EarthSense, the air quality specialist, is collaborating with Harrogate Borough Council on initiatives to monitor air pollution levels and to help improve air quality in the community.
Harrogate Borough Council will use EarthSense Zephyr® air quality sensors to provide real time monitoring data and indicate whether pollution mitigation strategies are working effectively. Zephyr® sensors will be used in projects which identify less polluted walking routes for members of the public, use sensor data to identify peaks in air pollution following new junction layouts, and monitor air quality surrounding school sites during peak times.
The council has previously declared four Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and, as part of its Air Quality Action Plan, is working to launch a number of projects that seek to improve local air quality across the district. Since being awarded two-year grant funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Harrogate Borough Council has secured three Zephyr® air quality sensors.
For each of the projects, Zephyr® air quality sensors will be used in static and mobile modes. Initially they will be used in static mode in three of the AQMAs, installed on lighting posts. When using the sensors in mobile mode, air quality data will be gathered during journeys taken with the sensors.
Using Zephyr® sensors for each project will provide the council with air quality data via the EarthSense MyAir® web app. MyAir® quantifies particulate and gas concentrations for pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxide (NO), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5).
Analysis of deployed sensor data will provide visual insights into air quality before, during and after interventions. This will enable Harrogate Borough Council to assess the effectiveness of their pollution mitigations and highlight whether alternative methods need to be employed.
Environmental Protection Technical Officer at Harrogate Borough Council, Emily Revill said, “We decided to use Zephyr® sensors to measure air quality as they are a powerful tool that are indicative of pollutant concentrations throughout a range of scenarios. Taking advantage of the sensors and their wide range of capabilities has meant that we will be able to launch projects to tackle air pollution through several approaches.
We’re looking forward to identifying other ways in which we can improve air quality across the Harrogate district.” Revill added.
Managing Director at EarthSense, Tom Hall, said, “Working with Harrogate Borough Council to launch a group of projects demonstrates the flexibility of what our air quality sensing is able to do. We’re constantly working to upgrade the abilities of Zephyr® sensors to provide high quality data.
“It’s important that we work with councils across the UK as it’s a requirement for them to monitor air quality to guarantee it isn’t reaching dangerous levels and potentially harming members of the public. We’re able to provide municipalities with static and mobile Zephyr® units to measure air pollution levels that can be used in a variety of ways,” Hall added.
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