AIR POLLUTION MONITORING SYSTEM USING IoT
The system to monitor the air of environment using Arduino microcontroller, IOT Technology is proposed to improve quality of air. With the use of IOT technology enhances the process of monitoring various aspects of environment such as air quality monitoring issue proposed in this paper. Here h
2025-06-28 16:25:04 - Adil Khan
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING SYSTEM USING IoT
Project Area of Specialization Internet of ThingsProject SummaryThe system to monitor the air of environment using Arduino microcontroller, IOT Technology is proposed to improve quality of air. With the use of IOT technology enhances the process of monitoring various aspects of environment such as air quality monitoring issue proposed in this paper. Here he using of MQ135 gas sensor gives the sense of different type of dangerous gas and arduino is the heart of this project which controls the entire process. Wi-Fi module connects thewhole process to internet and LCD is used for the visual Output. The Air pollution monitoring system is a step forward to contribute a solution to the biggest threat. The system overcomes the problem
of the highly-polluted areas which is a major issue. It
supports the new technology and effectively supports the healthy life concept. This system has features for the people monitor the amount of pollution on their mobile phones using the application.
The main objectives stated for the development of an air quality monitoring system might be to:
•check the air quality relative to standards or limit values, detect the air pollution,
•determine the exposure and assess the effects of air pollution on health,
•Inform the public about the air quality and raise the awareness.
•Develop systems for the prevention of air pollution episodes.
•Supply data for research investigations, develop/validate management tools (such as models)
Project Implementation MethodThe MQ135 sensor can sense NH3, NOx, alcohol, Benzene, smoke, CO2, and some other gases, so it is the perfect gas sensor for our Air Quality Monitoring Project. When we will connect it to Arduino then it will sense the gases, and we will get the Pollution level in PPM (parts per million). MQ135 gas sensor gives the output in form of voltage levels and we need to convert it into PPM. So for converting the output in PPM, here we have used a library for the MQ135 sensor, it is explained in detail in the “Code Explanation” section below.
The sensor was giving us a value of 90 when there was no gas near it and the safe level of air quality is 350 PPM and it should not exceed 1000 ppm. When it exceeds the limit of 1000 PPM, then it starts to cause Headaches, sleepiness, and stagnant, stale, stuffy air, and if exceeds beyond 2000 PPM then it can cause increased heart rate and many other diseases.
When the value will be less than 1000 PPM, then the LCD and webpage will display “Fresh Air”. Whenever the value will increase 1000 PPM, the LCD and webpage will display “Poor Air, Open Windows”. If it will increase 2000 the LCD and webpage will display “Danger! Move to Fresh Air”
Benefits of the ProjectAir quality is not same everywhere and it is different by geographic pattern and weather conditions along with sources of air pollution contributes towards the quality of air.
This is why different areas have different air quality levels at different time.
Example: Let’s consider two areas:
- Area having low air exchange rate and less sources of air pollution
- Area having high air exchange rate and less sources of air pollution
The first area will have a poor air quality than second area and why is that? This is because, the first area has low air exchange rate, which makes the pollutants to build up in that area and In second area, the air exchange rate is high which doesn’t allow the pollutants to build up in that particular area.
Now I hope you get a clear idea that how different areas can have different air quality levels and this make it necessary to monitor air quality and to understand its benefits .
Below are some Important Benefits of Air pollution Monitoring system- The data collected from air quality monitoring helps us assess impacts caused by poor air quality on public health.
- Air quality data helps us determine if an area is meeting the air quality standards devised by CPCB, WHO or OSHA.
- The data collected from air quality monitoring would primarily help us identify polluted areas, the level of pollution and air quality level.
- Air quality monitoring would assist in determining if air pollution control programmes devised in a locality are working efficiently or not.
- Air quality data helps us understand the mortality rate of any location due to air pollution. We can also assess and compare the short term and long term diseases/disorders which are a result of air pollution.
- Based upon the data collected control measures can be devised for protection of environment and health of all living organisms.
First of all we will connect the ESP8266 with the Arduino. ESP8266 runs on 3.3V and if you will give it 5V from the Arduino then it won’t work properly and it may get damage. Connect the VCC and the CH_PD to the 3.3V pin of Arduino. The RX pin of ESP8266 works on 3.3V and it will not communicate with the Arduino when we will connect it directly to the Arduino. So, we will have to make a voltage divider for it which will convert the 5V into 3.3V. This can be done by connecting three resistors in series like we did in the circuit. Connect the TX pin of the ESP8266 to the pin 10 of the Arduino and the RX pin of the esp8266 to the pin 9 of Arduino through the resistors.
ESP8266 Wi-Fi module gives your projects access to Wi-Fi or internet. It is a very cheap device and make your projects very powerful. It can communicate with any microcontroller and it is the most leading devices in the IOT platform. Learn more about using ESP8266 with Arduino here.
Then we will connect the MQ135 sensor with the Arduino. Connect the VCC and the ground pin of the sensor to the 5V and ground of the Arduino and the Analog pin of sensor to the A0 of the Arduino.
Connect a buzzer to the pin 8 of the Arduino which will start to beep when the condition becomes true.
In last, we will connect LCD with the Arduino. The connections of the LCD are as follows
- Connect pin 1 (VEE) to the ground.
- Connect pin 2 (VDD or VCC) to the 5V.
- Connect pin 3 (V0) to the middle pin of the 10K potentiometer and connect the other two ends of the potentiometer to the VCC and the GND. The potentiometer is used to control the screen contrast of the LCD. Potentiometer of values other than 10K will work too.
- Connect pin 4 (RS) to the pin 12 of the Arduino.
- Connect pin 5 (Read/Write) to the ground of Arduino. This pin is not often used so we will connect it to the ground.
- Connect pin 6 (E) to the pin 11 of the Arduino. The RS and E pin are the control pins which are used to send data and characters.
- The following four pins are data pins which are used to communicate with the Arduino.
Connect pin 11 (D4) to pin 5 of Arduino.
Connect pin 12 (D5) to pin 4 of Arduino.
Connect pin 13 (D6) to pin 3 of Arduino.
Connect pin 14 (D7) to pin 2 of Arduino.
- Connect pin 15 to the VCC through the 220 ohm resistor. The resistor will be used to set the back light brightness. Larger values will make the back light much more darker.
- Connect pin 16 to the Ground.
| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 16150 | |||
| ARDUINO mega | Equipment | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| NODEMCU ESP8266 Wi-Fi | Equipment | 1 | 900 | 900 |
| PM2.5/PM10 Sensor | Equipment | 1 | 2050 | 2050 |
| MQ-135 Gas sensors | Equipment | 1 | 600 | 600 |
| Barometric Pressure Sensor (BME280) | Equipment | 1 | 1300 | 1300 |
| Simple LCD | Equipment | 1 | 400 | 400 |
| Breadboard | Equipment | 1 | 300 | 300 |
| Vero board | Equipment | 1 | 400 | 400 |
| Soldiering material | Equipment | 1 | 800 | 800 |
| Connecting Wires and terminals | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |
| Jumper wires and connectors | Equipment | 1 | 400 | 400 |
| Power supply | Equipment | 1 | 1500 | 1500 |
| others | Miscellaneous | 1 | 4000 | 4000 |