EarthSense, the air quality expert, is enabling the Hertfordshire Living Lab programme to improve air quality at Hatfield Business Park by empowering occupants to change their behaviour to reduce emissions.
EarthSense is working with the University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire County Council, Ocado Technology and BT to develop a digital twin of Hatfield Business Park, one of the UK’s most established mixed-use business parks that is populated by small companies, to drive behavioural change for cleaner air by 2030.
Six EarthSense Zephyr® air quality monitors have been installed across the 400-acre business park to monitor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). Air quality data will be integrated into a digital twin of Hatfield Business Park via an application programming interface (API) alongside weather data, drone data, traffic count, journey time and pedestrian numbers.
Real-time Zephyr® measurements will be used to generate a picture of air quality across the park to provide insights into how activity like high footfall and vehicle numbers affects concentrations of air quality across the site and its occupants’ personal exposure.
The 3D map will be accessible by occupants of Hatfield Business Park to encourage green decisions that help to reduce emissions, such as travelling by bicycle, walking, or car-sharing. Providing public-facing data will encourage small changes in their everyday choices, acting as a catalyst for a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable Hertfordshire.
Project partners will also be using the digital twin to test methods of reducing air pollution across the site and use this information to make strategic, informed decisions about how best to mitigate against emissions, such as building new road layouts to reduce congestion and car emissions. This will help to provide solutions for meeting Net Zero goals and cleaner air by 2030.
Matthew Clark, Programme Manager – Air Quality at Hertfordshire County Council said: “The Living Lab project aims to pave the way for future smart towns and cities with sustainable, smart services to create a cleaner, greener, healthier, and efficient place to live and work. Using the air quality services from EarthSense will enable us to build a picture of where and how pollution is created on the Hatfield Business Park.
“Occupants of the business park will have access to the data and will be able to make informed decisions – such as choosing to cycle or car-share - which we hope will result in a reduction of air pollution.”
Tom Hall, Managing Director at EarthSense said: “Behavioural change is key to improving air quality. With high footfall, Hatfield Business Park likely generates large volumes of emissions. Our Zephyr® monitors will provide real-time data which Hertfordshire County Council can use to demonstrate to occupants when and where high levels of pollution occur, and encourage them to make choices to reduce the pollution.”
The EarthSense Zephyr® air quality monitor takes live measurements of various pollutants, such as nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) that are in ambient air. It uses an active sample mechanism to take real-time measures of prevailing pollutants, and data is transmitted to the MyAir® web application or can be integrated into third-party systems via API.
About Hertfordshire County Council:
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. And is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social care, transport, education and the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Find out more at: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/home.aspx
About the University of Hertfordshire:
The University of Hertfordshire is a modern university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire offering a wide range of Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Professional and Short courses. Find out more at: https://www.herts.ac.uk/
About Ocado Technology:
Ocado Group is a technology-led global software and robotics platform business providing a unique end-to-end solution for online grocery around the world, based in Hatfield, England. Find out more at: https://www.ocadogroup.com/
About BT:
BT Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broadband and mobile services in the UK, and also provides subscription television and IT services. Find out more at: https://www.bt.com/