Sensor.Community¶

Sensor.Community (formerly luftdaten.info) is a global citizen science project for air quality monitoring with 35,000+ sensors worldwide.

Overview¶

Coverage: Global (35,000+ sensors)
Sensors: SDS011, PMS series, BME280, and others
Data quality: Unvalidated (citizen science)
API key: Not required
Operator: Community-run (originated in Stuttgart, Germany)

No API Key Required¶

Sensor.Community data is completely open. No registration or API key needed.

Available Measurements¶

Depending on sensor type:

PM sensors (SDS011, PMS series): PM2.5, PM10
Environmental sensors (BME280, DHT22): Temperature, Humidity, Pressure

Quick Start¶

import aeolus
from datetime import datetime

# Get available sensors in the UK
metadata = aeolus.networks.get_metadata(
    "SENSOR_COMMUNITY",
    sensor_type="SDS011",
    country="GB"
)

# Pick some sensors
sites = metadata["site_code"].head(5).tolist()

# Download data - same interface as all other sources
data = aeolus.download(
    "SENSOR_COMMUNITY",
    sites,
    datetime(2024, 1, 1),
    datetime(2024, 1, 7)
)

Finding Sensors¶

import aeolus

# Get sensors by country
uk_sensors = aeolus.networks.get_metadata(
    "SENSOR_COMMUNITY",
    sensor_type="SDS011",
    country="GB"
)

# Get sensors in a geographic area (50km radius around London)
london_sensors = aeolus.networks.get_metadata(
    "SENSOR_COMMUNITY",
    area=(51.5074, -0.1278, 50),  # lat, lon, radius_km
    sensor_type="SDS011"
)

# Get sensors in a bounding box
# bbox format: (min_lon, min_lat, max_lon, max_lat) - same as GeoJSON/shapely
sensors = aeolus.networks.get_metadata(
    "SENSOR_COMMUNITY",
    bbox=(-0.5, 51.3, 0.3, 51.7),
    sensor_type="SDS011"
)

Downloading Data¶

Historical Data¶

Use the standard aeolus.download() interface:

import aeolus
from datetime import datetime

# Get metadata first
metadata = aeolus.networks.get_metadata(
    "SENSOR_COMMUNITY",
    sensor_type="SDS011",
    country="GB"
)

# Pick sensors and download
sites = metadata["site_code"].head(3).tolist()
data = aeolus.download(
    "SENSOR_COMMUNITY",
    sites,
    datetime(2024, 1, 1),
    datetime(2024, 1, 7)
)

Historical data is available from the daily archive (from 2015 onwards).

Real-Time Data¶

For real-time monitoring, use the dedicated function:

from aeolus.sources.sensor_community import fetch_sensor_community_realtime

# Get current data from UK PM sensors
data = fetch_sensor_community_realtime(
    sensor_type="SDS011",
    country="GB",
    averaging="5min"  # Options: "5min", "1h", "24h"
)

Rate Limiting¶

Aeolus includes built-in rate limiting to be respectful of the community-run infrastructure:

Default: 10 requests per minute, 1 second minimum between requests
Configurable: Adjust as needed

from aeolus.sources.sensor_community import set_rate_limiting

# More conservative rate limiting
set_rate_limiting(max_requests=5, period=60, min_delay=2.0)

# Disable rate limiting (not recommended)
set_rate_limiting(enabled=False)

Data Quality¶

Data is marked as ratification='Unvalidated' because:

Sensors are installed and maintained by citizens
No formal calibration or QA/QC process
Sensor placement varies widely
Best used for understanding spatial patterns and trends

Supported Sensor Types¶

PM Sensors¶

Type	Measurements
SDS011	PM2.5, PM10
SDS021	PM2.5, PM10
PMS1003/3003/5003/6003/7003	PM1, PM2.5, PM10
HPM	PM2.5, PM10
SPS30	PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10

Environmental Sensors¶

Type	Measurements
BME280	Temperature, Humidity, Pressure
BMP280	Temperature, Pressure
DHT22	Temperature, Humidity
SHT31	Temperature, Humidity

Example: UK Air Quality Snapshot¶

from aeolus.sources.sensor_community import (
    fetch_sensor_community_realtime,
    set_rate_limiting
)

# Use conservative rate limiting
set_rate_limiting(max_requests=10, period=60, min_delay=1.0)

# Get current UK data
data = fetch_sensor_community_realtime(
    sensor_type="SDS011",
    country="GB"
)

# Basic statistics
pm25 = data[data['measurand'] == 'PM2.5']['value']
print(f"UK PM2.5 - Mean: {pm25.mean():.1f}, Max: {pm25.max():.1f} µg/m³")
print(f"Active sensors: {data['site_code'].nunique()}")