York University's EECS department has an Aranet4 CO2 sensor available for borrowing. Go to the ground floor of the Lassonde Engineering Building, and go to the sign-out desk in the PRISM computer lab at the south-west corner of the building (near the hallway that leads to the Steacie Library). The location is highlighted in light purple in the map below.
By default, lending is available to York engineering and computer science students, staff and faculty, but other members of the YorkU community can also sign it out if they send me an email. While this isn't as convenient as the lending setup at the Toronto and Peterborough Public Libraries, we're doing our best using the existing equipment borrowing system that we already have in place.
The original intention of making this CO2 sensor available was to allow students to calibrate the carbon dioxide sensors that they receive in their EECS 1011/1021 lab kits. But, given the importance of being able to measure CO2 in other contexts (capstone projects, verifying levels in labs and classrooms while COVID is raging all around us), I made the decision to broaden the range of people who could sign it out.
In the future, I hope that other CO2 sensors can be made available to YorkU community members. Feel free to reach out to your favourite managers to let them know how much you'd like that to happen. Because it's better when we work together, right?
James Andrew Smith is a Professional Engineer and Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department of York University's Lassonde School, with degrees in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and McGill University. Previously a program director in biomedical engineering, his research background spans robotics, locomotion, human birth and engineering education. While on sabbatical in 2018-19 with his wife and kids he lived in Strasbourg, France and he taught at the INSA Strasbourg and Hochschule Karlsruhe and wrote about his personal and professional perspectives. James is a proponent of using social media to advocate for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion as well as evidence-based applications of research in the public sphere. You can find him on Twitter. Originally from Québec City, he now lives in Toronto, Canada.
Note: I am not an HVAC, PPE or public health expert. While I have an engineering background (degrees in both EE and MecE) and have done work in Biomedical Engineering, I am not formally trained in either HVAC, PPE or public health. If you're looking for professional design or testing advice or services, please hire a professional engineer who is an expert in the area of interest.
Conflicts of interest: none that I am aware of. I do not work for or have financial interest in any PPE, HVAC or public health company or agency. While I have communicated with companies and employees at PPE and HVAC companies, I do not work for any, nor have I received money or contracts from them. All products that I have received were paid for either personally or through my employer or were acquired through friends or family (none of which work for a PPE or HVAC company to my knowledge) -- none have been donated or loaned to me by manufacturers, suppliers or distributors.
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