4 Indoor Air Quality Monitors for a Healthier Smart Home

Do you often wonder why you sneeze a lot indoors or find your allergies flaring up? It could be because there’s room for improvement regarding your home’s interior air quality. There are smart home accessories for almost everything, including those that monitor air quality. Here are some options worth checking out in your quest to make your home a much healthier place.

[1] Netatmo Healthy Home Coach

The Netatmo Healthy Home Coach constantly monitors humidity, air quality, noise level, and temperature in your smart home. Image: Netatmo.

This streamlined, cylinder-shaped device does more than notify you of air quality specifics. It also measures humidity levels, the temperature, and even the noise level in the environment. Get the details by looking at the screen on the complementing iOS or Android smartphone app.

It gives you a color-coded ranking based on the readings the gadget’s sensors take. Then, if there’s a problem, it gives you clear instructions about how to take action to make things better. The app’s screen might say “Turn on the humidifier,” for example, if the humidity falls too low in your home.

The remote access functionality also lets you log into the app and check the conditions of your home from anywhere, such as when you’re on vacation.

If you don’t want to use the app to get information about your home, just tap the top of the device. It lights up and provides instant insights.

The Netatmo Healthy Home Coach is also an Apple HomeKit-compatible product so it will appear as a manageable device on the screen of the Apple Home app.

The device connects to your Wi-Fi network and doesn’t require subscription fees. Also, if desired, you can get several of the gadgets and put one in each room of the home. They work together to provide the data you need.

[2] Awair Glow

An air quality monitor that doubles as a smart plug, the compact Awair Glow costs $99 and keeps track of air and temperature data. Image: Awair.

Consider investing in the Awair Glow if you want an indoor air quality monitor that’s minimalist as possible. It simply plugs into a wall outlet—but has a built-in outlet to let you keep using electrically powered products.

The tiny air quality monitor also has an LED light on the top. If it’s green, the conditions are optimal. You can also log into the complementing app and learn more about what the color of the light indicates.

The app’s graph-like details show temperature and humidity, plus carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and the presence of chemicals.

The Awair Glow can also turn on your non-smart devices—such as a fan or air purifier—as soon as air quality worsens, or at periodic times throughout the day as you specify.

Besides working with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, the Awair Glow is a budget-friendly Nest-compatible gadget, enabling you to make your smart home exceptionally well-connected.

The original Awair air quality monitor tracks toxins and chemicals, plus gives personalized recommendations. A second edition of the product is forthcoming. Image: Awair.

Looking for an Awair product that’s a bit more substantial? The second edition of the original Awair device is coming soon. It’ll reportedly not only tell you if the air quality isn’t ideal, but give guidance around how to correct it—similarly to the Netatmo product described above. The Awair Glow costs $99. Pricing details for the second edition of the full-sized Awair aren’t yet available.

[3] Elgato Eve Room

The Elgato Eve Room monitor tracks temperature, humidity, and air quality. It can detect volatile organic compounds in your home, and works with Apple HomeKit and the Siri digital assistant. Image: Elgato.

This square-shaped air monitor gets the necessary information without disrupting your interior décor. It detects levels of volatile organic compounds, which can be harmful in high concentrations.

You can also set “scenes” that trigger air quality-related actions at certain times of the day. For example, you might want to have your humidifier turn on if the humidity level drops too low while you sleep.

Moreover, the Eve Room works with Apple HomeKit and the entire iOS ecosystem. By specifying an Apple iPad or Apple TV as a HomeKit management hub, you can depend on the Eve Room to give air quality readings even if you’re far away from home. The device can also be controlled by the Siri voice assistant.

[4] uHoo

Positioned at the higher end of the smart air quality monitor spectrum, the $299 uHoo has 8 sensors to track various attributes, including air pressure, carbon monoxide, ozone levels, and more. Image: uHoo.

The company that manufactures the uHoo markets it as one of the most advanced air quality monitors available because its eight sensors track things the other sensors mentioned here don’t, such as air pressure, carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone levels.

The accompanying iOS and Android apps give a numerical score representing the air quality in a room. It’s also possible to toggle settings on and off within the app to see or hide particular information.

You can get real-time alerts, too. If the sensor detects a jump in CO over a short time, you might have a gas leak that needs urgent attention.

Furthermore, the information in the app highlights historical data. It enables you to check out changes over time and confirm if the steps you’ve taken to improve the air quality are working.

Information Leads to Healthy Actions

Many people remain clueless about their abode’s air quality specifics, even though they might suffer health problems while staying in the dark. These sleek and powerful gadgets can enlighten you by providing meaningful data needed to determine if air issues exist. Then, you can feel well-equipped to make the needed changes for a healthier space.

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