Sinkron : Jurnal dan Penelitian Teknik Informatika

Volume 7, Number 3, July 2022 e-ISSN : 2541-2019

DOI : https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v7i3.11618 p-ISSN : 2541-044X

Analysis of Air Quality Measuring Device

Using Internet of Things-Based MQ-135
Sensor
Delima Sitanggang1)*, Chris Samuel Sitompul2), Jao Han Suyanto3), Sharen Kumar4), Evta Indra5)
12,3,4,5)
Universitas Prima Indonesia, Indonesia
1)
delimasitanggang@unprimdn.ac.id, 2)chrissitompul13@gmail.com, 3)yauhansuyanto2000.ys@gmail.com,
4)
sharenkumar2000@gmail.com, 5)evtaindra@unprimdn.ac.id

Submitted : Aug 1, 2022 | Accepted : Aug 4, 2022 | Published : Aug 5, 2022

Abstract: Air is a gas that is indispensable for the survival of living beings. As the times
progress, the air we breathe is increasingly not good for the health of living beings. In most
situations, humans cannot tell the difference between good and bad air conditions. The
purpose of this research is to design a tool that can monitor air quality in many places using an
Internet of Things-based concept, the MQ-135 gas sensor and display it on a 16x2 LCD and
Blynk application. The method used in this study is a direct test method to identify gases
around the MQ-135 sensor with the NodeMCU ESP 8266 as a controller. Air quality is
divided into 5 categories, which consists of good, average, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and
dangerous. After the air quality value is displayed on the 16x2 LCD screen, the user can
monitor the air quality remotely using the Blynk application on the smartphone. It can be
concluded that the design of this tool can detect air quality in classrooms, vehicle exhaust
fumes, gas lighters, house rooms, and burned paper. If the air quality is bad, the buzzer will
release the sound to notify that the air quality is poor according to the index of air quality.

Keywords: 16x2 LCD, Blynk, Buzzer, IoT(Internet of Things), MQ-135,

NodeMCU ESP8266

INTRODUCTION
One of the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century is preventing the continuous accumulation of the
greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. At the United Nations Climate Change Control Conference (UNFCCC)
held in Paris, the Paris Agreement was formed. The goals of the Paris Agreement are to contain increases in
global average temperatures well below 2oC above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit temperature
increases to 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels (Warren, Price,VanDerWal, 2018).
Based on the Climate Transparency review (2020), Indonesia's carbon emissions increased by 140% between
1990 and 2017. The main driver of all carbon emissions in Indonesia is CO2 emissions from burning fuel. In
Indonesia, there was a significant increase in carbon emissions in 1990 reaching 581 MtCO2 (metric tons of
carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2019 (Pratama, 2021). Unhealthy air will cause various diseases in living things,
especially in the respiratory system. The negative impacts of technological developments themselves are also
accompanied by positive impacts, one of which is the existence of special tools that can detect air quality in a
place (Demain, 2018).
After seeing the background description, the problem is how to detect and recognize air quality in a place that
has good or bad air quality, namely by using the MQ-135 sensor which can detect gas concentrations. The air
quality of a place is determined by the surrounding natural conditions and the amount of pollution in the
surrounding environment. The sensitivity of the MQ-135 sensor is very strong to gas and smoke, so it is very
appropriate to be used as a means of detecting air quality in a place. Previously there had been research
conducted to detect air quality using the MQ-135 in places such as building halls (Nasution, 2019). In this study,
the test was carried out in the campus parking lot, house room, classroom, gas lighters, and burned papers.
The purpose of this research is to identify and detect the existing air quality in a place, whether it is in good
or bad conditions and to show that MQ-135 can be used to monitor air quality, especially CO2. This research
will benefit many people by reducing CO2 emissions where the air quality is measured, and will also contribute
to maintaining public health.
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 Sinkron : Jurnal dan Penelitian Teknik Informatika
Volume 7, Number 3, July 2022 e-ISSN : 2541-2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v7i3.11618 p-ISSN : 2541-044X

LITERATURE REVIEW
Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical objects that contain embedded technologies to communicate
and sense/interact with internal or external environments. In simple terms, IoT can be defined as a concept where
an object has the ability to connect data over a network without requiring direct human intervention. IoT has the
ability to share data with various technology devices. The goal of IoT is automation in various sectors, such as
agriculture, health, transportation, environment, and so on by connecting, unifying and integrating physical
objects with computer and internet-based systems (Hanes, Salgueiro, Grossetete, Barton & Henry).
The tools used for this research are MQ-135, NodeMCU ESP8266, 16x2 LCD, Buzzer, Blynk. MQ-135 is a
gas/air sensor that is specifically used to measure air quality (Hadi, Alsaker, Eshoom, Elmnifi, Alhmode &
Habeeb, 2021). The 16x2 LCD is a Wi-Fi Microchip with a standalone SOC (System-on-chip), as well as an
integrated TCP/IP protocol, which with all of these components can give the microcontroller access to a Wi-Fi
network. A 16x2 LCD is a device that uses liquid crystals that function to display data and messages as much as
32 characters with a coverage of 16 columns and 2 rows (Ibrahim, 2012). Buzzer is a device that provides a
signal in the form of sound by converting an electrical signal to an object. Blynk is an Application for Android
or IOS that is used to control hardware devices such as Arduino, Rasbery Pi, Wemos and the like remotely using
Wi-Fi/Internet.

METHOD
This study uses an experimental method (trial). The experiment was carried out using the MQ-135 sensor as
input, then the sensor will measure the air quality after receiving the data, next it will be processed by ESP8266
and a 16x2 LCD as the product will display the sensor reading results with a Buzzer signal. For blynk, after the
sensor reads the data, the ESP8266 processes the connection and then checks the connection whether the
ESP8266 is connected to Wi-Fi or not. If the conditions are fulfilled, the reading value will be displayed on the
smartphone screen that we use. The schematic can be seen in Figure 2.1.

Processing
START NodeMCU
ESP8266

Connecting
Wi-Fi
NodeMCU
Installation
ESP8266 to Wi-Fi

NO

Is Wi-Fi Wi-Fi is Connected

Connected to the to NodeMCU NO
Internet? ESP8266

YES

MQ-135
Is there a
Sensor Get
Connection?
the Data

YES

Data is Sent to Get the Air

LCD 16x2 Quality Result

Data is Display the

Displayed Air Quality
in LCD Result to the
16x2 SmartPhone

Buzzer Receive
END
the Data

If Data >=100 ppm,

Buzzer Will Release
a Warning Sound

Fig. 1 Flowchart Experiment

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 Sinkron : Jurnal dan Penelitian Teknik Informatika
Volume 7, Number 3, July 2022 e-ISSN : 2541-2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v7i3.11618 p-ISSN : 2541-044X

RESULT
The results of the research are shown in Figure 2, where the air quality detector has been designed.

Fig. 2 Air Quality Detector

To measure the quality of air pollution, the air pollution index is used to determine whether the air is
good or bad, as can be shown in Table 1

Table 1. Air Pollution Index

No Value Category Description
The level of air quality is very good, does
1 1 – 50 ppm Good not have a negative effect on humans,
animals and plants
The level of air quality is still acceptable
2 51 – 100 ppm Average
for human, animal and plant health
The level of air quality that is harmful to
3 101 – 200 ppm Unhealthy
humans, animals and plants.
Air quality levels that may increase health
4 201 – 300 ppm Very Unhealthy risks in some segments of the exposed
population
Air quality levels that may increase health
5 301 + ppm Dangerous risks in some segments of the exposed
population

The pollutant components from this research are Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, ozone, carbon
monoxide. Based on observations, MQ-135 gas sensor cannot be considered the best tool to measure the Carbon
Dioxide. A better tool will be discussed in the Discussion session.
The following figures and tables are the results of air quality detection by using MQ-135. The places
where the observations were conducted are classrooms, gas lighters, vehicle exhaust fumes, house rooms, and
burned paper.

Fig. 3 Test Results in Classroom

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 Sinkron : Jurnal dan Penelitian Teknik Informatika
Volume 7, Number 3, July 2022 e-ISSN : 2541-2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v7i3.11618 p-ISSN : 2541-044X

Table 2. MQ-135 Test Results in Classroom

Attempts No.
( every 10 Buzzer 16x2 LCD Display
Seconds)
1 OFF 47 ppm

2 OFF 51 ppm

3 OFF 49 ppm

4 OFF 47 ppm

5 OFF 47 ppm

6 OFF 50 ppm

7 OFF 45 ppm

8 OFF 47 ppm

9 OFF 49 ppm

10 OFF 48 ppm

Fig. 4 Test Results on Gas lighters

Table 3. MQ-135 Test Results on Gas lighters

Attempts No.( every 10 Seconds) Buzzer 16x2 LCD Display
1 ON 992 ppm

2 ON 895 ppm

3 ON 774 ppm

4 ON 847 ppm

5 ON 784 ppm

6 ON 756 ppm

7 ON 703 ppm

8 ON 721 ppm

9 ON 732 ppm

10 ON 697 ppm

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 Sinkron : Jurnal dan Penelitian Teknik Informatika
Volume 7, Number 3, July 2022 e-ISSN : 2541-2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v7i3.11618 p-ISSN : 2541-044X

Fig. 5 Test Results on MQ-135 Test Results on Vehicle Exhaust Smoke in Parking Lot

Table 4. MQ-135 Test Results on MQ-135 Test Results on Vehicle Exhaust Smoke in Parking Lot
Attempts No.( every 10 Seconds) Buzzer 16x2 LCD Display
1 ON 289 ppm

2 ON 220 ppm

3 ON 291 ppm

4 ON 277 ppm

5 ON 253 ppm

6 ON 256 ppm

7 ON 197 ppm

8 ON 283 ppm

9 ON 301 ppm

10 ON 276 ppm

Fig. 6 Test Results in house room

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 Sinkron : Jurnal dan Penelitian Teknik Informatika
Volume 7, Number 3, July 2022 e-ISSN : 2541-2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v7i3.11618 p-ISSN : 2541-044X

Table 5. MQ-135 Test Results in house room

Attempts No.( every 10 Seconds) Buzzer 16x2 LCD Display
1 ON 168 ppm

2 ON 173 ppm

3 ON 188 ppm

4 ON 169 ppm

5 ON 140 ppm

6 ON 155 ppm

7 ON 125 ppm

8 ON 103 ppm

9 OFF 97 ppm

10 ON 104 ppm

Fig. 7 Test Results on burned paper

Table 6. MQ-135 Test Results on burned paper

Attempts No.
( every 10 Buzzer 16x2 LCD Display
Seconds)
1 ON 172 ppm

2 ON 186 ppm

3 ON 188 ppm

4 ON 202 ppm

5 ON 198 ppm

6 ON 194 ppm

7 ON 199 ppm

8 ON 208 ppm

9 ON 227 ppm

10 ON 240 ppm
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 Sinkron : Jurnal dan Penelitian Teknik Informatika
Volume 7, Number 3, July 2022 e-ISSN : 2541-2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v7i3.11618 p-ISSN : 2541-044X

DISCUSSIONS
From the results above it shows that the tool can function normally at a voltage of 5 volts. It is known that in
the class rooms the average content that comes out is around <= 60 ppm, which means the room can be
considered safe to be occupied, while in vehicle exhaust fumes the results of these measurements are around
200-300 ppm, which means vehicle exhaust fumes are not good to be inhaled, the results of gas lighters are
around 700-900 ppm, which means match gas is very dangerous when inhaled directly or in close proximity, in a
room of the house in the range of 90-200 ppm, which means the air condition depend on each room condition,
paper burning smoke ranges from around 150 – 300 ppm, which means paper burning smoke is not good to
inhale.
Based on research on air quality measuring devices with the MQ-135 sensor, several things can be suggested
as follows:
1. Use a larger LCD, such as a 20x4 LCD.
2. It is recommended to add LEDs to multiply the indicators.
3. It is recommended to use a more accurate sensor tool for Carbon Dioxide, such as MG-811.

CONCLUSION
Based on research on air quality measuring devices containing carbon dioxide with the MQ-135 sensor, it can
be concluded that this sensor can be used to detect air quality. It also takes time to stabilize the air quality levels
before the sensor can accurately detect the gases. The device will sound if the air quality is > 100 ppm. If the air
quality is getting worse, the device will sound faster.

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