Intended to improve indoor air quality in the buildings
Fine particles, also known as "Particulate Matter" or PM, are complex mixtures of extremely small particles. These particles are consisting of a number of components (nitrates, sulfates...), chemicals, organics, metals and soil or dust residues.
They are mainly generated by any type of combustion or friction.
Invisible Danger
Fine particles are included in the list of priority pollutants with reinforced monitoring at the national level. According to an estimate by Santé Publique France in 2016, particulate matter is responsible for 67,000 deaths per year.
More generally, these fine particulates have negative consequences on respiratory and cardiovascular health. They can cause inflammation of the airways and lungs that impairs the immune response and reduces the ability of the blood to carry oxygen.
The finer a particle is, the deeper it can penetrate the respiratory tract and therefore the higher its potential toxicity. The largest particles (PM10) are retained by the upper airways.
Types of fine particles PM
PM 10
The largest fine particles that affect health. They are found near roads and dusty industries, are less than 10 micrometers in diameter and do not stay in suspension very long. Includes fine, very fine and ultrafine particles.
PM 2.5
Fine particles such as those contained in smoke and haze. They are less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Diesel engines generate a lot of them. They remain in suspension for several days. Includes very fine and ultrafine particles.
PM 1
Very fine particles are less than or equal to 1 micrometer in diameter. They remain permanently in suspension and are practically eliminated only by precipitations.
Includes ultrafine particles.
PM below 1 micrometer is the most dangerous to health.
PM 0.1
Ultrafine particles (UFP) with a diameter of less than 0.1 micrometers (100 nanometers), which corresponds to the size of a virus or a DNA molecule. They include "nanoparticles".
A probe for the
NEW and RENOVATION
Performance
✓ Power supply 12 to 32V DC or 12 to 24V AC.
✓ Compatible with the E4000-NG probe as a Modbus slave of the latter.
✓ Up to one measurement per minute for optimal granularity.
✓ a 10-year life span.
✓ Addresses, type (RTU/ ASCII) and speed of Modbus selectable by screen tool.
✓ Digital output RS485 Modbus (or EnOcean or LoRaWAN via optional modules).
✓ Remedial control configurable via screen tool (via Modbus, 0-10V and or EnOcean).
✓ Optional LED module (3 colors), color change according to the thresholds defined via the screen tool.
✓ Optional 0-10V module and dry contacts (low and high speed) (0-10V output on measures or PI command configurable by screen tool).
Values limits
| EUROPE (2010) | WHO | USA | ||
| PM10 (<10 µm) | ||||
| Daily limit P50* | 50 µg/m3 (less than 35 times/year) | 50µg/m3 | 150µg/m3 | |
| Annual Limit | 30µg/m3 | 20µg/m3 | Cancelled in 2006 | |
| PM2.5 (<2.5 µm) | ||||
| Daily limit P50* | 25 μg/m3 | |||
| Daily limit P98* | 35 µg/m3 | |||
| Annual Limit | 25 µg/m3 in 2010; 20 µg/m3 in 2020 | 10 µg/m3 | 15 µg/m3 |
*: The value should not exceed 50% (98%) of the time.
PM1s are not yet regulated
P4000-NG + E4000-NG : A rich combination!
The possibility to combine the E4000-NG and P4000-NG probe, via the Modbus protocol, allows to measure more environmental parameters, and to share them with only one communication option!
With this combination:
The probes measure : Fine particles, VOC, CO2, Humidity and Temperature.
Communication protocols: EnOcean, Modbus, LoRa, KNX and LON.
But also: 0-10V, dry contacts.
Why pair these probes?
To have a complete vision on indoor air quality
Air pollutants are invisible and diffuse, NanoSense helps you to be aware of the quality of the air we are exposed to every day.
Fine particles are among the main pollutants to be monitored. These airborne dusts have been classified as carcinogenic by the WHO since 2012. They easily penetrate the respiratory tract and can then have negative consequences on health.
Installation
Quick installation
✓ Installation with two screws, fixed to the wall
✓ 24V power supply
✓ Easy to set up and use
Consult the documentation for more information.
Ultra-modular
✓ LED light: green, orange, red
✓ 0-10V control
✓ VOC, Temperature, Humidity options
✓ Several communication protocols (native Modbus, optional radios)
The protocols of communication
The LoRaWAN technology allows to send a small amount of information to a receiver located at a distance between 5km (urban area) and 20km (rural area). The P4000-NG LoRa sensors can work with operated or private LoRaWAN networks.
Several hundred companies are members of the EnOcean Alliance. This radio protocol guarantees interoperability between the various products of these manufacturers. Telegrams received from EnOcean presence or window opening sensors can be used to switch off ventilation, air conditioning and heating when windows are opened and to adjust remediation control thresholds according to Occupancy.
This is the basic version of the probe. A PLC interrogates the probe from up to 254 addresses. With a dedicated screen tool, it is possible to customize the bus address of the probe. The advantage of ModBus is that the bus length can reach 1.2km. The controller collects the measurements and the ventilation setpoints and transmits them to the remediation actuator.
Documentations
To go further:
Principle of detection by laser diffraction
When a laser beam passes through pure air, the beam is invisible. When the beam is visible, it is because the beam diffracts on particles along its path. If you look at the beam from the side, the more visible the beam is, the greater the density of particles.
Such a particle sensor uses a near-infrared source (laser diode). The sensor is an avalanche diode photo with an amplifier. Infrared is used to avoid any interference with daylight.
The density of the dust is primarily dependent on the airflow. The orientation of the laser and the sensor ensures that no dust is deposited on the optical components when the air source is turned off. (Note that a fan operated for a few seconds every minute controls the airflow necessary for particle counting and size discrimination.)
Each particle passing through the front of the laser beam diffracts a portion of the beam to the photodiode, and the air flow is constant, and the measured pulse width allows the particles to be sorted by size. A moving average of the number of particles in the category is performed in 60 seconds.
Although larger particles exist in the indoor environment (especially fabric fibers), they are not harmful to health, so particles larger than 10 microns are not counted. PM (Particles Matter) refers to the total weight of particles per volume of air.
This is a relic of the time when the available technology was unable to detect individual particles. For each particle size, a typical mass is assigned to express the result in a standardized unit, i.e. µg/m³. Modern monitoring equipment, such as the P4000-NG, counts individual particles in three size classes that correlate to PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.
The assumption for the mass calculation is that the particles are spherical, which is not always the case.
