Construction Site Monitoring: Data Instead of Complaints

Open sensor network for dust and noise control near construction sites. Continuous monitoring with open-source Altruist sensors, public data map, and citizen engagement.

Problem

Air pollution is a health threat. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) causes ~200,000 premature deaths per year in Europe (EEA, 2025).

Construction is one of the largest local sources. Up to 30% of urban coarse particulate (PM10) emissions in London (London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, 2019).

EU is tightening limits by 2030. Directive 2024/2881: PM10 drops from 40 to 20 µg/m³ (annual), PM2.5 from 25 to 10 µg/m³. All EU member states, including Cyprus, are required to implement the new standards.

Municipalities lack real-time data. Control is episodic — measurements once or twice a month. Resident complaints are subjective and contain no measurements. Construction companies are not incentivized to reduce impact.

Global Practices: Why Cities Switched to Continuous Monitoring

London — a construction boom overwhelmed councils with resident complaints. Solution: mandatory PM10 sensors at site boundaries, real-time data publicly accessible. Result: at 190 µg/m³ dusty works stop automatically — no inspector needed.

Singapore — dense urban fabric, construction noise unbearable in residential blocks. Developers required to monitor noise at their own expense. Fines up to SGD 50,000. Result: developers started managing noise themselves because it is cheaper than fines.

Seoul — citizens demanded air quality data. The city deployed tens of thousands of IoT sensors (S-DoT) — an open platform with public access. Result: decisions based on facts, not subjective assessments.

Hong Kong — construction incidents + air pollution triggered public pressure. 4S system mandatory since 2023: sensors, auto-alerts, auto-reports to the regulator.

Stuttgart / sensors.community (Luftdaten) — citizens frustrated by PM10 exceedances built their own sensor network. Started in 2015 with a handful of DIY sensors (ESP8266 + SDS011, ~EUR 30 each). Grew to tens of thousands of sensors in 70+ countries — the largest citizen air quality network in the world. Result: citizen-generated data pressured the city into driving bans and infrastructure changes.

Common thread: in every case, citizen complaints were the trigger, and objective public data was the solution. The Luftdaten project proved that a bottom-up citizen network can scale faster and cheaper than any top-down B2B deployment.

KPI for Construction Companies

Zone	PM10 (24h)	PM10 (1h peak)	Daytime noise	Nighttime noise
Green	< 45 µg/m³	< 150 µg/m³	< 70 dB	< 50 dB
Yellow	45–80 µg/m³	150–190 µg/m³	70–75 dB	50–55 dB
Red	> 80 µg/m³	> 190 µg/m³	> 75 dB	> 55 dB

Green zone — bonuses: expedited permits, density bonus 3–5%, reduced fees, environmental deposit refund.

Red zone — escalation: warning → fine → stop-work order.

Solution — Open Sensor Network

Open-source Altruist sensors:

PM2.5, PM10 (laser SDS011, periodic calibration against reference stations)
Noise (MEMS microphone ICS-43434)
Temperature, humidity, pressure (BME280)

Local operation without clouds. Data is stored on network nodes within the city — decentralized cryptographic verification. Historical data cannot be falsified retroactively.

Open software — full auditability. The municipality, developers, and residents can verify what is measured and how. No hidden algorithms.

~EUR 250 per sensor. Open-source design and our custom architecture make the sensor network a public good — something corporate solutions cannot offer.

Civic Sensor Network: How It Works

Municipality — organizer, citizens — the network. Our model follows the proven sensors.community (Luftdaten) approach — citizen engagement instead of B2B contracts with monitoring companies.

The municipality knows where construction will take place next year.
Announcement on the website + resident meetings: "10–20 sensors funded for homes around these construction sites."
Residents from buildings near the site request a free sensor — via a code on the website or in person at the municipality.
Mounting on a balcony or facade — the sensor connects to Wi-Fi and starts transmitting data.
Data automatically appears on the public map.

The municipality keeps a stock of sensors and distributes on request, knowing the citizen's address — this ensures coverage precisely around the construction site.

Result: a monitoring network built by residents, at minimal municipal cost (~EUR 250 × 10–20 sensors). Data on a municipal server, open-source software.