Part 2: Introduction to the Low Cost Sensor & DIY Air Purifier

Introduction to Low Cost Sensor 

& 

DIY Air Purifier 

Part 2 

Eddie's Story

After my initial introduction to the low cost sensor and box fan, I looked for practical ways to make the most of them, and get best the value.  These are some of the things I've learned that can help stretch a buck:

• The Box fan cost me $20.00. The filter I used (Honeywell FPR 10 Filter) was also $20.00.  I purchased both at the hardware store. 
• Buying filters online, will get me twice as many (Merv 13) filters as going to the hardware store.  

• If I put the air filter on the back of the box fan, the suction from the fan will hold it in place and I don't need duct tape. I don't know if this strains the motor more; but it makes it easier to switch between using a regular fan or using it as a DIY air purifier;

• The fan can be used as a stand alone fan, and not a DIY air purifier, on days with good air quality;
  
• I can look to monitors near me for this information (AirNow, PurpleAir,
  Clarity, etc.)

• The filter's lifespan was about two to three weeks during the heaviest wildfires; and

• Some areas have groups of folks working to get these out to community, at no cost to recipients.

That's been my experience thus far; but, more importantly, the experience of a community resident who hosted a low-cost indoor & outdoor air sensor is shared here.  

Eddie is a good dude who agreed to host a low cost indoor and outdoor air sensor.  He lives in what I've described as a monitoring desert. These monitoring deserts are areas without any air sensors including the low cost ones that have proven useful during wildfires; and they often overlap with environmental justice communities.

Here is our conversation about his experience with a low cost air sensor and box fan: 

Myself: 

Eddie, we are doing this questionnaire to go over your experience as a host for indoor and outdoor low cost air sensors. How would you rate your knowledge of air quality before agreeing to host these monitors, with 1 being very knowledgeable and 4 being no knowledge at all. 

Eddie: 

I'm going to say between a 3 and 4.  Only because you know, you hear about it (bad air quality) on the news, but they don't really tell you what it means. So you have some knowledge it exists, but you're not really hearing what it does; they don't tell you how it's affecting you or anything like that. It's just, "don't the breathe air today", you know.

Myself: Thank you. Okay, Eddie, So now that you've hosted an indoor & outdoor monitor for several weeks, maybe a month and a half, how would you rate your knowledge of air quality now?

Eddie: I'm going to say its probably between a 2 and 3. I mean, I still don't know a lot about it it, but now I'm more aware of what to look out for, and have a better understanding about what some of the numbers mean, between, you know, 0 and 50 and and so forth; and this way I can better plan my day on how I want to treat my indoor air quality by using an indoor air filter.

Myself: You mentioned an air filter; did the addition of an air filter... to hosting the low-cost sensors create more, less, or no interest in this project for you? 

Eddie: Yeah, it did; because when I understood that I was at 85% of the outdoor air quality in my indoor space, and not knowing that before, made it interesting; especially because I saw the indoor air quality go down to 60 (AQI) in one hour, when it was 150 outside, after using an air filter. Seeing it go down made it interesting. 

Myself:  Has this experience changed the way you'd go about your daily activities?

Eddie: Yeah. Just being more aware of what the outside air is allows me to make a better decision. Do I want to go outside and breathe bad air, or do I want to stay inside and breathe clean air.

This experience allowed us to sleep better at night, when I have the fans (DIY air purifier) on.  I have chronic bronchitis. So having that on, I'm able to sleep better because I'm coughing less at night. It's also to the point where my dog sleeps better.  She's was a snore and she now sleeps without snoring. So its like she's even getting a benefit.

Myself: A better quality of sleep is all good. So do check outdoor air quality regularly now?

Eddie: Yeah, that's like every other day; especially during the wildfires because even though the last fires they weren't as bad as the first ones, I was still able to see smoke in the air. They (community folks) mistake it for fog at this time of the year, but it really is just smoke. So yeah, it just makes me more aware; and then its about trying to figure out what are we even breathing...with all the things that are actually burning (its not just trees).

Myself: Did you share what you learned with anybody like your friends or your family? Would, this, did this, experience make you want to learn more about air quality?

Eddie:  Oh yeah, I sure did. I shared with some friends on Facebook, and some friends that experienced the two fires in Paradise. They were asking me how to make a homemade air purifier; so I gave them some instructions on how to do it.

Myself:  Would you be more likely to speak up for cleaner air, water or soil as a result for this project?

Eddie:  After I saw the difference in the way that I breathe at night, it just made me more aware of you know, what am I breathing? What are we putting in our body? Especially in these low income neighborhoods where you know, we pay! I'm a homeowner. So I pay taxes into the city, schools, roads, everything. And living in Oak Park. I believe it's District 1, maybe, and seeing the lack of my tax dollars at work really makes me wonder what's out there. Why aren't we being told about it, you know? stuff like that.

Myself: Thank you. And the final question is do you have suggestions or concerns or anything for what we could have done better to make this a better experience for you? 

Eddie: I don't want to say concerns, I just think it just needs to be out there more in these communities. When I pull up the PurpleAir and I see the red dots (monitors on bad air days) I see maybe five or six probably within 1 or 2 mile radius from where I'm at (work in downtown Sacramento). So you know, we don't really see the dots concentrated on where we are at (the neighborhood he lives in). But you do see them in other neighborhoods (affluent ones): whether it's Land Park, East Sac, etc. ... you know, different from these, you know, these other neighborhoods (low income neighborhoods).

I think it's probably even more important (to have them) where people live that have, you know, suffer more from chronic conditions like bronchitis, have COPD, and diabetes and stuff like that because the air affects your body differently. So I think just about expanding that out and then giving more knowledge to you know the average resident, or the less fortunate.

Myself:  Well, that was spoken like an expert Eddie. You definitely hit it on the knobs.

Thank you so much for time and wisdom Eddie!

[I should note that Eddie also works for a health-based non-profit that serves many of same folks we in the Environmental Justice field serve. He does great work for the people as well; and participated in this endeavor with that base of knowledge as a foundation]