Potential of a low-cost system for measuring indoor environmental quality in Latin american extreme climates towards energy equity

Public health has multidisciplinary challenges involving a combination of physical, mental, and social welfare. Two limitations to quantifying indoor pollutants (gases, chemical compounds, and suspended particles) are the high cost and the complexity of available measurement systems. Under this scenario, an experimental approach was used to develop a low-cost system to measure variables that affect human and environmental health. Calibration, validation, and technical adjustment processes were conducted in an extreme-climate location in southern Mexico, following domestic and international standards. The key results showed the feasibility of using low-cost tools to measure pollutants in developing countries. 57% of the data for H2S had a result above 150 ppm, which is considered harmful to human health. On the other hand, developing the measurement system in the studied locality showed the importance of having data to measure environmental pollution levels according to each region's habits and customs. Sensors and open access systems were used as these can directly benefit resource-constrained researchers and the public and private sectors interested in measuring environmental and comfort variables to promote universal access to knowledge.