How to Overcome the Disadvantages using Different CO2 sensors
If you want to measure the concentration of Carbon Dioxide in the air at home using Arduino. Here is the thing that you need to know about how to choose a suitable sensor for this project.
There are two types of measurement for CO2:
- Nondispersive Infrared (NDIR) CO2 sensor
- Chemical CO2 sensor
Disadvantages of CO2 sensors
Chemical CO2 Sensor depends on the different gas sensitivity of the material, such as a classical chemical CO2 sensor MG-811
The chemical material itself has the highest sensitivity of CO2, but meanwhile, the chemical material is also sensitive to other gas like CO, Alcohol and other gas. If you want to get the real level of CO2 in the air, it needs to work with other gas sensors to calibrate the data.
And the shortage of this kind of sensor is that the sensor material is consumable. It means that the accuracy of the sensor will go down as time goes on. You have to calibrate it after using for about a few weeks.
Overcome the disadvantages using NDIR CO2 sensor
These shortages of the chemical sensor can be solved by using an NDIR CO2 sensor, An IR transmitter trains a special wave of light through a tube filled with sample air toward an optical filter in front of an IR light sensor. The IR light sensor measures the amount of IR light that passes through the optical filter. In these steps, there is no consumable substance and the sensor can maintain a fairly high consistency.
A Grove NDIR CO2 sensor module, which is powered by Sensirion SCD30, is very suitable for those projects that need to measure the level of CO2 in the air. This module also includes a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor.
Get one now! Grove – CO2 & Temperature & Humidity Sensor (SCD30)
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