new AQcalc app for iOS supports Air Quality Eggs
AQcalc Team at Acculation
Yesterday, as mentioned in one of the AQE support forum questions, we launched our AQcalc app for iOS for download from the United States Apple App Store. This is currently a free app, and supports Air Quality Egg dust sensors.
This app will let you compare your Air Quality Egg dust sensor readings (indoor or outdoor) with the current outdoor EPA PM2.5 dust data for your area. This is incredibly useful because indoor and outdoor dust levels are often very different, so you can use your AQE to determine, for example, whether to open window or not after using your dishwasher (in Los Angeles, at least, it depends on current conditions).
It will compute a PM2.5 and EPA-comparable AQI from your AQE dust sensor reading (or someone else's AQE dust feed).
At the time we wrote the app it didn't look like there was a robust way to grab the data off Xively, so you need to enter data manually. If there is interest in the app, a future version will likely interact with the Xively feed.
Basically, you need to go to your feed, bring up the graph, and select a heavily averaged view. (We like the '7 hour' view, which you can see by going to the pull down directly under the graph for your dust feed.) You hover over the last data point in the graph, then enter this into the app as the dust reading after selecting "Brand 'AQE'" as the model of your dust sensor.
The app will then display what it thinks are the equivalent PM2.5 concentrations. We calibrated this using the current AQE firmware we were sent (from Novemeber), which displays a sawtooth pattern in the raw data, so the calibration is firmware dependent. (Obviously, don't use this app for any critical applications!)
Another tab will display the current EPA outdoor data for your area in the comparable PM2.5 concentration and AQI units, so you can compare the two, and see if your indoor air is better or worse than your outdoor air.
You can also compare dust sensor AQE readings with Dylos DC1100 readings ('Brand 'D" in the dropdown). This is useful if you have a Dylos unit indoor and a dust sensor outdoor, and what to compare indoor versus outdoor ambient dust levels.
If you are in the United States, you can obtain the app here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aqcalc/id774631765?ls=1&mt=8
or by searching the Apple App Store on iOS device for 'AQcalc". Future versions may allow international downloading and provide additional functionality.
We're really interesting in hearing feedback on AQcalc from the Air Quality Egg community, so look forward to your comments and reviews (both good and bad).