Category: Uncategorized

Wildfire Smoke Reaches the Eastern Seaboard

Posted on by piera_admin

Yesterday (7/20) I noticed that my Canāree A1 located in my office in Bristol, RI started reading AQI values ~120 (orange, unhealthy) after weeks of green values. I wondered why?

Went out for a cruise on Narragansett Bay from 7-9 pm and the air smelled like burnt wood, the sky was hazy with a yellow/orange moon. I overhear someone say it’s due to wildfire smoke. I think she’s mistaken.

This morning at 6:30 AM, Canāree continues to show unhealthy air. I take a 4.5 mile walk outdoors, same smell and the Boston NPR radio station states haze from wildfires in Western US (Oregon and California) would affect us all day. Checked AirNow, the EPA site and saw same warning with PM <2.5 being most of it. This station is in Fall River ~20 miles away.

To the left is the Canāree indoor data for the last 24 hours. The historical data from my Canāree is here. Note the increase in PM2.5 and 1.0 ~3 pm yesterday when wildfire smoke entered the area. I also have a Sensirion SPS30 PM sensor which reports about half the amount of PM and identical values for PM10, 2.5, 1.0 so it doesn’t see the <1.0 PM values, can’t report smoke and is off by 50 %.

This morning at 9:15 AM I moved the Canāree and Sensirion outdoors. It detected a smoke event within minutes as all 3 PM values spiked with the majority being PM 1.0 and below. This real-world example shows how Canāree detects wildfire smoke in real time, its intensity and size. The forecast is for the air to improve and clear throughout the day.

Coincidentally, two days ago, the EPA published this bulletin on Wildfire Smoke and Indoor Air Quality. They recommend two steps; monitor the levels in your area using the Fire and Smoke Map from Airnow.gov and take steps to mitigate. Here is the Fire and Smoke Map for US and my area including that sensor in Fall River, the orange dot to the right of the blue one (me in Bristol).

Since the EPA stations are far apart, report every hour and the AQI is a 24-hour average you can’t rely on it to help you know the local conditions. It’s value is more of an early warning system. The AQI in Bristol was 158 and red 50 % higher than Fall River at 121 and orange. PM 1.0 is 46 ug (mass concentration, a measure of the weight of all the particles) with PM2.5 = 68 ug. So, 68 % is PM <1.0 which the EPA doesn’t report (just < PM2.5 and 10). The recommended daily average value for PM 2.5 is 12.5 ug so we are breathing 4x with most of that PM 1.0!!! This is a serious health threat and Canāree reports more accurate, real-time updates that reflect your local conditions and can augment the EPA Fire and Smoke Maps.

What should I do? Should I mask up, get an air purifier? Stay indoors? EPA guidelines include:

• Close windows and doors
• Close fresh intake on A/C units
• Use a portable air cleaner with HEPA filters properly sized for the room in your home.
• If your home is too warm, try to stay with friends or relatives

Hopefully they have a clean room

Follow the guidelines but continue to monitor to determine their effectiveness. Canāree will help you see in real-time if these steps are working. Real world testing at our Mt. Shasta location during the Lava fire suggests a properly sized air purifier works quickly. What size? CADR is one key metric, find out more here or use the CADR size calculator here. Just remember that you’ll need to monitor the purifier to see how well it’s working and if the filters need replacing.

In summary, Canāree is the only indoor AQM that can classify sources like vape, smoke, etc. It will monitor your indoor air quality and help you improve it cost effectively. Contact us at www.pierasystems.com to learn more.

Hitachi Systems Network Technologies and Piera Systems Sign Agreement to Sell Canāree Air Quality Monitoring Solutions

Posted on by piera_admin

Toronto, Ontario – July 28, 2021. Piera Systems (“Piera”) is excited to announce a reseller agreement with Hitachi Systems Network Technologies (“Hitachi”), a leading IT service provider headquartered in Singapore, to market, sell, and distribute the ground-breaking CanāreeTM family of air quality monitors in Singapore. Canāree air quality monitors are built using the patented Intelligent Particle Sensor (“IPS”) technology from Piera and they combine ease-of-use and rapid deployment with unparalleled particulate measurement capabilities.

“The Canāree monitors’ ability to accurately measure particulates across the PM range and identify sources of pollution at an affordable price-point is a big differentiator for us,” said Vin Ratford, CEO of Piera Systems. “Seamless integration to Aruba wireless access points leverages existing wireless infrastructure everywhere to start measuring air quality in minutes. Full integration to the cloud and intuitive software interfaces allow anyone to measure air quality from anywhere.”

“As an Aruba Platinum Partner, we are really excited to build on our networking expertise and offer our customers this differentiated ability to monitor air quality,” said Lim Keng Hoe, Managing Director of Hitachi Systems Network Technologies. “Awareness of air quality has been significantly heightened in Singapore due to the pandemic and the Canāree family of air quality monitors is a perfect solution to complement our network service offerings.”

As part of this agreement, Hitachi will distribute all members of the Canāree family of air quality monitors:

Canāree A1 – designed to plug into Aruba wireless access points
Canāree I1 – standalone operation using WiFi or BLE
Canāree I5 – measures particulates and temperature, pressure, humidity, VOCs, and gases

All Canāree monitors can measure accurately from PM0.1 to PM10 and come with a built-in ability to detect vape and smoke events. Air quality can be monitored through Piera’s SenseiAQ software that interfaces to the cloud for data access or can be integrated into existing Building Management or Building Automation Software (BMS/BAS). Canāree monitors are built on IPS technology which are the only low-cost sensors in the world certified by Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) for operation at PM1.0, 2.5, and 10.0.

Indoor air quality can be up to 5 times worse than outdoors and most of our time is spent indoors. Accurately monitoring indoor air quality with Canāree monitors, identifying the sources of pollution, and taking effective mitigative actions can drastically improve the health and productivity of all occupants.

About Piera Systems, Inc.

Piera Systems Inc. mission is to make air quality measurement as accurate, simple, inexpensive, and pervasive as temperature, enabling a major improvement in the health of all humans. Piera has developed a family of ‘Intelligent Particle Sensors’ utilizing a breakthrough custom processor to detect particulate Matter (PM), a major component of air pollution. Unlike existing low-cost PM sensors, IPS has superior accuracy over a wider range, including harmful ‘very fine particles’ smaller than 1.0 micron, and reports particle size and count in real-time at low power. IPS is the first software defined PM sensor with up to 7 particle sizes allowing its use in many applications. IPS data is analyzed using AI/ML algorithms to identify and classify pollution sources such as vape, cigarette smoke, cooking, etc. IPS sensors and Canāree monitors will answer the question, What’s In Your Air?

Headquartered in Toronto, more information on Piera Systems air quality solutions can be found at https://www.pierasystems.com

About Hitachi Systems Network Technologies

Established in 2003 as I-Net Solutions and acquired by the Hitachi Group in 2015, Hitachi Systems Digital Services has transferred its business to Hitachi Systems Network Technologies in 2020. Headquartered in Singapore, Hitachi Systems Network Technologies is one of the leading Information Technology (IT) Service Providers for providing a comprehensive suite of IT Solutions in consulting, system integration, maintenance, IT outsourcing and managed services, striving to be an advocate of technology innovations and to deliver the best services to all customers with the utmost integrity.

With the acquisition, Hitachi Systems Network Technologies has been able to develop a strong footprint within Singapore providing cutting edge IT solutions and services to its customers. Centric to this is our approach in providing solutions to our customers.

Hitachi Systems Network Technologies utilize our rich experience accumulated through offering industry-leading IT services since the earliest days of IT in Japan through to today to provide a one-stop service that covers the entire IT lifecycle ranging from introduction consultancy, design, development, operation and maintenance of systems to helpdesk services, to support businesses and operations of customers. Furthermore, by focusing on three areas – cloud services, global solutions, and business services – Hitachi Systems Network Technologies aim to create new values beyond the framework of IT and become a global service company that is entrusted by customers with all kinds of activities. Learn more at https://hitachi-systems-nt.com

Contact Information

Raj Seelam

Vice President of Marketing & Customer Success

raj.seelam@pierasystems.com

Ivan Teo

Senior Vice President, Sales

ivan.teo@hitachi-systems-di.com

Family of Intelligent Particle Sensors boast high accuracy at low cost

Posted on by piera_admin

 

This article from Fierce Electronics discusses Piera Systems family of Intelligent Particulate Matter Sensors and how they can be used to measure Air Quality for many applications .  Initially called the Piera-1 we have created a family of devices which are Software-Defined.  They have superior accuracy, resolution to existing low cost sensors, calculate PM size, count and mass concentration and allow you to select the best price/performance specifications for your product.  Our flagship device, the Piera-7100 with 7 Particle Size bins  is used in our Canāree Air Quality Monitors and is capable of classifying sources of PM such as vape, smoke, etc.

 

https://www.fierceelectronics.com/sensors/intelligent-particle-sensor-boasts-high-accuracy-at-a-low-cost

Air Pollution’s Systemic Effects

Posted on by piera_admin

This article from Harvard Magazine discusses the surprising extent to which the presence of fine air particles affects human health. It highlights a study that carried out new techniques and collected data on just how much on an economic impact fine air particles can have because of their severe health impacts. “The research demonstrates that every microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in PM2.5 within a 24-hour period has an incremental effect on human health… In the United States, such increases in pollution occur on more than 122 days a year in every geographic region… [representing] ‘one additional hospitalization per day for every zip code for half of the year.’ These data correspond to $100 million in annual inpatient and post-acute care costs, and an estimated $6.5 billion in lost value of human life.”

 

Although this study acknowledged that it likely underestimated the true economic toll, it is still a significant number that should be paid attention to. At Piera Systems, our Piera-1 Intelligent Particle Sensor embedded in IoT devices can provide the kind of accurate, real-time data at low cost required to monitor and improve air quality to prevent unneeded economic costs.

 

 

Global emissions plunged an unprecedented 17 percent during the coronavirus pandemic

Posted on by piera_admin

This article from WAPO highlights the dramatic reduction in air pollution due to Covid-19 BUT it also points out the challenges of reducing emissions from the vast infrastructure already in place.  “Although the decline in emissions during the pandemic may have been unprecedented, it was relatively small when it comes to combating global warming. The peak 17 percent decline in global emissions — which occurred in early April — meant nations continued to generate more than 80 percent of carbon pollution. “

Nations, industry and consumer need to commit to investing in green energy and a global monitoring network to ensure compliance and track progress. At Piera Systems, our Piera-1 Intelligent Particle Sensor embedded in IoT devices can provide the kind of accurate, real-time data at low cost required to monitor and improve Air Quality.

If your company is building Air purifiers, HVAC systems, Air quality monitors, Vape/Smoke detectors or any other application that would benefit from this type of data you should get one of our Evaluation Kits or contact us to find out more.

Can Particulate Matter Carry Coronavirus?

Posted on by piera_admin

In a previous post we referenced articles that stated the hypothesis that air pollution and the severity of COVID-19 were linked. It was said to be due to bad air taking a toll on the lungs and rendering people more vulnerable to the effects of the virus. A recent study conducted in Italy suggests another way by which high particulate matter in air can increase the spread and severity of the Coronavirus; the virus is carried on the particulate.

More details in the article from The Times of Israel.

 

Air Pollution Strongly Linked to Alzheimer’s

Posted on by piera_admin

We started Piera Systems to address the public health threat due to Air Pollution.  We developed our Piera-1 Intelligent Particle Sensor so that researchers, gov’t agencies, consumers and businesses would have accurate, real-time, complete data at a low cost in order to identify, classify what’s in your air and take action.  None of us anticipated the emergence of COVID-19 and the global pandemic the novel Coronavirus has caused.  We were moved to create Piera initially by the World Health Organizations reports that particulate matter <2.5 was the cause of one in 9 deaths annually.  We just posted a white paper in which we referenced reports out of Italy linking PM10 to the spread of the novel Coronavirus.  Every day new articles emerge with more evidence of other health threats that indicate Air Pollution is an even greater threat.

This month’s Issue of Scientific American (available through Apple News) has a special report on Alzheimer’s and how fresh approaches are unearthing hopeful clues in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Some of our staff has been impacted by this disease either directly or indirectly and everyone needs to be aware of the threat and take action to minimize its impact on our health and ability to enjoy our ‘golden years’.  In fact, evidence says the time to start is at a young age.

One article in this issue discusses The Role of Air Pollution citing research linking “Bad Air to Damaged Brains” caused by PM2.5 and below.  High Exposure over a long period leads to memory loss with more than 10 studies that link late-life exposure to air pollution and dementia.  Nevertheless, more study and data are needed.

Jennifer Weuve, associate professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, led one of the first U.S.-wide investigations into the link between air pollution and brain disease and published the results in 2012.   “In a perfect world, everyone would wear an air-pollution monitor so that we could get real-time data on their exposures,” Weuve says.  But this is not a perfect world. So, we work with experts to build estimation models. It’s not enough. In the case of Alzheimer’s, it’s chronic, long-term exposure that counts, and we don’t even have a worldwide registry of people with Alzheimer’s, let alone the resources to follow people for many years prior to their acquiring the disease. So, it is quite difficult to nail down causation.” Indeed, in some regions of the world, air pollution is so bad that people die of heart disease long before they would ever show symptoms of late-onset Alzheimer’s.

The article concludes with, “While the disease remains a horror facing millions of people around the globe, there is some encouraging news in these discoveries about air pollution, several scientists say: people can take action to diminish the hazards.  Most drugs so far have not helped patients, says George Washington University epidemiologist Melinda Power, who focuses on identifying modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia. “So, at the moment, prevention through the reduction of environmental and lifestyle factors looks like our best bet,” she says. “And air-pollution exposure is looking [like it could be] very important.””

At Piera we are committed to delivering, the type of low-cost sensors that can power the type of monitors and deliver the real-time data desired by researchers.

If you are interested in finding out more about how Piera-1 addresses this need, contact us.  We can also put you in touch with a number of companies that are evaluating our sensor to include in Air Quality Monitors, HVAC systems, Air Purifiers, Masks as well as companies that provide data about Air Pollution.  Together we can move closer to the Perfect World and remove this threat to our health.

Whitepaper: Accurately Measuring Particulate Matter and Its Impact on Health

Posted on by piera_admin

The Coronavirus has affected the entire world in a manner that has seldom been seen before. As more research is done to better understand this pandemic, we come across new information that helps us be more well equipped to fight it. Our white paper linked below contains important updates about COVID-19 that may enable us to do exactly this:

Accurately Measuring Particulate Matter and Its Impact on Health

Coronavirus severity and Air Quality linked?

Posted on by piera_admin

As if the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic wasn’t bad enough as is, poor air quality could be making the virus even more deadly.  The virus manifests differently amongst individuals, with many being asymptomatic while proving fatal to many others.   The elderly and immunocompromised are more at risk as the data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests. Similarly, poor air quality and smoking, for instance, can cause lung inflammation and leave the body prone to more severe Coronavirus symptoms. More research is required however, to prove the connection between the two, as more and more experts have begun to lean in favor of the hypothesis.

For more detail, checkout the article by  Washington Post and by The Guardian.