Proposed International Standards Could Propel the Air Quality Monitoring Market

The growth of urban air pollution is one of the most serious indicators of the effect of global urbanization on the environment and human health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2016 about 91% of the world’s population was living in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits.

Currently, most cities measure air pollution using a collection of large environmental monitoring stations. These stations are accurate in measuring air quality data, but their high cost often limits the quantity of deployments, resulting in gaps in coverage. Sensor networks are providing new possibilities for lower cost and more localized air quality monitoring and management for smart cities. Air quality projects are on the cusp of moving from smaller projects and demonstrations to larger deployments as cities like San Diego, Helsinki, Chicago, and London look to extend their environmental and city sensing deployments. However, one of the primary barriers to broader adoption is the lack of consistency in sensor quality and accuracy, and the subsequent inability to get regulatory approval for these solutions. For the market to develop more quickly, independent standards or certification are needed to provide certainty around the performance of these sensor products.

ASTM International Proposes Air Quality Sensor Standards 

ASTM International, an international standards organization with over 12,000 standards in operation globally has proposed a standard to evaluate air quality sensors installed in cities. Information on instrument repeatability, sensitivity, linearity, measurement uncertainty, temperature, and more would be assessed in laboratory and field tests. The standard would provide independent evidence for reliable performance of air quality sensors and the data they collect—providing a level of legitimacy not yet seen in the market.

Expanding the use of air quality sensor networks in cities would have a wide range of benefits for both cities and their residents as follows:

• Cities can target sensors at areas with the highest levels of pollution, analyze changes over time, and communicate threats to residents.
• Sharing air pollution data with the public allows residents to make informed decisions about commuting routes, where they live, etc.
• Sensor networks can significantly reduce maintenance costs for cities (and thus taxpayers) by not having to send inspectors to air quality monitoring stations (since sensor network performance is remotely monitored, failures are automatically detected, reducing the time, cost, and energy needed to locate and fix air quality monitoring equipment).
• High air pollution levels reduce tourism and the desire of top workforce talent to live in a city.

Standards Are a Good Start, Other Challenges Remain

Instituting international standards for air quality sensors will go a long way toward helping the industry grow. Nevertheless, other key challenges will also have to be addressed, such as developing more creative funding solutions to deploy larger projects. Examples include the integration of environmental sensors with other smart city deployments that have stronger business cases (e.g., smart street lighting) and the use of funding from revenue-generating energy or transportation projects. For more information, see Guidehouse Insights’ report on Air Quality Monitoring and Management for Smart Cities.