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Overview

GAIA A12 product view

Dimensions: 130 * 80 * 70 mm
(excluding antenna)
Weight: 380g

The GAIA A12 is a sensor-packed station:

Air Quality Particulate Matter Sensors: 3x PMS 5003
Meteorological Sensors: ASAIR AHT-20
RGB led for real-time visual Air Pollution indication.
Connectivity via WIFI, with an external antenna.
Optional SD-Card storage for off-network operation.

The GAIA A12 uses 3 redundant Air Quality sensors to ensure the best data quality: Its system continuously correlates the data from all sensors to automatically detect and correct any abnormal data.

The GAIA A12 station comes with the following accessories:

Power Cable: 10-meter (2x5m) waterproof cables.
Power Supply: USB 5V/1A power adapter.
Fixation straps and screws.

Price

The GAIA A12 costs 200

Alternatively, the station can also be acquired for 100 if paid yearly, or 10 if paid monthly: We then send you a brand new station every 2 years for free (excluding shipment costs). Renewing the station is important to us to ensure the highest sensor quality of your station. Note that we ask for a 50 deposit for the rented station.

Summary

Sensors	Particle Matter (PM) Sensor	PM_2.5, PM₁₀ and PM_1.0
	Redundant PM Sensors	Yes (x3)
	Weather Sensor	Temperature and Humidity
Visual Indicators	RGB LED	yes
Connectivity	WIFI	yes (2.4G)
Connectivity	External Antenna	yes, 3dB
Power Supply	Power Supply	yes, using standard USB 5V DC
Power Supply	Power cable	10 meters (33 feet) water proof cable
Data Storage & Broadcast	Publication	yes, broadcasted on aqicn.org and waqi.info
	Historical Data	yes, accessible via website or API
	SD-Card storage	optional, for extra 50
Maintenance	Anomaly Detection	yes
Maintenance	Remote Maintenance	yes
Pricing	Product Cost	One-time payment: 200 Yearly payment: 100 + deposit: 50 Monthly payment: 10 + deposit: 50

GAIA A12 package content:

Ordering and Inquiry

Fill in the form below to get a quotation including the shipment cost.

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Delivery address: postcode + city

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Payment: It can be done using any regular credit card.

Discount: 10% discount when ordering 5 pieces, 20% when ordering 10 pieces or more.

DC Adapter: Products are shipped with localized power plug adaptors (USB power supply) for US, EU, AU and UK.

Installation & Mounting Instructions

Mounting:

Mounting with straps

Mounting with screws

There are 2 options for mounting the monitoring box:

Using screws: The GAIA enclosure is made of a standard outdoor ABS box, which comes with 4 holes dedicated to screwing the box.
Using standard plastic straps: The GAIA station is delivered with 2 straps of 1 meter, which can be used to fix the station on a pole.

Distance:

The station comes with a 10-meter (33-foot) power cable (5V with DC3.5 connector), so the station should be located no more than 10 meters away from the nearest power source. If needed, we can provide a longer power cable (contact us in this case).
The monitoring station uses a regular external WIFI antenna, which allows the station to be at most 20 meters away from the nearest WiFi access point. In case a longer distance is needed, an enhanced external antenna can be used (contact us in this case).

Location:

Average daily traffic (vehicles per day)	Minimum distance in meters
≤1,000	10
10,000	10
15,000	20
20,000	30
40,000	50
70,000	100
≥110,000	250

Overall, the most important is to place the station somewhere protected from direct winds, rain, and dust sources.

For official stations, there are two more requirements, with the intent to locate the station on sites representative of the ambient air quality levels:

Height: The station should be mounted at a height above a minimum of 1.5 meters. The objective is to prevent dust resuspension, which can happen if someone is walking near the station.
Distance from road traffic: The station should be located at least 10 meters away from the nearest road. See the table on the right for full specifications.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do the GAIA stations compare to the purple air stations?

comparison

Can I see how the GAIA station is made?

internals

Can I access the station data?
How is the WIFI setup done?

setup

I need longer power cables:
Can I use a PMS6003 instead of the PMS5003?

I do not want to share my exact location on the map:
Can the station be operated offline, eg without WiFi:

GAIA A20

Can the GAIA stations be integrated with Home Assistant:

Back to the GAIA Air Quality Monitoring station page

GAIA A12 Internal Design

Here are a few design internals insights for the GAIA A12 monitoring stations:

Mechanical Design

Gaia's external mechanical enclosure is specially designed, with a vent cap, which protects the sensors from direct wind and rain. The enclosure is made of UV-proof ABS plastic.

GAIA A12 external mechanical design

Maintainability

The GAIA station is very easy to be maintained - specifically, changing the internal sensor can be done by anyone - you just need a standard screwdriver.

GAIA A12 internal design:

Reliability

Gaia uses 3 redundant dust sensors: The reason for using 3 redundant sensors is that, when one sensor fails, it is possible to know which one.
For stations with only two sensors, when a sensor fails, it is not possible to know which sensor is reporting correct data vs incorrect data.

Life Cycle

The GAIA station uses a 25% duty cycle for dust sensors (active 90 seconds every 6 minutes). This makes it possible to operate the GAIA station for several years without the need for maintenance.

Data Quality

For each sample interval (1 minute), GAIA provides the minimum, maximum, standard deviation, average and median for for interval. All this information is needed to extract reliable information about the sensor data quality.

Cost Effective

Gaia station costs $200, and for this price, you get a 2x5 meters waterproof power cable and a power supply.

GAIA A12 Items included for $200 USD:

AQI	Air Pollution Level	Health Implications	Cautionary Statement (for PM2.5)
0 - 50	Good	Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk	None
51 -100	Moderate	Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.	Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
101-150	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.	Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
151-200	Unhealthy	Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects	Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion
201-300	Very Unhealthy	Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.	Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid all outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit outdoor exertion.
300+	Hazardous	Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects	Everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion

GAIA A12 Air Quality Monitoring Station

Overview

Price

Summary

GAIA A12 package content:

Ordering and Inquiry

Installation & Mounting Instructions

Mounting:

Distance:

Location:

Frequently Asked Questions

GAIA A12 Internal Design

About the Air Quality and Pollution Measurement:

About This Project

air quality research

Frequently Asked Questions

Credits

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