Coleg Llandrillo, Coleg Menai, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Busnes@LlandrilloMenai logosColeg Llandrillo, Coleg Menai, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Busnes@LlandrilloMenai logos

Pwllheli and Dolgellau A-level students working on a Co2 monitor project with Aberystwyth University

A-level Computer Science students from Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor’s Pwllheli and Dolgellau campuses are working on a joint project with Aberystwyth University to create and program carbon dioxide (CO2) monitors using Arduino circuit boards, which will be placed in classrooms throughout Wales.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, air quality – or the lack of it - and the spread of the disease in poorly-ventilated places, is of paramount importance. A good measure of the quality of ventilation in an enclosed space is the level of CO2 present. This aim of the project is to construct, build, program, and test a CO2 monitor to evaluate air quality.

Huw Eurwyn Hughes, lecturer in Computer Science at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, said: “Our understanding of how the virus is spreading has now improved significantly since the early stages. There is no doubt now that properly ventilated rooms are an extremely effective way of slowing down the virus.

“The last two years have been extremely challenging for our young people; creating safe learning spaces is extremely important. This work will no doubt help facilitate all schools and colleges in Wales to offer face-to-face education over the coming months and years. We are extremely proud that our students have worked together on this important project.”

The device will use standard off-the-shelf, low-cost sensors to determine the concentration of carbon dioxide in the ambient atmosphere.

Arduino is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices.

For more information about our A-level courses https://www.gllm.ac.uk/courses...

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, air quality – or the lack of it - and the spread of the disease in poorly-ventilated places, is of paramount importance. A good measure of the quality of ventilation in an enclosed space is the level of CO2 present. This aim of the project is to construct, build, program, and test a CO2 monitor to evaluate air quality.

Huw Eurwyn Hughes, lecturer in Computer Science at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, said: “Our understanding of how the virus is spreading has now improved significantly since the early stages. There is no doubt now that properly ventilated rooms are an extremely effective way of slowing down the virus.

“The last two years have been extremely challenging for our young people; creating safe learning spaces is extremely important. This work will no doubt help facilitate all schools and colleges in Wales to offer face-to-face education over the coming months and years. We are extremely proud that our students have worked together on this important project.”

The device will use standard off-the-shelf, low-cost sensors to determine the concentration of carbon dioxide in the ambient atmosphere.

Arduino is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices.

For more information about our A-level courses https://www.gllm.ac.uk/courses...