Articles | Volume 11, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-709-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-709-2018
Research article
 | 
07 Feb 2018
Research article |  | 07 Feb 2018

Evaluation of a low-cost optical particle counter (Alphasense OPC-N2) for ambient air monitoring

Leigh R. Crilley, Marvin Shaw, Ryan Pound, Louisa J. Kramer, Robin Price, Stuart Young, Alastair C. Lewis, and Francis D. Pope

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Cited articles

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The affordability and small size of low-cost particle sensors make them attractive for air pollution experiments that require multiple instruments, or take place in hard-to-access locations or low-income countries. For any sensor to be useful, its accuracy and precision need to be known. We evaluate the Alphasense OPC-N2 for monitoring airborne particles at typical UK urban background sites. The devices were found to be accurate provided they are correctly calibrated.