An Anemometer Integration in a Low-Cost Air Quality Sensor System: A Real-World Case Study

The field deployment of low-cost air quality sensor systems enables enhanced spatial resolution in air quality monitoring. Although these sensor systems cannot achieve the same accuracy as regulatory monitoring stations, they can attain acceptable levels of confidence and provide Indicative Measurements as regulated by Ambient Air Quality EU Directive. The integration of an anemometer into a system can provide additional information for the classification of the measurement area, the identification of potential sources of pollutant emissions, and the assessment of the device’s operating conditions during measurement. In this study, the measurement capabilities of an Airbox, a low-cost air quality sensor system, were extended through the integration of a DW6410 anemometer (Davis Instruments). The Airbox, designed to transmit data in real-time or near real-time to servers and IoT platforms, was deployed for a duration of 4 months, from October 2021 to February 2022, within the airport area of Grottaglie (Southern Italy). The anemometric measurements and particulate concentration data (PM2.5 and PM10, measured by NextPM sensor, Tera Sensor) were integrated and compared to meteorological open data and data from a regulatory regional air quality control network located in the area around the airport.