How PurpleAir is Being Used with Home Assistant
Want your home assistant apps to show your air quality?
What about turning your air filters on when your air quality reaches a certain harmful level?
Or maybe you want to close windows inside automatically when the air quality gets worse outside?
Well, that’s what a group of developers is doing with the help of an open-source home automation tool. And this integration can do so much more than just that if you want it to.
We’re always looking at what is happening in our PurpleAir Community to see what kinds of projects are going on. Together, we’re building up community scientists, so we can empower them with the knowledge they need to tackle air pollution around the world.
At PurpleAir, we believe in making air quality knowledge accessible to everyone. That’s why we share our data on our website in the real-time PurpleAir Map. PurpleAir data is also publicly available through our API, so that anyone can use it for their own projects.
And there is one project we’re excited to share today.
Recently, we learned about a group of developers using PurpleAir data to get a clearer picture about what’s happening in their homes regarding air quality. So, let’s explain how they’re doing it and why it’s exciting for you.
What is HomeAssistant.io?
HomeAssistant.io is a website dedicated to anyone interested in open-source home automation. The public discussion forum brings users from around the world to create and share community resources with everyone.
This collaborative project started in November 2019, and it’s already grown so much since then. To date, there are over 182 comments from users around the world who worked together on this project.
How PurpleAir’s Data Integrates with Home Assistant
Over at HomeAssistant.io, a developer named Chris started sharing his configuration so others can integrate their PurpleAir monitors into their Home Assistant. After buying a PurpleAir monitor, he decided to use the data with his Home Assistant and showed how he did it so others can as well.
Together, the community of developers has been improving it for over 3 years.
Others have also shared formulas and tips to translate the data to other AQI (Air Quality Index) scales, like Canada’s AQHI (Air Quality Health Index) scale. You can also find a simple JavaScript to visualize the data in other ways too. On our own website, we’ve published a guide for how to calculate AQI yourself as well.
And if you have multiple sensors you want to calculate together, they have a formula for that as well. Just scroll through and you’ll see all kinds of ideas on the Home Assistant forum.
Additionally, some users have set it up so that when their air monitor measures a certain threshold, other devices will be triggered. For example, if your air monitor picked up high levels of Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5), it can automatically start other devices in your home. This is great if you don’t want to always be checking it manually.
Let’s say your PM2.5 levels reach dangerous concentration levels above 100 micrometers (μm). With this code, you can then use this data to turn on your fans, activate your air purifiers, close your windows, or change the color of lights. Those are just a few ideas we’re seeing in the community.
Get Involved Yourself
If you’d like to partake, you can find more information on this post in their forum. Chris and plenty of other coders have shared their configurations, so you don’t have to start from scratch. By using our API, you can do all kinds of projects like this to make air quality easily monitored in your home.
We’re thrilled to see these kinds of collaborative efforts, and we look forward to seeing plenty more.
Are you working on a community project with PurpleAir’s air quality monitors?
We would love to hear about it. Share a post in the Community Project forum, so we can highlight your work. Together, we can make air quality accessible for everyone.