The battle begins, I am going to dive right into the comparison. In this comparison I am only going to compare the PM2.5 sensors because a good PM2.5 sensors says a lot about the quality of the device. The participants are:
Category: devices
Indoor IAQ Monitors 2018Q4
Here are all the available and not IAQ Monitors on the market. This time I included a new row with the Year each device became or will become available.
A PDF version of the table is available here: Comparison AIQ 2018 Q4
- Prices may vary during time.
- Some Companies don’t specify on their data sheet if their devices are capable to measure PM2.5 or PM10 and they just mention the word dust.
- Some other companies say: Our product goes beyond CO₂ by analyzing substances that directly affect your well-being by measuring VOCs. They aren’t clear if their devices have CO₂ sensor.
- Some of the devices are IAQ Monitors and Air Purifiers Combo. On this list you can only read the features as an IAQ monitor.
Review: Awair 2nd Edition
I love when companies manage to release a second generation of their original product. In this case, Awair released the new Awair 2nd Edition a few months ago.
They clearly have learned a lot and the adjustments they have done and offer with the new version are notable at least hardware-wise. Software-wise the tweaks are small in comparison with the old version but welcome. This can be a good thing because old users can enjoy similar features like the new ones.
The Next Air Quality Monitor
There are hundreds of Air Quality monitors out there but still there isn’t a single one designed and built to meet people’s needs and capture the market’s attention, each time they miss something. Companies are missing key functions for a good Air Quality monitor, hardware-wise and software-wise.
After years of experience and countless conversations with users and professionals via email/twitter/skype I know what is missing from the market.
If you are an entrepreneur or a business developer or a company that is planning to develop one more air quality monitor, remember to contact me first because I am going to bring substantial information to your company for the Next Air Quality Monitor.
Batteries & Future
I have a small but very valuable tip for you if you are an entrepreneur or an angel investor. Invest your money and you time into a new type of battery if you want to become succesful and if the environment is important to you.
Coming up: Roidmi F8 Storm
For the first time I have ordered a Cordless Vacuum Cleaner with a HEPA filter. It is called Roidmi F8 Storm. It is already commercialized by Xiaomi, but currently, it is available on Indiegogo for $289. The offer ends at the end of July 2018.
Formaldehyde WP6930S vs uRAD A3
Formaldehyde CH2O is a very dangerous chemical-gas that can be easily found inside a house because it off-gases from paints, carpets, furniture, etc… In this article I am going to find out how well a cheap, handheld air quality monitor WP6930S compares to a more professional solution such as the uRAD A3.
Handheld AQ Monitor made in China WP6930S
Time-to-time See The Air readers contact me because they want to know if some portable Air Quality monitors made in China worth an investment, so I decided to research and find out which of them is the best. First, I cross checked the features as they were presented online and I noticed that some of them have a laser Particulate Matter PM2.5 sensor, which is good, and some other use an optical one. With that in mind, I purchased the WP6930S.
Musk’s Flamethrower
Elon Musk needs money for his projects, so he decided to sell a flamethrower and apparently everyone is so exited about this useless device. A huge hype for a device that doesn’t complete any purpose.
Of course, my real worries aren’t whether the flamethrower has a purpose or not but what consequences will have to the environment. A device which throws flames everywhere and is capable to destroy forests, houses and burn habitats. More importantly, we suppose to fight against global warming and yet we create more devices which burn oxygen and generate carbon dioxide CO2 and air pollution.
BRISE C200 PM2.5 Efficiency Tests
On the previous article, I presented a new air purifier with an A.I. Engine called BRISE C200. In general, the best way to prove the efficiency of an air purifier is by taking measurements with a respectable 3rd party AQ monitor while there is an air quality issue ongoing inside the room and that is what I did. I used the uRAd A3 Monitor for the measurements and the device was placed near the purifier.
At first, I had set the purifier off on purpose because I didn’t want the A.I. engine to kick in automatically before I was able to register the event. When a PM2.5 spike was registered, as you can see on the picture below from 4μg/m3 to 26μg/m3, I turned on the purifier and the air quality inside the room immediately improved till it returned to the normal PM2.5 concentration and the purifier turned itself off automatically.
In the picture below you can see the FC200 4-in-1 Combo filter after one month of usage. The carbon pre-filter has captured PM10 particles, hair, dust and even a little dead spider, which was caught by the purifier’s air flow when it was set on Turbo Mode. After that, we can see the blue anti-bacteria filter and under it the HEPA filter responsable for capturing all PM2.5 particles. Finally, the TiO2 will absorb harmful chemical vapors.
I wanted to repeat the experiment with the BRISE C200 purifier and a different AQ Monitor in a different room and day, so with the help of the AirVisual AQM I set them up in my bedroom. This time it took 14 min into Turbo Mode to clean the air, the bedroom is a bit bigger. When the purifier achieved a concentration of ±1μg/m3, I turned it off and with the door closed the air inside the room was kept clean, but immediately after I opened the door the air quality was decreased. Below you can see the results.
See The Air 