Current IoT applications in indoor air focus mainly on general monitoring. This study proposed a novel IoT application to evaluate airflow patterns and ventilation performance using tracer gas. The tracer gas is a surrogate for small-size particles and bioaerosols and is used in dispersion and ventilation studies. Prevalent commercial tracer-gas-measuring instruments, although highly accurate, are relatively expensive, have a long sampling cycle, and are limited in the number of sampling points. To enhance the spatial and temporal understanding of tracer gas dispersion under the influence of ventilation, a novel application of an IoT-enabled, wireless R134a sensing network using commercially available small sensors was proposed. The system has a detection range of 5-100 ppm and a sampling cycle of 10 s. Using Wi-Fi communication, the measurement data are transmitted to and stored in a cloud database for remote, real-time analysis. The novel system provides a quick response, detailed spatial and temporal profiles of the tracer gas level, and a comparable air change rate analysis. With multiple units deployed as a wireless sensing network, the system can be applied as an affordable alternative to traditional tracer gas systems to identify the dispersion pathway of the tracer gas and the general airflow direction.
Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT); airflow; dispersion; tracer gas system; wireless sensing network (WSN).