PurpleAir PA-II

General Description

The PurpleAir (PA-II) Sensor is an optical particle counter.  Measurements of PM_1.0, PM_2.5 & PM₁₀ mass concentrations are calculated from the counts.

Principle of Operation

PurpleAir PA-II uses Plantower PMS5003 laser particle counter, where laser beams detect particles going past by their reflectivity. These sensors count suspended particles in sizes of 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10um. These particle counts are processed by the sensor using a complex algorithm to calculate the PM_1.0, PM_2.5 & PM₁₀ mass in ug/m³. PMS5003 sensors come factory calibrated. PurpleAir PA-II uses two identical PMS5003 sensor units attached to each other and placed in the same shelter.

Features

• Dimensions: 50 (L) x 38 (W) x 21 (H) (mm)
• Weight: N/A
• Battery: No
• Power supply: Yes (USB power adapter)
• Sensor lifetime: N/A
• Clock function: N/A
• Sampling mechanism: Fan
• Environmental operating conditions: N/A
• Internal data logging: No
• Data communication and logging: ESP8266 chip runs code developed using Arduino to upload data to a cloud
• Data visualization: PurpleAir Map or University of Utah's MesoWest Map
• Weatherproof: Yes

PurpleAir PA-II uses dual PMS5003 sensors, while PA-I uses one PMS1003 sensor. The inlet/outlet design in PMS5003 (PA-II) is different than that in PMS1003 (PA-I).

Applications

• Indoor Air Quality
• Outdoor Air Quality

Developer's product webpage

Plantower PMS5003 manual_V2.3 (PDF, 761 KB)