The best indoor air quality monitors for identifying ...

Our top picks in indoor air quality monitors · Airthings View Plus — Most sophisticated air quality monitor · Awair Element, best indoor air ... BestPicks Reviews Deals Streaming SmartHome SmartAssistants HomeSecurity More HomeEntertainment Headphones Newsletter Skiptocontent Home/SmartHome/BestPicks RobSchultz/IDG Don’ttakeyourhome’sindoorairqualityforgranted.Researchshowsthat96percentofhomeshaveatleastonetypeofindoorairqualityissue.Anindoorairquality(IAQ)monitorcanhelpyoustayontopofthatbyreportingonthelevelsofcommonpollutantsandotherairconditionsinsideyourhomeinrealtime. Theculpritcouldbeanythingfromexcessivedusttohighhumiditytoemissionsfromhouseholdcleanersorbuildingmaterials.WithoutanIAQmonitor,thesethingscangoundetected,eveninthefaceofallergy-likesymptomsormoredramatichealtheffectsthatcanresultfromindoorpollutants.Ifyouwantanappliancethatcandosomethingaboutyourindoorairquality,checkoutourtoppicksinsmartairpurifiers. UpdatedSeptember12,2022toaddalinktoourKiddeSmartSmoke+CarbonMonoxideAlarmwithIndoorAirQualityMonitorreview.Thisdeviceisprimarilyasmoke/COdetector,buttheinclusionofindoorairqualitysensorsaddsalottoitsvalue. Ourtoppicksinindoorairqualitymonitors AirthingsViewPlus—Mostsophisticatedairqualitymonitor Pros Integratedhubandsensors CollectsreadingsfromotherAirthingssensors MonitorsPM2.5,VOCs,temperature,relativehumidity,carbondioxide,airpressure,andradon Excellentnotificationsandalerts WorkswithAlexaandGoogleAssistant Cons Largeformfactor Doesn’tmonitorcarbonmonoxide Cantakeamonthtocalibratesensors Expensive BestPricesToday: $299.99($833.31/kg)atAmazon Housedinawhiteoblongcase,theAirthingsViewPlusairqualitymonitortakessmarthomemultitaskingtothelimit.Itnotonlyhassevenbuilt-inmonitoringsensors,butitcanactasahubtoaddmanymore,displayingtheresultsonitsinteractivescreen,ontheAirthingsapp,oroveraweb-basedinterface.It’soneofthefewindoorairqualitymonitorscapableofdetectingradon. Readourfull AirthingsViewPlusreview AwairElement,bestindoorairqualitymonitor,runner-up Pros Accuratereal-timemonitoring Integrateswithmultiplesmart-homeplatforms Providessuggestionsforimprovingairquality Cons Thedisplayonthedeviceitselfcanbedifficulttoread Doesnotexplainhowcustomizedmonitoringmodesdiffer BestPricesToday: $209.98atAmazon TheAwairElementboastsaslightlymoreattractiveindustrialdesignthantheAirthingsViewPlus,andit’severybitasaccuratewhenreportingcarbondioxide(CO2),volatileorganiccompounds(VOCs),andPM2.5(atmosphericparticulatemattersmallerthan2.5microns).Theoneindoorpollutantitdoesn’tmonitorisradon. Readourfull AwairElementreview DavisInstrumentsAirLink—Bestindoorairqualitymonitor,2ndrunner-up Pros Precisionreal-timeairqualitymonitoring,indoorsorout Tracksdangerousparticulatematterassmallas1micron Canbeintegratedwiththecompany’spersonalweatherstations Cons Novisualindicators,readingsaredisplayedonamobiledeviceorcomputeronly Doesn’tmeasureotherairbornepollutants,suchasVOCs Unaestheticindustrialdesign BestPricesToday: $179.04atAmazon DavisInstrumentsiswellknownforitsexcellentweatherstations,anditsAirLinkairqualitymonitorexhibitsthesameprecisionandexpertreporting.Thisdeviceisuniqueamongthemonitorswe’vereviewedinthatitcanmeasureparticulatematterassmallas1micron,anditcanbedeployedindoorsorout.Butitdoesn’tmeasureothertypesofairpollution,suchascarbondioxideorVOCs. Readourfull DavisInstrumentsAirLinkreview AirthingsWaveMini—Bestbudget-pricedindoorairqualitymonitor Pros MonitorsindoorTVOClevels,temperature,andhumidity Simpleinstallation Appcontextualizesairqualityreadings Cons Monitorsforrelativelyfewairpollutants FewersmarthomeintegrationopportunitiesthanwhatthepricierAirthingsWaveandWavePlusprovide BestPricesToday: $79.56atAmazon TheAirthingsWaveMiniisagreatentry-levelindoorairqualitymonitor,andisaperfectcomplementtotheRadon-detectingAirthingsWavePlus.Itcanalsooperateasanodeinanetworkofairqualitymonitors,withtheAithingsViewPlusactingasthecentralhub. Readourfull AirthingsWaveMinireview Whattolookforwhenshoppingforasmartairqualitymonitor MostIAQmonitorswillalertyoutounsafelevelsviaanindicatorlightand/orpushnotificationstoyoursmartphoneortablet. Someindoorairqualitymonitorswillalsotrackoutdoorairqualitytoprovidecontextforyourindoorreadings.MeasurementsaretypicallydisplayedonascreenontheIAQdeviceitselfaswellasinacompanionapponyourmobiledevice. Oncewarned,youcantakeactiontoreduceindoorpollutants—perhapsbyopeningsomewindows.Somemonitorswilleventriggerothersmartappliances—suchasanairpurifier,afan,oradehumidifier—tohelpimproveindoorairquality.Ultimately,agoodIAQmonitorshouldprovideenoughcluesforyoutoinvestigateandeliminatethesourceofyourairqualitywoes. Topindoorpollutants Ifourtoppicksdon’tmatchyourneeds,thisguidewillhelpyouunderstandthemostcommonairpollutants,soyoucanfindonethatdoes.MostIAQmonitorscurrentlyavailablecan’tmonitorforallofthese,sochoosetheonesthatmattermosttoyou. PMlevel:Particulatematter,orPM,isamixofparticlesanddropletsintheair.PMvariesinshapeandsize,butthoseof10micrometersindiameterandsmallercanadverselyaffectyourhealthbecausetheycanbeinhaled.PM2.5referstofineparticulatematter—thatwithadiameteroftwo-and-one-halfmicrons.PM1isparticulatemattermeasuring1micron. SufficientexposuretoPM2.5canirritatetheeyes,nose,throat,andlungs,leadingtoallergy-likesymptomsandshortnessofbreathinotherwisehealthypeople.Itcanalsoexacerbateexistingmedicalproblems,suchasasthmaandheartdisease.TheWorldHealthOrganizationconsidersPM2.5theworld’ssinglebiggestenvironmentalhealthrisk. IndoorPM2.5levelscanbeinfluencedbyoutdoorsourceslikevehicleexhaust,wildfires,andpowerplantemissions.ButmanyindooractivitiesproducePM2.5aswell:Cooking,burningfireplaces,andsmokingarejustafewcommonsources. VOCs:Theacronymstandsforvolatileorganiccompounds,gasesemittedfromavarietyofmaterialsthatcanhaveshort-andlong-termhealtheffects.AccordingtotheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,concentrationsofmanyVOCscanbeupto10timeshigherindoorsthanoutdoors. TheAwairappgivesyouanairqualityscoreandbreaksdownthetemperature,humidity,andCO2and“chemicals”levels. SourcesofVOCsincludemanycommonhouseholdproducts,includinghairspray,cosmetics,cleaningfluids,disinfectants,paints,andvarnishes.BurningfuelslikewoodandnaturalgasalsoproducesVOCs. FormaldehydeisoneofthemostcommonVOCsandcanbefoundinmanybuildingmaterials,includingplywood,glues,andinsulation.Formaldehydeisalsousedinsomedrapesandfurniturefabrics.YoucanreadmoreaboutformaldehydeanditssourcesinthisarticlefromtheU.S.ConsumerProductSafetyCommission. Short-termexposuretothelowlevelsofVOCscancausethroatirritation,nausea,fatigue,andotherminorcomplaints.Long-termexposuretohighconcentrationsofVOCshasbeenlinkedtomoresevererespiratoryirritationaswellasliverandkidneydamage.ProductscanemitVOCsevenwhenthey’reinstorage,thoughtoalesserextentthanwhenthey’reactivelybeingused. Carbonmonoxide:Bynow,mostpeopleareawareofthedeadlyeffectsofhighconcentrationsofthisodorless,colorlessgas.Butexposuretolowerlevels,sometimesgivenoffbyfuel-burningappliances,canalsocauseadversereactions,includingconfusionandmemoryloss. Afewairqualitymonitorsclaimtheycandetecttheselowerlevels.Theonlyreliablewaytobealertedtothisnotoriouslyhardtoidentifykiller,however,iswithastandardcarbonmonoxidedetector. TheAirthingsWavecanreportontheCO2levelsinyourhomeaswellasanydetectableradon. Radon:Radonisanaturallyoccurringcolorless,odorlessgasthatistheleadingcauseoflungcancerintheUnitedStatesaftersmoking,accordingtotheEPA.Asit’sabyproductofthenaturallyoccurringbreakdownofuraniuminsoil,rocks,andwater,it’subiquitousbothindoorsandout.Typically,indoorradonlevelsmustbecheckedusingcharcoal-basedkitsandrequireyoutotestyourlevelsforupto90days.Youthenneedtoshipthekittoalabforanalysisandwaitfortheresults. Anindoorairqualitymonitorwitharadonsensorcanprovidefasterresultsbymonitoringlevelsinrealtime.Currently,theAirthingsWaveistheonlymonitorinourguidewiththiscapability. Carbondioxide:WhiletheeffectsofhighlevelsofCO2werelongthoughttobebenign,researchhasfoundthatconcentrationsaslowas1,000ppmcanaffectpeople’scognitivefunctionanddecision-makingperformance. ThegreatestsourceofindoorCO2ispeoplethemselves,asit’sabyproductofourrespiratoryfunction.Coupledwithpoorventilation,thiscommonlyleadstohighlevelsofCO2inmanyhomes.Fortunately,CO2sensorscanbefoundonmostairqualitymonitors. Temperatureandhumidity:Theselevelscanaffectmorethanyourcomfort.Hightempsandexcessivehumiditypromotemoldandmildewgrowth.Thesecancausestructuraldamagetoyourhomeandcauseallergy-likesymptomsinthosewithsensitivities.Monitoringtheselevelscanhelpyoupreventhomeandhealthproblemsandtipyouofftopotentialsourceslikefoundationcracksorleaksandpoorinsulation. Author:MichaelAnsaldo,Freelancecontributor MichaelAnsaldoisveteranconsumerandsmall-businesstechnologyjournalist.HecontributesregularlytoTechHiveandPCWorld. 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