Development of indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring modules with IoT capability

• Main Author: Phyo, Thet Zaw
• Other Authors: Tse Man Siu
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering::Environmental pollution; DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Wireless communication systems
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/71987
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Air is one of the most essential natural resources, which presence is critical for survival of livings organisms on this planet. In general, living things breathe air for exchange of gases in every single split of second either voluntary or involuntary. Since bad air quality affects our health seriously in long term, it is important to make sure that the states of gaseous components in our surrounding atmosphere are clean or within reasonable range at all times. This FYP project aims to design and implement light-weight, portable, low-powered, expandable and customizable Indoor Air Quality Monitoring System (IAQMS) to keep track of the parameters which define air quality. In order to keep public up to date with air quality data, system has a communication channel with users. Instead of storing data in offline SD card and showing output in a small stationary LCD display, sensor data goes live to every computing devices of authorized users. This is practical application of Internet of Things (IoT) which refers to communication between devices with internet connectivity, analysis and usage of related data to perform actions beneficial to public. This project intends to raise awareness of importance of indoor air quality and to provide a framework where future expansions and modifications can be easily realized. It has potential to integrate with ventilation system for improving air condition. System is designed to provide IAQ data just when the users need it. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) enabled development boards are used in conjunction to achieve the balance between energy saving features and readiness of the system. This report highlights the background, motivations of IAQMS and implementation stages for different sensors with connection diagrams followed by the details of web app and its graphical user interface (GUI). The flowcharts are described to give readers insight of the operations for software segments. The details of hardware configuration and recommendations for future enhancements are provided as well in the later part.