Hornsgatan in Stockholm has been known as the most polluted street in the Swedish capital for several years. In the spring of 2021 the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI, installed 12 of our Sensorbee Air Quality sensors around the crossing of Hornsgatan and Ringvägen.
The reasons behind the high emissions on Hornsgatan are the heavy traffic and low dispersion of pollutants. During some days the street can be trafficked by as many as 23 000 vehicles which can have several negative effects on people's health as well as to the environment.
In this study the aim was to look into how air quality can vary and change within very small areas, comparing the traffic crossing and straight road. Therefore the air quality units were placed very close to each other (20-40 meters).
We wanted to measure the air pollution and particles with more sensors than we had done before. 12 sensors would give us great data. - Nina Svensson, Researcher Air quality, VTI
The sensors used in the study were powered using solar panels, no other energy source needed. The air quality units were installed on portable posts and traffic signs around the crossing of Hornsgatan and Ringvägen. During two months, May - June in 2021, they were collecting data for the study. The data was then visualized with the software platform EdevaLive from Edeva, who was a partner in the project.
We couldn't see any large differences between the crossing and the straight road, but we did find out that the particle levels sometimes varied between the north and south side of the road. - Nina Svensson, Researcher Air quality, VTI
The sensor model used in the study was Sensorbee Air Quality sensors. Would you like to perform a study using our sensors? Please contact us today to learn more.