Allowing sensor owner to archive sensor data when moved

In my latest application I plan to move a number of sensors after several weeks time per location.
Currently a sensor owner can not move or arcive sensor data themselves.
The sensor owner has to request from Purpleair that the sensor data be archived , wait for a reply from Purpleair confirming the data archive and then re-register the sensor in the new location.
This is a lot of time (and cost) for Purpleair staff and I am pretty sure you already have lots to do during your day and forces the sensor owner to delay any move and data collection until Purpleair confirms the sensor’s data has been archived.
As well exact timing of the sensor move and data archive process becomes problematic and so bad data can all too easily end up in a sensor’s data history around move time.

I suggest PurpleAir provide a simple online way for sensor owners to move a sensor location and archive the sensor’s data.
This should save valuable time for PurpleAir staff and I suggest improve the quality of sensor data.

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Hi Bob,

We would love for this to happen! We are making a lot of changes/improvements to the legacy systems and this is definitely on the list. We don’t have a timeline for when this change will happen so in the meantime please keep emailing us. The majority of people don’t move their sensors very often but as the networks grows and the use case grows, we do see a need for this feature.

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Hi Amanda, I’m a new user to PurpleAir and am very interested in SmartHome and SmartCity derivative uses of your devices and data.
Back five years ago, faculty at USC (including myself from USC Keck School of Medicine, USC Marshall School of Business faculty, and USC Viterbi School of Engineering faculty) were collaborating on SmartCIty uses of air quality data. This included discussion of SCAQMD finds through AQ-SPEC.
Purple Air came up several times during the conversation.
I am aware of several research groups that had to go with sensors or digital apps with lesser quality of data because the ability to self-archive data was not available. This email is to highly encourage PurpleAir to prioritize the self-archiving of data by end users. I believe this would help expand the user base of Purple Air to academic research groups in a variety of fields where resource limitations and research protocols may require pre-authorization of such capabilities. All the best!

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