Comparison of low-cost sensors under real world conditions

Low-cost sensors are important tools for the successful operation of healthy, energy efficient and smart buildings and living spaces. They are crucial for the regulation of on-demand ventilation, air cleaning and for monitoring of indoor air quality. A variety of sensor technologies is commercially available. Some types are specific, e.g. for selected inorganic and organic gases, others cover a broader range, e.g. VOC sensors or small particle counters that can detect a certain size range of particulate matter. Four different types/brands of sensors advertised as (T)VOC-sensor (each 8 pieces) were exposed in a typical kitchen environment to air pollutants generated by 8 persons cooking, eating and drinking in the room. During the experiment, the air pollutant concentrations were also monitored by PTR-MS, photo-acoustic monitor and TD-GC/MS. Comparing of the sensor output to the reference measurements showed that the low-costs sensors are generally able to follow the trend (increase/decrease of concentration), but do not provide meaningful absolute concentration data.