7Semi ENS160 Air Quality Sensor I2C Probe

Overview

The 7Semi ENS160 Air Quality Sensor I2C Probe is a digital indoor air quality sensor module based on the ScioSense ENS160 gas sensor.

• Designed for multi-parameter air quality monitoring

• Uses metal-oxide (MOX) sensing technology

• Provides processed digital outputs via I2C

It measures air pollution indicators rather than individual gas concentrations.

Working Principle

• Uses a heated MOX (Metal-Oxide) sensing element

• Gas molecules (VOCs, oxidizing gases) change sensor resistance

• Internal ADC + DSP convert signal air quality metrics

• Built-in algorithms perform:

  • Baseline correction

  • Environmental compensation (temperature/humidity)

   

Measured Outputs

The sensor providesues:

• TVOC (Total Volatile Organic Compounds):

  • Range: 0 65,000 ppb

   

• eCO (Equivalent CO):

  • Range: 400 65,000 ppm

   

• AQI (Air Quality Index):

  • Qualitative air quality level

   

Important:

• eCO is estimated (not real CO measurement)

Detectable Gases

The sensor responds to a wide range of indoor pollutants, including:

• Ethanol

• Toluene

• Hydrogen

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

• Oxidizing gases

Electrical Characteristics

• Supply Voltage:

  • Core: 1.71V 1.98V

  • I/O: 1.71V 3.6V (typically 3.3V)

   

• Interface:

  • I2C (primary for probe version)

  • Sg

    • 0x52 or 0x53 (selectable)

     

   

  Environmental Operating Range

  • Temperature: 40C to +85C

  • Humidity: 5% to 95% RH (non-condensing)

   

  Suitable for indoor and industrial environments

  Internal Features

  • On-chip air quality algorithms

  • Humidity & temperature compensation

  • Automatic baseline correction

  • Raw data access (for advanced processing)

   

  Functional Behavior

  • Requires warm-up time (~few minutes) for stable readings

  • Continuously measures air and updates:

    • TVOC

    • eCO

    • AQI

     

  • Output is ready-to-use (no external calibration needed)

   

  Key Technical Features

  • Multi-parameter air quality sensing tegration)

  • Built-in compensation algorithms

  • Wide detection range

  • Compact probe-style design

  • Stable long-term operation

   

  Functional Advantages

  • No need for:

    • External ADC

    • Complex gas calibration

     

  • Provides interpretable air quality data directly

  • Works well in smart home and automation systems

   

  Limitations

  • Does not measure true CO (only equivalent estimation)

  • Sensitive to:

    • Temperature/humidity changes

    • Airflow conditions

     

  • Requires good ventilation for accurate readings

  • MOX sensors may drift over long-term use

   

  Technical Summary

  The ENS160 I2C Probe is a smart air quality sensor that:

  • Converts complex gas interactions into simple digital metrics

  • Uses instead of raw sensing

  • Is optimized for indoor environmental monitoring systems