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Description
The company SmartON is focused on new technologies (sensors), for example, to measure the air quality. The sensor units are custom-built from high-quality components that are fitted to the desired power supply and data transmission system. In the proposed project, The company has come to an arrangement with representatives from both Krnov Municipality and VŠB TU Ostrava for the implementation of monitoring of air pollution in the selected locations within the municipality. The aim is to prepare energy-independent units for PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 measurements, supplement them with temperature and humidity measurements and acquire 2 meteorological systems for the measurement of wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. In cooperation with VŠB TU Ostrava, the applicant will check the sensor systems and perform their validation (adjustment of correction factors) in accordance with Annex 1A of the call. 20 sensor units will be prepared for monitoring in Krnov and another 5 will be used for continuous verification of the settings and as spare sensors. The monitoring itself will take place at 15 locations in the town. 5 of these locations will be measured in parallel with 2 sensor units. Locations affected with local heating plants will be selected in accordance with the call. The measurement data will be transmitted on-line to a public web portal and the data will be subsequently processed as required in points 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Annex 1A of the Call. Monitoring will be carried out in cooperation with the authorized group and the VŠB for a minimum of 90 days in the heating season 2023/2024.
Summary of project results
The project focused on the acquisition, operation and evaluation of sensor measurement technology in the fileld of air quality. The main objective was to verify the suitability of the sensor technology for measuring air quality in municipalities, especially with regard to local heating. The underlying problem is the growing popularity in the use of sensors to measure virtually anything, including air quality, without basic accountability for the reliability of the measurement results. The market is literally infested with sensors without any laboratory connection. However, municipalities are part of the public administration and need air quality measurements for their citizens. The results are used to implement measures such as replacing heating sources, optimising transport or intervening in industry. Therefore, measurements need to be approached responsibly. A database has been prepared in the project for further use by the CHMI and for transferring the experience to other projects. The database is native, meaning that it contains all the events that took place on the sensors, i.e. outages, extremes, high or low sensitivity, etc. This is for the purpose of understanding the correct selection and ensuring responsible operation of the sensors. At the same time, the project found that municipalities are very heterogeneous areas and PMx air pollution is uneven. This may be due to local effects as well as sensor errors, which will need to be monitored further in the data. However, the project provides further extensive experience, according to which the quality of the measurements can be adjusted accordingly. The measurements have also shown that sensors cannot replace reference measurements, which are far more robust and under constant scrutiny. The spatial data from the sensors can be used for interpretations, despite the complaints.
The sensors were assembled by project partners from components (Plantower), and the basic requirement for their proper functionality was calibration before the start of measurements. Calibration took place at VSB TU Ostrava, simultaneously for all sensors and the dust monitoring device FIDAS was used as a reference. The measurement lasted for 40 days, and its output is a validation protocol. Before the heating season, the selection of monitoring locations took place, totaling 15 in various areas of the municipality, for sensor placement, and they were gradually placed in the locations before the temperature drop and the actual start of the heating season. Validated sensors were continuously monitored by operators, and the data were transmitted online to the web server https://mapy.smart-on.cz. The data set was submitted to CHMU in an agreed format for further use, and the data are described in the Final Project Report. The management of the participating municipalities used the results for regular citizen information and expect further use in sustainability. The main benefit for air protection is the created database, which can help with data autovalidation, sensor self-checks, and advanced interpretation in the future. It is already evident that the sensors can be used to understand emission/imission trends in the municipality and can be a valuable tool in air quality protection. This need will grow with the pressure from the European Union to tighten limits from 2030 onwards.
The main output is a supervised database, which will further serve for setting up sensors as an auxiliary measuring devices. The measurements also demonstrated that the advantage of sensors dwells in their deployment in networks, as sensors correlate very well and their measurements are reasonably accurate. The issue remains with the agreement of measured data with reference methods. The project results indicate that sensor measurements are indicative in relation to the limits, and it is necessary to continuously oversee the sensors. At the same time, the situation regarding potential local sources of air pollution in the municipality, such as the burning of low-quality fuels, is very well described. The city has a great interest in the measurements as an educational tool and for communication with citizens. The municipal leadership intends to invest in air protection measures in the future, if possible, and continuous monitoring will help them selectively choose and verify measures. The average concentrations of PM10 during the heating season were favorable and did not exceed the annual limit of 40 µg/m3. The maximum concentration was measured at the Vodní B location, reaching 300 µg/m3. However, high concentrations were also observed in other locations. Reference stations measure lower maximum concentrations, suggesting that sensors tend to overestimate at high values. Sensors correlate with each other in the range of 0.8 - 1.0, indicating that the network is consistent. The measurement yield of sensors exceeds 90% in most cases.
Air quality remains a fundamental issue for citizens, and therefore, public administration focuses on its protection. The Krnov SmartOn project was aimed at continuous monitoring of suspended particles PM10 and PM2.5. Generally, municipalities know they need to address dust pollution, but despite their knowledge of their territory, they have hard time discerning the major contributors. In combination with the AIRP''S project (TROMSO), the measurement is one of the outputs of Action Plans and supports sensible activities in the locality – from caring for greenery and cleaning roads to transportation infrastructure or energy. Action plans serve as a repository of possible measures, but they need to be continuously checked. With the deadlines set by the EU''s Green Deal policy, the year 2030 is very close, and significant changes in legislation related to air protection are expected in that year. If municipalities are not prepared, it will be very difficult to achieve changes that have a positive impact on health. Conversely, it is unfortunate that the entire public administration is not systematically addressed, as problems can arise even in areas that currently appear to be doing well. There are significant differences among sensors, although correlations within the network are excellent, the alignment with the reference method is no longer as clearly distinguishable. The level of tightness ranges from minimal to significant, and this difference may be due to the location or the sensor itself. Validation checks were carried out during the project implementation, and subsequent changes to the validation factor were made; however, there were no significant changes in the measured concentrations of PMx. Sensors exhibit a similar trend to reference measurements but are variably "sensitive", often showing significant deviations, i.e., randomly occurring outliers that should be removed from the results. The presented database is native, due to the project''s goal = to understand the functioning of sensors correctly and to define how to use them.