Street lamps could one day become Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) air monitoring stations – that’s the vision of a trial currently underway in Melbourne.
The joint trial between EPA and CitiPower has seen air quality sensors placed atop street lamps on the Queen Street Bridge, providing a glimpse into the future of air monitoring.
EPA Group Manager of Applied Sciences, Anthony Boxshall said the trial hoped to establish how air monitoring networks might incorporate new technologies into existing infrastructure.
“At around $200 each and slightly larger than a matchbox, the sensors are representative of a range of new low-cost, compact technologies coming into the market,” Dr Boxshall said.
“Sensors of this kind may one day offer an effective way to help EPA monitor air quality in more places throughout Victoria, especially where people live and work,” he said.
Dr Boxshall said the sensors used in the trial measure concentrations of fine particles in the air called PM2.5 – a pollutant in smoke, fine dust and vehicle exhaust emissions.
“Tests of these sensors have shown they perform remarkably well and provide a general and reliable indication of whether PM2.5 levels are low, medium or high,” Dr Boxshall said.
As part of the trial, two sensors were each placed in custom-built housing and attached to two light poles owned and operated by CitiPower at each end of the Queen Street Bridge.
“The sensor housing passed the first test of being able to withstand harsh weather conditions, having survived a very wet and windy period in early October,” Dr Boxshall said.
“The next step is to understand how the sensors will perform in the long-term. If we find they can provide useful, reliable data at a low operational-cost, we’ll look at incorporating them into our existing air monitoring network.”
Dr Boxshall said the air quality data is transmitted via secure radio communication, which is relatively immune to telecommunication outages that can interrupt data flow in traditional monitoring networks.
“So far we’ve found the concentrations of PM2.5 being measured are pretty consistent with data recorded at our nearest permanent monitoring station in Footscray, which is a great first sign,” Dr Boxshall said.
CitiPower’s General Manager of Electricity Networks, Steven Neave said the partnership supports the building of a smarter, more responsive network by harnessing new technologies to collect better data.
“The existing advanced metering network, built on technology by Silver Spring Networks, has to date primarily been used to collect electricity metrology information, but it has the capacity to support other Internet of Things (IoT) applications, such as the transmission of data for this trial,” Mr Neave said
“The collection of this data will improve not only liveability for urban dwellers but also for those living in regional Victoria. For instance, we are exploring opportunities with EPA to deploy air quality sensors as smoke detection devices in high fire risk areas,” he said.
EPA is the leading authority on air quality monitoring in Victoria and operates continuous network of permanent air monitoring stations around the state. Air quality information is available at epa.vic.gov.au/AirWatch.
Photo: Two sensors were each placed in custom-built housing and attached to two light poles owned and operated by CitiPower at each end of the Queen Street Bridge.