Air Quality Cam

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Infos

For our air quality tests at Clean Air Home – Los Angeles, we use laser-based particle counters for indoor and outdoor air quality measurements. PC 0.3 refers to the total number of airborne particles (particle count) ≥0.3 microns in diameter, for a liter of air. This size range of airborne pollutants includes fine dust particles, combustion particles from automobiles and fires, most allergens, as well as bacteria. Since PC 0.3 includes harmful pollutants and is a good indicator of even smaller ultra-fine particles in the air, the measurements from these laser particle counters form a good basis for comparing air quality.

Alternatively, PM2.5 refers to the particle mass (total weight) of suspended particles <2.5 microns in diameter, for a cubic meter (1000 liters) of air. The World Health Organization (WHO) bases its guidelines for air quality upon this, so we’ve listed it here for reference purposes. We prefer to look at PC0.3, as it provides a better indication of the small particles that represent the greatest danger to human health.

The rolling 24-hour graph shows particle levels both outdoors and inside the Clean Air Home over the past 24 hours, and is updated every hour. Likewise, the rolling 30-day graph is updated each day at midnight PST, and shows the daily outdoor and indoor particle count average over the past 30 days.

Los Angeles air quality (in terms of fine particle levels) can vary considerably from one day to another. It is not uncommon to see these concentrations vary by a factor of 10. Whereas one of the main sources of air pollution in Los Angeles certainly comes from automobiles, these large swings in outdoor PC 0.3 levels are primarily due to the weather patterns. They allow air pollutants to either build up or ventilate from the Los Angeles basin. That is why some days it looks like a brown cloud has descended upon LA, and other days the sky is blue and you can see for miles.

Despite all that, the indoor particle levels in the Clean Air Home – Los Angeles generally exhibit between 90% and 95% improvement over outdoor levels. This is due to a high-efficiency whole-house air purification system, which works in conjunction with the home’s HVAC ducting system and fan to deliver significantly cleaner air to every room in the house. Imagine, going inside for a breath of fresh air!