Single high PM point measured in one channel

Sensors Troubleshooting
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Hi, posting for the first time on this forum. I am a research engineer who used PA sensors (Flex and Zen) for a research project to measure PM in homes that are heated with liquid fuels to examine if the heating system is causing elevated PM. In the study, I also measured PM in other areas of the home to capture the effects activities such as cooking and fireplace usage have on indoor air quality. When analyzing the data, I have noticed that some sensors showed singular high points (>400 ug/m3 PM2.5) in only one channel which is not linked with any notable events in the home. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I consider this data erroneous?

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Hi Neehad,

Those single high spikes on just one channel are pretty normal with PurpleAir sensors. They can be caused by dust, tiny droplets or just a quick glitch in the laser counter. If only one channel shows it and it doesn’t match events in the home, it is safe to treat it as erroneous and exclude it from your analysis. That is exactly why PA has two channels for cross checking.
Hope this helps

Best regards by Ethan

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Thank you for confirming that!