The ENV-DUST is a compact and affordable optical dust sensor, made in Japan, designed for monitoring dust particles in data centers, server rooms and cabinets.

• Nothing consumed: the measurement is optical, so there is no filter cassette to weigh, replace or send to a laboratory.


• Continuous: particle levels are reported in real time rather than as the average over a sampling period.


• Compact: small enough to mount inside a cabinet, where the particle level actually matters for the equipment.

Dust and particles are a major issue in mission critical systems. They cause equipment failure, reduce efficiency and drive up maintenance cost.

• Early detection: continuous measurement alerts maintenance staff while corrective action is still cheap, rather than after the contamination has done its damage.


• Failure and downtime: accumulated dust clogs filters, obstructs airflow and causes equipment to fail — producing costly repairs and lost productivity.


• Equipment life: detecting contamination early and acting on it extends the life of the equipment and reduces the risk of expensive failures.

Dust accumulates gradually and invisibly. Without measurement, the first indication is usually a fault.

Particles are the mechanism by which cooling performance degrades without anything appearing to break.

• Filter loading: filters do their job by capturing particles, which means they restrict progressively as they work. A rising dust level tells you the loading rate has changed.


• Obstructed airflow: dust on heat sinks, fan blades and intake grilles reduces the heat actually carried away, even where fans are still running normally.


• Maintenance on evidence: filter changes scheduled against measured particle levels beat changes scheduled against the calendar, in both directions.

Pair with the ENV-AIRFLOW to see both the cause and its effect on air velocity.

Air particles are one of the four main contributors to corrosion, alongside temperature, humidity and corrosive gases.

• The G1 target: for a mild ANSI/ISA 71.04 environment, particles from PM1 to PM10 should be held below 70 µg/m³.


• Particles carry contaminants: settled dust holds moisture and corrosive compounds against the board surface, which is where the reaction happens.


• Warranty exposure: manufacturers routinely void warranty where damage is attributable to corrosion, making the environmental record worth having.

See the ENV-CORROSION for direct measurement of the resulting corrosion class.

Particle levels vary far more within a facility than temperature does, so placement decides what the reading is worth.

• Inside cabinets: what reaches the equipment is not what a room-level reading reports.


• At intake plenums: immediately downstream of filtration, to see what is getting through.


• Near doorways and loading points: the routes by which outside air and traffic bring particles in.


• Adjacent to building work: construction, drilling and ceiling work produce short, severe particle events that a periodic inspection will miss entirely.

The ENV-DUST connects to the base unit, which makes it an Ethernet sensor. The base unit is a standalone device with its own IP address in your network. On its own it monitors the sensor and triggers alerts via email, SNMP or optional SMS when needed.

There is no software or PC required for the sensor to run.

With our optional Monitoring Software you can centrally monitor sensors with trending and more. This is optional and not required.

The ENV-DUST answers one question: how much particulate is in the air. A full picture of a mission critical environment usually needs a few more.

• ENV-PARTICLE — where PM fractions need to be resolved individually, or below this sensor's sensitivity.


• ENV-CORROSION — measures the resulting ANSI/ISA corrosion class directly, over a rolling 30 day window.


• ENV-AIRFLOW — shows whether particle loading is starting to restrict air movement.


• ENV-THUM — temperature and humidity, the other two contributors to corrosion.