Why Gas Sensor Numbers Are Not Always Accurate
Gas sensors can look very certain. A screen may show CO2 800 ppm, TVOC 0.5 mg/m3, formaldehyde 0.08 mg/m3, or “air quality good”.
Many low-cost sensors are not that certain.
The first model is: a gas sensor usually does not count molecules directly. It lets gases affect a sensitive material, electrode reaction, optical path, or ionization process, then interprets the response as concentration, index, or alarm state.
Gas enters sensor
-> Sensitive material, electrode, or optical path responds
-> Resistance, current, or light intensity changes
-> Compensation and calibration
-> Concentration, index, or alarm output
Two distinctions matter:
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