I have a question for those of you who are experienced with air quality sensors.
So, I’ve got a PM2.5+CO2+HCHO tester from Aliexpress and it works fine, and I was wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase more sensors separately for replacement in the future.
Apparently sensors have a limited life and after 3 years or so I might not be able to get them anymore for various reasons, or at least not almost for free like I can now.
my questions is, do these sensors degrade even when not in use, like on a shelf?
Sorry to derive from the original question a bit but what specific sensor did you buy and are you happy with it? I’d like to buy one to monitor my indoor air quality (when to open the windows etc) but I’m not sure which one I should get and if the results would be trustworthy… Thanks!
Yes it appears to be trustworthy. I can’t know for sure, but the values do seem to be affected by the environment. For example if I burn something in the room it goes up.
Also I have another PM sensor Plantower PMS5003 and both are consistent in values.
Regarding the need to buy additional sensors for replacement, I’m not sure if you would want to replace only the sensor after 3 years… I suppose a lot of new measuring devices will come out in the following years since air quality is becoming increasingly popular to measure. I’m thinking it’ll be “better” (but I get your reasoning) to just buy a brand new one with more functionality if the old one really does loose it’s accuracy… If you would buy a new sensor today you’d need to be able to store/keep it in an air tight bag and such, and who knows if the supporting electronics still work if the sensor is worn out after a few years.
Also I’m pretty sure the PM2.5/10 sensor is optical so I’m not sure how it would degrade over time, apart from the internal fan. The gas sensors are something else, those indeed loose their chemical functionality I think
Ooh yes I see, it’s the expensive one I’d rather not buy but sure looks to be one of the best on Aliexpress Scratch what I said about the surrounding circuitry maybe not being able to survive that long, since the battery is also easily replaceable! I’m sure this one will hold op for quite some time!
In this case I’d worry more about the gas sensor than the PM2.5/10 sensor, just because of the way they operate. It might be beneficial to buy some spare sensors but again I think you’d need to be able to store them in optimal conditions, so maybe buy them a few years down the line if you notice that a lot of different sensors are coming out with different connections that are not compatible anymore with the device…
Scratch what I said about the surrounding circuitry maybe not being able to survive that long, since the battery is also easily replaceable! I’m sure this one will hold op for quite some time!