Development of Indoor Air Quality Supervision

Systems Using ZigBee Wireless Networks

Chiao-Lun Lee and Jin-Shyan Lee*
Department of Electrical Engineering
National Taipei University of Technology
Taipei, Taiwan
*
Corresponding author: jslee@mail.ntut.edu.tw

Abstract—Recently, due to the increase of environmental
awareness, air quality has attracted much more attention. In this
paper, an indoor air quality supervision system using ZigBee
wireless networks has been proposed. The developed system
provides a simple way to monitor and control the indoor air
quality (IAQ) for residential building applications. In this
present scheme, several sensors are employed to detect a variety
of gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2),
as well as the fine particulate matter (PM2.5). In addition, by
using the developed user interface APP, people could observe the
real-time status anytime and anywhere.
Keywords—Indoor air quality (IAQ), Remote Supervision
System, ZigBee wireless networks.
I. INTRODUCTION
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) [1], which have been
considered as one of the promising future technologies, has
already been widely applied in a variety of fields, including
smart home [2], urban transportation [3], industrial control [4],
military application [5], and mobile sensing environments [6].
Features such as transmission distance, data rate, security, and
battery life are the factors that users mostly care about.
Although each kind of network has its own advantages, the
energy problem has been one of the critical factors for
constructing wireless networks [7]-[8].
The sick building syndrome [13], introduced by the World
Health Organization, is a phenomenon described by people
who claimed they have experienced some discomfort effects
which appears to be related to the specific buildings they used
to stay in. Obviously, poor indoor air quality could cause
building occupants respiratory diseases, skin irritation,
neurotoxic and other health problems, which means the gases
and particulates within and around us, may directly affect our
safety silently and imperceptibly.
To cope with this problem, one of the effective ways is to
create a space with good ventilation, which helps air to
circulate in our room, bringing fresh and clean air inside, and
keeping moisture and airborne pollutants outside. However,
due to the high cost of related measuring instruments, and the
inconvenience of wire distribution, approaches which wired
networks formerly took cannot fully solve this issue.
In this paper, we will introduce a system that building
occupants could understand the air composition of the room by
just taking a look at their own handheld devices such as a
notebook, smartphone, or tablet. Moreover, users could also
take further steps to activate and control the ventilator directly
with the user interface we designed. By diluting the
concentration of contaminants, it could effectively reduce the
potential health risks in such a simple and secure way.

As mentioned in [9], Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee are the

specifications which were developed for low power
consumption applications and have been applied in plenty of
domains respectively based on their features. ZigBee [10]-[11],
which is also renowned for its low cost, low data rate and long
battery life characteristics, has been extensively utilized to
create personal area networks (PAN), such as use for home
automation, medical health care, and other small-scale projects
with wireless connection needs.
In modern society, people are accustomed to staying in
indoor spaces for a long time while working, relaxing, or living.
Consequently, the indoor air quality (IAQ) [12], which refers
to the air quality within buildings and structures, plays an
influential role in our health. IAQ can be affected by gases,
including carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), fine
particulate matter (often referred to as PM2.5), and volatile
organic compounds, or other microbial contaminants such as
mildew and bacteria.
Fig. 1. Proposed supervision system scheme.

This paper was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology

(MOST) of Taiwan under grant MOST-106-2221-E-027-057, and in part by
the Taipei Tech. EE Alumni Association.

978-1-5386-3758-6/18/$31.00 2018
c IEEE 95
 II. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION A. Developed Hardware Platform
In our design, we combined Arduino board with some gas The structure of the sensing module is shown in Fig. 4, the
(including CO, CO2) detectors, PM2.5 sensor, temperature and Arduino UNO board and Ethernet shield provide users with the
humidity sensor, and XBee transmitter into a sensing module, option to view the status on the website. Due to its small scale,
as shown in Fig. 1. people could easily find a place for it and quickly set it up.
Fig. 2 shows the implementation of the supervision system.
After collecting required information from the atmosphere, the
next step is to transmit the data to our terminal computer via
XBee network. Meanwhile, our program will compare the
received data with the standard value announced by the
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). Afterward,
the system will automatically operate the ventilation system if
any figure exceeds the norm so as to refresh the air.
Furthermore, users are able to observe the current status of
each item either on PC monitors or any devices that could log
on to the internet and then link to a specific website. The
overall operating process is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4. The developed prototype system.

B. Developed Software Interface

The designed user interface for the computer is shown in
Fig. 5. At the left part of the window (blue background)
presents the current temperature, humidity, and the
concentration of each gas. We divided the potential risk into
three levels, including the green color represents safe, the
yellow means harmless, while the red stands for danger. The
ventilator will be operated automatically except for the safe
(green) situation, so as to dilute the airborne contaminants
Fig. 2. Implementation of the supervision system. immediately.
At the right part of the window (green background), users
are able to remotely control the fan with three different
Start optional speeds, including high, medium, and low speed. The
default option is to change its speed automatically along with
the variation of those objects.
Operate Sensors
Start Sensing

Transmit Data to
Activate the Fan to
Terminal Computers
Refresh Air
via XBee network

Data Analysis
Compare with
Standard Value
No

No Check if Yes If Exceed

Exceed Sequentially

Issue Warning to Yes

End
Personnel

Fig. 3. Flowchart of the operational process. Fig. 5. The developed user interface for remote monitoring and control.

96 2018 13th IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA)

 In Fig. 6 shows the other way to observe the current 40

situation. Users may control the fan speed at the bottom part of
the webpage as well.
35
(%)
30
( )
25

20
hum
temp
15

10

time
17:20:40
17:20:48
17:20:57
17:21:07
17:21:15
17:21:23
17:21:32
17:21:42
17:21:51
17:21:59
17:22:07
17:22:14
17:22:22
17:22:30
17:22:39
17:22:47
17:22:55
17:23:03
17:23:10
17:23:17
17:23:25
17:23:33
17:23:42
17:23:49
17:23:57
17:24:05
17:24:14
17:24:21
Fig. 7. Variations of temperature and humidity.

(ug/m3) PM2.5
600

Fig. 6. The developed website for fan control. 500

400

III. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

300
A. Application Scenarios pm25

We conducted the experiment in summer, sunny day. The 200

place was in a normal laboratory, and the data were collected

within the same period of time, about five minutes. In order to 100

guarantee that if any of the concentration increased, the system

could still function normally, we adopted some methods to 0
simulate the situation of increasing of each gas.
time
14:52:52
14:53:25
14:53:59
14:54:29
14:54:58
14:55:40
14:56:06
14:56:38
14:57:04
14:57:32
14:57:58
14:58:30
14:59:14
14:59:59
15:00:25
15:01:04
15:01:32
15:01:59
15:02:32
15:03:09
15:03:44
15:04:13
15:04:50
15:05:18
15:05:47
15:06:13
15:06:42
15:07:15
15:07:41
15:25:56
15:26:23
15:26:49
For CO, we ignite an incense stick nearby the detector, for
burning could generate CO into the air. As for CO2, we exhale
to the detector in person, by generating CO2 artificially. For Fig. 8. Variation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
fine PM2.5, we drop a touch of dust on the sensor to stimulate
it. (ppm) CO
50
B. Experimental Results 45
The experimental results of each sensor are shown as 40
follows. Fig. 7 presents the temperature (approximatelyġ 28ć)
and humidity (approximately 34%~35%) at that time. Fig. 8 35

shows the variation of fine PM2.5 within the limited time, due 30

to the keen sensitivity of the sensor, the data has changed 25

dramatically. Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 present the variation of CO and 20
co

CO2 respectively, when the concentration of CO or CO2

increased, the fan also changed its speed at the same time, as 15

shown in Fig. 11. 10

0
17:20:40
17:20:48
17:20:57
17:21:07
17:21:15
17:21:23
17:21:32
17:21:42
17:21:51
17:21:59
17:22:07
17:22:14
17:22:22
17:22:30
17:22:39
17:22:47
17:22:55
17:23:03
17:23:10
17:23:17
17:23:25
17:23:33
17:23:42
17:23:49
17:23:57
17:24:05
17:24:14
17:24:21
time

Fig. 9. Variation of carbon monoxide (CO).

2018 13th IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA) 97

 (ppm) CO2 control approaches into the developed systems and integrating
1200
various sensors to achieve a smarter living environment.

1000 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Mr. Kuo-Lun Chang and
800
Mr. Heng-Yi Zhu from National Taipei University of
Technology (Taipei Tech.) for their help with developing the
600
supervision system. This paper was supported by the Ministry
co2
of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan under grant
400
MOST-106-2221-E-027-057, and in part by the Taipei Tech.
EE Alumni Association.
200

0
REFERENCES
time
17:20:40
17:20:48
17:20:57
17:21:07
17:21:15
17:21:23
17:21:32
17:21:42
17:21:51
17:21:59
17:22:07
17:22:14
17:22:22
17:22:30
17:22:39
17:22:47
17:22:55
17:23:03
17:23:10
17:23:17
17:23:25
17:23:33
17:23:42
17:23:49
17:23:57
17:24:05
17:24:14
17:24:21
[1] J. S. Lee and W. L. Cheng, “Fuzzy-logic-based clustering approach for
Fig. 10. Variation of carbon dioxide (CO2) wireless sensor networks using energy predication,” IEEE Sensors J.,
vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 2891-2897, Sep. 2012.
[2] M. Li and H. J. Lin, “Design and implementation of smart home control
systems based on wireless sensor networks and power line
(rpm) Fan communications,” IEEE Trans. Industrial Electronics, vol. 62, no. 7, pp.
6000 4430-4442, 2015.
[3] X. Hu, L. Yang, and W. Xiong, “A novel wireless sensor network frame
for urban transportation,” IEEE Internet of Things J., vol. 2, no. 6, pp.
5000
586-595, 2015.
[4] V. C. Gungor and G. P. Hancke, “Industrial wireless sensor networks:
4000 Challenges, design principles, and technical approaches,” IEEE Trans.
Industrial Electronics, vol. 56, no. 10, pp. 4258-4265, 2009.
[5] M. P. Ĉurišiü, Z. Tafa, G. Dimiü, and V. Milutinoviü, “A survey of
3000
military applications of wireless sensor networks,” in Proc. IEEE Conf.
fan
Mediterranean Embedded Computing, Jun. 2012, pp. 196-199.
2000 [6] J. S. Lee and C. L. Teng, “An enhanced hierarchical clustering approach
for mobile sensor networks using fuzzy inference systems,” IEEE
Internet of Things J., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 1095-1103, Aug. 2017.
1000
[7] J. S. Lee and T. Y. Kao, “An improved three-layer low-energy adaptive
clustering hierarchy for wireless sensor networks,” IEEE Internet of
0 Things J., vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 951-958, Dec. 2016.
[8] J. S. Lee and Y. M. Wang, “Experimental evaluation of ZigBee-based
time
17:20:40
17:20:48
17:20:57
17:21:07
17:21:15
17:21:23
17:21:32
17:21:42
17:21:51
17:21:59
17:22:07
17:22:14
17:22:22
17:22:30
17:22:39
17:22:47
17:22:55
17:23:03
17:23:10
17:23:17
17:23:25
17:23:33
17:23:42
17:23:49
17:23:57
17:24:05
17:24:14
17:24:21

wireless networks in indoor environments,” Journal of Engineering, vol.

Fig. 11. Variation of fan speed to improve the air quality
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The air pollution problem has become a worldwide issue in
recent years, living in a place with poor IAQ is even worse
than smoking every day. The main purpose of constructing this
supervision system is to provide a simple and secure way for
building occupants to protect them from being endangered by
the invisible menaces. This system comprises four sensors that
could detect different kinds of gases, besides, we apply ZigBee
wireless network technology that let users manipulate
ventilators remotely, which is much more convenient.
Additionally, by using our developed user interface and
website, people could check up on the current status anytime
and anywhere. Future work includes applying intelligent
2013, Article ID 286367, 9 pages, doi10.11552013286367, Feb. 2013.
[9] J. S. Lee, Y. W. Su, and C. C. Shen, “A comparative study of wireless
protocols: Bluetooth, UWB, ZigBee, and Wi-Fi,” in Proc. IEEE Annual
Conf. Industrial Electronics Society (IECON), Taipei, Taiwan, Nov.
2007, pp. 46-51.
[10] J. S. Lee, M. F. Dong, and Y. H. Sun, “A preliminary study of low
power wireless technologies: ZigBee and Bluetooth Low Energy,” IEEE
Conf. Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA), Auckland, New
Zealand, June 2015, pp. 135-139.
[11] J. S. Lee, M. J. Chung, and Y. H. Sun, “Development of residential
lighting control systems using ZigBee wireless technology,” IEEE Conf.
Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA), Siem Reap, Cambodia,
June 2017, pp. 133-136
[12] A. P. Jones, “Indoor air quality and health,” Atmospheric Environment,
vol. 33, no. 28, pp. 4535-4564, 1999.
[13] World Health Organization, Indoor Air Quality Research (EURO
Reports and Studies, No. 103). Copenhagen, WHO Regional Office of
Europe, 1986.

98 2018 13th IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA)