Build your own air quality sensor

At this workshop you will learn how to assemble a particle sensor for fine dust particles (particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM10) and become part of a worldwide citizen science project.

What are fine dust particles?
Fins dust particles have negative health impact for heart and lung disease and can have a big impact on people suffering from asthma. Exposure to traffic pollution will impact health in the form of lower life expectancy from heart and lung disease and slower development of lung capacity in children.

Why should we measure air particles?
In Sweden fine dust particles in the air are already measured by local authorities. However, those measurements are only collected at a few places. In central Stockholm there are only four measuring stations. In Germany they discovered that amount of particles can deviate greatly depending on where you measure. That’s why we want more measuring stations at places where people work and live, e.g. at schools and pedestrian areas. With more data we can have a better discussion on how to improve the environment.

What happens at the workshop?
At the workshop we will go through the entire process of building a measuring station according to instructions on luftdata.se. All participants build their own measuring station to bring home and place outdoors at home or at another location. Once connected to power and your wifi the sensor will report data to the central database. This data is used for visualization. We will provide kits for free with all the necessary parts. No soldering required. Check out luftdata.se/bygg if you want to know more about how to build a sensor.

Who organizes the workshop?
The newly formed non-profit organization Luftdata aims to actively promote better air quality. We do this primarily by involving more people in collecting data for air quality. Read more about the initiative at luftdata.se. A map of existing stations in Sweden is available at sweden.maps.luftdaten.info.