Aeroqual Wins Innovative Hardware Award At Hi Tech Awards NZ

The Aeroqual AQM 65 Compact Air Quality Monitoring Station Wins Top Award

Air-Met is very proud to announce that air quality technology from our supplier Aeroqual has won a major prize at the 2016 NZ Hi-Tech Awards in May. The NZ Hi-Tech Awards received a record number of entries this year, and several of the judges commented that the standard of entries is the highest yet seen in the event’s 22-year history.The AQM 65 compact air quality monitoring station took the top award in the Most Innovative Hi-Tech Hardware Solution category.

How Is The AQM 65 Innovative?

Most noticeably, the AQM 65 packs a complete air monitoring station into a box the size of a large suitcase. And though at first glance it may be ‘just a box’, its outside-the-box components stand out from those of traditional air quality technology.

Rather than using conventional analysers, Aeroqual's specialty is taking low cost sensors and turning them into instruments that can produce high quality measurements in the toughest of environments. Most off the shelf sensors are not suited to the challenge of ambient air quality monitoring, so Aeroqual has assessed hundreds of sensors against demanding criteria.

Sensors can be prone to cross interference – for example, nitrogen dioxide sensors are sensitive to ozone which is likewise found in urban environments. Aeroqual use scrubbers to physically remove interfering gases, and also run a ‘zero cycle’: alternately sampling with and without the interfering gases removed.

The difference between the measurements gives the target gas concentration. Because sensors are susceptible to changes in temperature, the AQM enclosure is insulated and temperature-controlled. A mix of heaters and compressors work to maintain a target internal temperature of 22 deg C, plus or minus 0.2 deg C. The walls contain a series of ducts and fans that prevent a temperature gradient developing inside.

The AQM 65 can be permanently installed or used for mobile monitoring over a wide area, say in a city or around an industrial plant. Either way, it’s more than a piece of equipment. The AQM 65 is remote data monitoring enabled via a cloud based interface. 

The Aeroqual AQM65 is available at all Air-Met offices for sale and rental.

More information about the Aeroqual AQM 65 Compact Air Monitoring Station can be found here.