number of research and community organizations are interested in utilizing lower-cost sensors, evaluating their performance in smoke conditions in a controlled environmental test chamber allows for greater data confidence, greater understanding of local air quality trends, policy change, and informed sensor selections. Although this abstract was reviewed by EPA and approved for publication, it may not necessarily reflect official Agency policy. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
