Inside: Indoor air quality monitor for your home. Includes press sample.
We spend a lot of time in our homes, they are our sanctuaries. So, it is important that we ensure they contribute to our health and keep us safe. But did you know that air quality is often much poorer indoors, than it is outdoors?
With dust, pet dander, air pollution and other harmful pollutants, the air inside our home can become a concentrated mix of everything that would otherwise be diluted when outside.
An air quality monitor can show you exactly which areas you need to improve within your home, so that you can then breathe healthy air and keep track of any changes in indoor air pollution over time.
This post will talk you through the benefits of such monitors and review the Netatmo Indoor Air Quality Monitor.
What is an air quality monitor?
indoor air quality monitors measure the quality of air within an indoor environment. There are various designs and features to choose from, with some providing more information than others. Measurements can include carbon dioxide levels, humidity levels, any volatile organic compounds present and even sounds levels.
When you have knowledge of the air quality in your home, you can make any necessary changes to ensure that you are surrounding yourself and your loved ones with the best possible conditions.
Benefits of an air quality monitor
Of course, the main priority for our environment is ensuring the air we breathe is good quality. This will be the primary reason for purchasing a monitor. However, there are many benefits to be had and not all that are immediately obvious.
Air quality is determined by the various molecules and fine particles present, the humidity, temperature and noise levels. All of these combine to create either an optimum or poor environment for us to live in.
Bad air quality, whether that be through constant loud noise or pollutants in the air, can cause headaches, fatigue, allergies and breathing problems. Some will be more apparent, whereas others can go unchecked and unnoticed until a real issue presents itself.
By monitoring the air quality in your home, you can be sure that you are minimising any issues for your family.
- Track any disturbances that may be causing a baby to wake in the night.
- Ensure concentration is maintained by ensuring noise doesn’t exceed 65db during study periods or the work day.
- Maintain proper humidity to prevent dry air that can trigger itchy skin or high humidity that can foster mold growth, where long-term exposure can cause health problems.
- Monitoring humidity can also help manage asthma and allergies
Monitors are able to send all of this information straight to your mobile device so you can keep track and make changes where necessary.
Netatmo’s Indoor Air Quality Monitor
We have been testing out the Indoor Air Quality Monitor from Netatmo and it has been interesting to see how our home’s Health Index fluctuates throughout the day and over the course of different days.
The device monitors temperature, air quality, humidity, and noise levels and is able to provide real-time data via the Home Coach app, which displays an overall Home Health Index rating based on all of the factors, but with more weigh given to the air quality as it is most important when it comes to health.
Air quality is the measure of how much CO2 is present. This is because CO2 levels are a good indicator of how well fresh air is circulating around the home. If CO2 levels are high, there will also be high levels of gas compounds, dust and mites, molds and bacteria.
Measurements are taken every 5 minutes but you can also manually trigger a measurement by pressing the top of the device. Easy to use, nice sleek design – it’s a great bit of kit!
What’s in the box?
- 1 Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor
- 1 mains adapter
Specifications
- Dimensions: 45x45x155 mm
- Indicator light for live CO2 readings
- Accessible from several devices
- Made from Aluminium monobloc
- Recording frequency: every 5 minutes
- Temperature: Measurement range 0°C à 50°. Accuracy ± 0.3°C
- Humidity: Measurement range 0 to 100%. Accuracy ± 3%
- CO2 sensor: Measurement range 0 to 5,000 ppm
- Sound meter: Measurement range 35 dB to 120 dB
- App compatibility: Apple & Android
- Connectivity specifications
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz)
- Supported security protocols
- Open/WEP/WPA/WPA2-personal (TKIP and AES)
- Powered by a USB wall adapter
- Unlimited number of devices (smartphone, tablet and laptop) per Air Quality Monitor
- Unlimited number of Air Quality Monitors per account
Setup process
The device couldn’t be easier to set up, simply download the Home Coach app (available on both Apple and Android smart devices) and plug the monitor into the mains using the power adaptor. The app takes you through a simple setup process, where you create a Netatmo account or log in to an existing one.
From there you then ‘add’ the monitor to a room so you know which device is sending alerts should you have more than one.
And that’s it! It will start collecting data to send to your smart device.
Home Coach app
The app is really easy to use and understand, with a main home screen that tells you how your house is doing with a ‘fine’ or ‘healthy’ or even a ‘poor’ if something isn’t right.
It has a color-coded system to help you see straight away if something is amiss. Green or a gorgeous aqua blue represent a healthy to fine environment, with moving to yellow, orange and red as your home’s air quality worsens.
As well as being able to check in with the app at any time, the device will actually send real-time alerts to your phone if conditions change. Last week I was boiling some vinegar and water in a pan (random, I know but it is what it is) but had no idea that boiling vinegar can result in dangerous levels of CO2 being produced.
Thankfully, my phone vibrated and I saw the alert telling me that dangerous levels of CO2 had been detected. Now I know that I need to have plenty of ventilation should I be doing that again to avoid headaches and other health problems.
The home screen also shows you the current room temperature, humidity level, noise level, and air quality for the space. You can tap on each of these to see where the measurement is falling on the scale.
If you want to look at historical data over the past 24 hours, you can tap on the rewind button in the top right corner and then scroll back to see how things were looking.
You can also tap on the graph icon to see individual measurements and their trends over the course of having the air monitor, showing you the overall air quality for your home as a longterm view.
Linking to other devices
Netatmo products are compatible with the Apple Home smartphone app and can easily be added so that you can use Siri to ask about the quality of the air in your home.
- For the temperature: “What is the temperature in the bedroom ?”
- For the humidity: “What is the humidity in the bedroom?”
- For the air quality: “How is the air quality in the bedroom?” or “What is the air quality in the bedroom?”
- For the carbon dioxyde: “Is there carbon dioxyde in the bedroom?”
Final thoughts
If you are a family that has allergies or asthma then an air monitor is definitely a good choice to help you manage symptoms. Similarly, if you want to take control and have a healthier home then it is a great product to have.
The ease of use and sleek design make Netatmo’s Indoor Air Quality Monitor a great product, helping you to eliminate any factors contributing to poor air quality for you and your family.
Find out more at netatmo.com/en-gb.