Volatile Organic Compound Monitor Measures Ambient Air Quality

Dwyer Instruments' new model AQS-1 ambient volatile organic compound (VOC) monitor measures ambient air quality by detecting the VOC content in the air. Some common sources of VOC contamination are carpets, building materials, paints, cleaners and tobacco smoke.

Even low concentrations of these compounds can affect building occupants' comfort. A computer's USB port provides power for the sensor and the LED lights which change color in accordance with the ambient air quality. In order to correspond with ASHRAE's standards for air quality, the VOC reading from the monitor is converted from a percentage contaminated to an equivalent PPM reading of CO2.

The percentage contaminated multiplied by 2,000 PPM of CO2 gives the equivalent concentration of CO2. From the factory, the LED is green under 1,000 PPM CO2, yellow for 1,000 to 1,500 PPM CO2 and red above 1,500 PPM CO2. These factory values can be changed using the free online software. When using the free online software, the AQStick ambient VOC monitor can log and graph how building conditions change over time.