Air Quality Monitoring

Pilot Objective

To collect hyperlocal granular air quality readings in select Equity Investment Eligible Community (EIEC) neighborhoods across the city of Chicago. Target locations for this pilot include Pilsen, Little Village, and the Southeast side of Chicago. Monitoring will run throughout 2025 with data being accessible on a monthly basis. The goal is to identify where the need for electrification is greatest and where to prioritize investments to improve public health and quality of life.

Participant Characteristics

HP Risk Management Inc. (RHP) AQM pilot program operator (PPO), is in collaboration with a team including sensor vendors Aclima, PurpleAir, and Clarity Movement (“Clarity”), environmental consultant Mostardi Platt, researchers at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and from the University of Memphis, and community and environmental organizations from the pilot area, to support selection of monitoring locations for a total of 60 sensors and who will also lead the recruitment, selection and training of indoor monitoring participants. These include Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), Neighbors for Environmental Justice (N4EJ), and Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO) serving residents in the west side of Chicago, and Alliance of the Southeast (ASE), Southeast Environmental Taskforce (SETF), and People for Community Recovery (PCR) serving residents in the South/Southeast side of Chicago.

Pilot Status

The deployment of 69 stationary outdoor Clarity sensors on CDOT poles is now complete (as of 9/7/2025). UIC continues to work with community organizations to recruit and train residents to host PurpleAir indoor monitors, though recruitment has been challenging. Preparations are also underway for upcoming community engagement event(s). Aclima will finalize a show-ready report by end of September, with a press-conference-style event planned for late October/early November (date pending ComEd’s media calendar). A follow-up community event remains under discussion to further connect the project team and other stakeholders to share progress, celebrate accomplishments, and build connections with the Community.

Expected Outcomes

The provision of granular, localized air quality data in EIECs that can inform ComEd’s BE strategies, align with environmental justice goals, and validate the anticipated air quality benefits of electrification to provide:

Increased resolution of air quality measurements in targeted communities, though the utilization of mobile and fixed air quality sensors;
Increased awareness of the impact of beneficial electrification on indoor and outdoor air quality, specifically highlighting the potential benefits within EIECs;
Where feasible, ideation of potential integration of air quality monitoring to support ComEd Energy Efficiency customer programs and other BE pilots to demonstrate value;
Generation of data to identify areas where the need for electrification in these communities is greatest from an air quality perspective, and where to prioritize investments to improve public health and quality of life in EIECs.

Schedule

BE Pilot	Lead Vendor	Partners	Award Date	Pilot In Field Start Date	Pilot In Field End Date
Air Quality Monitoring	RHP Risk	Aclima, Clarity, Purple Air, UIC, UIUC, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Southeast Environmental Taskforce, Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization, Alliance of the Southeast	November 2024	February 2025	December 2025