Keeping tabs on air quality is important in commercial, industrial, and residential environments. With the SEN6x family, Sensirion provides a turnkey sensing solution that seamlessly exposes data to attached microcontrollers.

Collating information from multiple sensors can be an interesting task. In the case of the SEN6x, bus contention is eliminated by the deployment of a control MCU. It sits directly inside the sensor and manages the internal I2C bus. Furthermore, highly accurate algorithms ensure that the application microcontroller can process the collected information directly. Finally, an integrated fan can ensure reliable and steady airflow into the sensor assembly.

Quiet, Yet Highly Reliable

Sensirion's air quality sensor impresses with its longevity. The formaldehyde sensor has an intended lifetime of more than 6 years, while the rest of the module is expected to operate for more than 10 years. As shown in the figure below, the unit can provide one update a second. Operation, furthermore, is almost completely noiseless.

Data sheet parameters are collected in accordance with various industry standards. More information on compliance data can be found in the data sheet of the SEN6x family, which Sensirion provides at https://sensirion.com/sen6x-air-quality-sensor-platform.

Various Sensor Combinations for Minimized BOM Cost

Depending on the gases that need to be monitored, different versions of the environmental sensor node can be deployed. The largest variant can monitor PM, RH & T, VOC, NOx, HCHO, and CO2. The SEN62 (aka SEN62-SIN-T), commonly found in air quality sensors, can provide tabs on PM, RH & T. In addition, various other units are available as shown in the figure below.

Finally, designers working on applications intended for the California market will be delighted to find out that the unit is ready for California Title 24. It also complies with the RESET and WELL building standards to the fullest extent.

Widely Supported Programming Interface

Thanks to the above-mentioned host microcontroller, accessing air quality information is simplified. The sensor is supported across a variety of environments. As an example, the Arduino library found at https://github.com/Sensirion/arduino-i2c-sen66 can be programmed as follows:

void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
while (!Serial) {
delay(100);
}
Wire.begin();
sensor.begin(Wire, SEN66I2CADDR_6B);
error = sensor.deviceReset();
. . .
void loop() {
float massConcentrationPm1p0 = 0.0;
float massConcentrationPm2p5 = 0.0;
float massConcentrationPm4p0 = 0.0;
float massConcentrationPm10p0 = 0.0;
float humidity = 0.0;
float temperature = 0.0;
float vocIndex = 0.0;
float noxIndex = 0.0;
uint16_t co2 = 0;
delay(1000);
error = sensor.readMeasuredValues(
massConcentrationPm1p0, massConcentrationPm2p5, massConcentrationPm4p0,
massConcentrationPm10p0, humidity, temperature, vocIndex, noxIndex,
co2);
. . .

Conclusion

If an easy-to-use I2C air quality sensor is required, the Sensirion SEN6x family is ideal. Once placed, an attached microcontroller can receive reliable information via the robust I2C interface. The product greatly accelerates the design of air quality monitoring systems and contributes to both efficiency and lower cost of ownership.