Indoor Air Quality: Particulate Matter

Measuring particulate matter > 0.5um: yellow is peak value over measurement period, blue is average.

Three examples showing PM propagation and strong sensor response to sources of particulate matter.

PM sources in 1st floor kitchen & bath, sensor located on second floor.

PM stands for particulate matter (also called particle pollution): the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope. Source epa.gov.

The use of a range ventilation hood that is vented to the outside is highly recommended whenever cooking on a kitchen stove top. More information in this article from Stanford Medicine with good advice to “Beyond that, almost any range hood works better if you cook on the back burners. If you put it on a low speed and cook on a single back burner, then you’ll typically capture 50 to 70 percent of the pollutants.”.