---
title: "SiteHive Dust: what it measures and how"
description: The SiteHive Hexanode Dust and SiteHive Hexanode Noise+Dust devices monitor dust in real time.
image: https://support.sitehive.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/homepageimages/enviro-setup.jpg?width=1200&name=enviro-setup.jpg
---
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1. [SiteHive Support](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au?hsLang=en-au)
2. [Managing environmental aspects](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/managing-environmental-aspects?hsLang=en-au)
# SiteHive Dust: what it measures and how
The **SiteHive Hexanode Dust** measures airborne dust continuously and sends it to SiteHive Enviro in real time. Alongside the readings, it captures images at the dustiest moments and shows which direction dust is coming from, so you can see what caused a dust event, not just how high it was.
Dust is also measured by the **SiteHive Hexanode Noise+Dust**, which adds noise levels, audio and noise Direction of Arrival. See [SiteHive Noise: what it measures and how](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/sitehive-noise-what-it-measures-and-how?hsLang=en-au).
At a glance, the device gives you:
- **Dust levels:** PM10 and PM2.5, with a cumulative daily average.
- **Humidity correction:** a built-in temperature and humidity sensor that reduces the effect of moisture on readings.
- **Images:** captured at the highest PM10 in each period.
- **Direction of Arrival:** where dust is coming from, using wind direction.
---
### Dust levels: PM10 and PM2.5
The device measures the two particle sizes used to assess dust, and reports them for each **aggregation period**, 15 minutes in the example below.
- **PM10:** particles smaller than 10 micrometres, typically from construction activity, earthworks and vehicle movements.
- **PM2.5:** finer particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres, which can affect human health at higher levels.
Below the main graph, the **cumulative daily average** tracks how the day's average is building towards a 24-hour limit, so you can act before the day is lost.
> ℹ️ On **SiteHive Enviro Pro**, you can set the dust aggregation period to 1, 5, 10 or 15 minutes for each Monitoring Point, in the **Setup** tab. See [Click Manage to adjust settings and devices](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/click-manage-to-adjust-settings-and-devices?hsLang=en-au).
---
### Humidity and dust readings
Moisture in the air can be counted as dust by any optical dust sensor. This happens most when humidity is high and the air is close to its dew point, typically overnight and early in the morning.
To manage this, the device has a built-in **temperature and humidity sensor** and a software **humidity modulator**. When humidity is high, the modulator adjusts readings to limit the effect of moisture.
> 💡 **Tip:** If readings look high overnight or early in the morning, check humidity for the same window. High humidity points to moisture rather than dust.
> ℹ️ The modulator responds to humid air, not to water applied directly near the device. Water sprays, misting systems or dust suppression close to a Hexanode can still raise readings. Where you can, place devices away from them.
For more context, weather data is added to your Dashboard automatically, from OpenWeather, the Bureau of Meteorology, a [SiteHive Weather](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/sitehive-weather-what-it-measures-and-how?hsLang=en-au) device or [your own weather station](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/connect-third-party-devices?hsLang=en-au).
---
### Matching a reference monitor: K-factor
If your project co-locates a Hexanode with a reference dust monitor, you can apply a **K-factor**: a correction for PM2.5 and PM10 that aligns readings with the reference for that location. Enter it under **Dust K-Factor** in the Monitoring Point's **Setup** tab. See [Click Manage to adjust settings and devices](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/click-manage-to-adjust-settings-and-devices?hsLang=en-au).
> 💡 **Tip:** A K-factor is only as good as the co-location data behind it. Contact your Regional Success Manager or [support@sitehive.com](mailto:support@sitehive.com) if you'd like help working one out.
---
### Images and Audio
In each period, the Hexanode Dust captures **two images, one in each direction,** at the moment of **highest PM10**. Because media follows the peak rather than the first reading over a limit, the images show the conditions that actually drove the level.
On a **Hexanode Noise+Dust**, media follows the noise peak instead, with an image and a 6-second audio clip. See [SiteHive Noise: what it measures and how](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/sitehive-noise-what-it-measures-and-how?hsLang=en-au).
Images are stored alongside your dust data, so when you [investigate an exceedance](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/events-investigate-an-exceedance?hsLang=en-au) you can quickly tell site activity from an external source.
---
### Direction of Arrival (DoA) mapping
Dust Direction of Arrival matches each period's dust readings with **wind direction**, to show where dust is most likely coming from.
You can see direction in three places:
- **On the map:** indicators show the dominant direction of dust at each Monitoring Point.
- **In the DoA chart:** click a Monitoring Point for a circular chart of dust by direction, as a percentage of the time window you select.
- **With events:** combine direction with the images from an exceedance to see not only when something happened, but where it came from.
See [Direction of arrival](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/direction-of-arrival?hsLang=en-au).
---
### What's next
[Direction of arrival](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/direction-of-arrival?hsLang=en-au) (the DoA map and chart in detail)
[Set up media triggers](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/set-up-media-triggers?hsLang=en-au) (the level that captures photos and audio)
[Calibration and certificates](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/calibration-and-certificates?hsLang=en-au) (how calibration is managed and where the certificates are)
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