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Air Quality Sensor Calibration

Learn how you (as an advanced user) can calibrate your Verkada Air Quality Sensors

Updated over 4 months ago

Verkada Air Quality Sensors have an assortment of different readings that allow you to gain more insight into your building or monitor areas where video monitoring is not allowed. The data available depends on the model of the sensor.

You can use Verkada sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and other environmental conditions throughout indoor spaces to identify possible impacts on human health or asset performance.

The Verkada Air Quality Sensor calibration interface:

  • Allows you to calibrate your sensors to your specification needs and easily download a certificate to verify compliance.

  • Provides another level of actionability and verification to the rich data collected by Verkada sensors.

Our sensors are factory-calibrated and rated to the specified

accuracy in the SV20 Series Air Quality Sensor overview

for a minimum of 10 years.


Calibrate a Verkada sensor

The temperature and humidity sensors onboard the SV20 Series and SV11 sensors are individually tested and calibrated. To ensure their continued accuracy, recalibration (using an external reference device) is necessary.

For the calibration, Verkada uses transfer standards, which are subject to a scheduled calibration procedure. The calibration of the reference, used for the calibration of the transfer standards, is National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-traceable through an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory.

Enable sensor calibration globally

  1. In Verkada Command, go to All Products > Admin.

  2. In the left navigation, select Privacy & Security .

  3. Select Feature Manager.

  4. On Air Quality > Sensor Calibration, select Enable.

View sensor calibration data

  1. In Command, go to All Products > Air Quality .

  2. On the left navigation, click Calibration .

  3. On Sensor Calibration, select the reading you want to calibrate.

    You should be able to see all of your devices, their site, calibration status, current reading if an offset has been applied, when and who updated it, and the next due date.

    • Device Name—Name of the device you want to calibrate.

    • Site—Location of the device you want to calibrate.

    • Status—Status of the device.

      • N/A—No calibration has been applied.

      • Calibrated—A calibration profile has been applied.

      • Past Due—The calibration profile has expired.

    • Current—Current reading of the selected sensor reading.

    • Offset—Offset error that is applied in the calibration profile.

    • Last Updated—Date the sensor was calibrated.

    • Updated By—User who applied the calibration.

    • Due Date—Due date for the next calibration. The calibration procedure should be done on or before this date.

  4. Click the sensor device you want to calibrate.

  5. Using a reference device, take a reading while holding your reference device next to your sensor. The closer you are to the sensor, the more accurate your calibration is.

    1. Enter this reading in the Reference Reading field.

    2. If you see an "Offset exceeds range" warning, this means that the device is reading a value past its typical accuracy. We recommend that you check your reference device and ensure you have properly followed the installation guidelines.

    3. If you see the "Offset limit reached" warning, this means you've reached the offset limit for the reading. Either your reference device is wrong or your sensor may not be operating properly. For assistance, contact Verkada Support.

  6. Click Refresh immediately after taking your reference reading to get the current raw reading from your sensor.

  7. Review your calibration profile and click Next.

  8. (Optional) Check the Download Calibration Report box to download a PDF of your calibration report.

  9. Click Apply to confirm your calibration.

    A calibration event is then permanently stored in the audit log and the offset is immediately applied to your sensor.


Download the most recent calibration certificate

You may need to download a calibration certificate to provide to a third party. You can do this done during the calibration process or you can retrieve it at a later date using the calibration page.

Your sensor must have previously been ​calibrated to download a calibration certificate.

When you download a calibration certificate, it creates an audit entry in the org-wide audit log.

How it works

  1. From the calibration page, select a reading. As an example, look at a sensor's Temperature calibration history.

  2. Hover over the device and at the bottom right, find and click Download Calibration Report.

  3. Command processes your request and a browser download of the calibration certificate will be initiated once the file is ready.

View calibration history

Verkada stores all of the different calibration events and certificates, as the calibration history, for each device. This means that every action is permanently logged, when you:

When you download a calibration certificate, it creates an audit entry in the org-wide audit log.

  1. From the calibration page, select a reading. As an example, look at a sensor's Temperature calibration history.

  2. Hover over the device and at the bottom right, click the kebab menu (3 vertical dots).

  3. Select View Calibration History.

The history log shows the following:

  • What event took place (Factory Reset | Calibration)

  • The date when the event occurred

  • The offset that was applied

  • The reference reading that was taken during that calibration

  • The certificate number for that calibration

  • The user who made the change

Download calibration reports

  1. Continue from how to View calibration history.

  2. Hover over the table row.

  3. At the right, find the download arrow and click Download Calibration Report.


Reset a sensor's calibration to factory defaults

Command allows you to use the factory calibration settings or reset your sensor back to factory default settings if a calibration profile is no longer needed.

  1. Your sensor must be calibrated to reset it to factory defaults.

  2. When you reset a sensor back to factory calibration settings, it creates an entry in the sensor's calibration history.

  1. From the calibration page, select a reading. As an example, look at a sensor's Temperature calibration history.

  2. Hover over the device and at the bottom right, click the kebab menu (3 vertical dots).

  3. Select Reset Factory Settings.

  4. Click Reset to confirm to reset the factory settings for the specified device.

    • If successful, you will see a "Factory calibration reset complete" banner.

    • If unsuccessful, contact Verkada Support.


FAQ

Do I need to calibrate my sensor?

Most customers do not need to calibrate their sensors.

However, you may be required to annually calibrate your devices. With the Air Quality Sensor Calibration page, you can now use a reference device to calibrate your sensors. Once calibrated, you can download a PDF certificate showing that your sensor was calibrated.

Which Verkada sensors can be calibrated?

Follow the calibrate an air quality sensor steps to calibrate all Verkada sensors, including the last-generation SV11s and the latest SV20 Series sensors (SV21s, SV23s, SV25s).

What kind of calibration does Verkada offer?

Currently, the Air Quality Sensor Calibration page allows you to apply a standard one-point linear calibration to your sensors. Verkada uses a single point to calculate the difference between the reference value and the raw reading to create an offset correction for the error between the two, and then apply that offset to the sensor reading.

For example, if your sensor's raw Temperature reading is 72˚F (22˚C), but your reference device shows 71˚F (21˚C), and your offset is – 1˚F. Once the calibration is applied, if your raw reading is 76˚F (24˚C), your sensor will show 75˚F (23˚C) in Command.

Who can calibrate a Verkada sensor?

Only Org Admins can calibrate Verkada sensors. The Org Admin must also be a Site Admin for the sites in which the sensors are located. If the Org Admin doesn't have Site Admin permissions, they can't view the sensors. To understand role permissions, see Detailed Role Breakdown for Command Users.

Which sensor readings can be calibrated?

  • Temperature

  • Humidity

  • Carbon Dioxide

  • Carbon Monoxide

  • Noise Level

  • PM 2.5, 4.0, and 10.0

Does setting the calibration affect past data?

No, calibrating your devices does not affect the past data collected by your sensors. Only the data from the point of calibration onwards has the offset incorporated into it.

What kind of reference devices does Verkada recommend using?

Verkada recommends using NIST Traceable Temperature/Humidity sensors, such as the Traceable Barometric/Temperature/Humidity Wi-Fi Data Logger or the Fluke - 52-260HZCAL 52-2 Dual Input Digital Thermometer with a NIST-Traceable Calibration Certificate with Data for calibrating your temperature or humidity sensors. Verkada recommends the TSI DustTrak™ DRX 8533 for PM 2.5, PM 4.0, and PM 10 calibration.


Need more help? Contact Verkada Support.

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