Tag: house

Awair indoor Air Monitor

Sotirios Papathanasiou3 Comments

UnknownAwair monitors indoor air, gives solutions when air quality turns unhealthy and communicates with other smart home devices so you can stay healthy.
Apart from the beautiful design, Awair’s sensors monitor the six most important factors of indoor air quality & well-being.

  1. Temperature:  -40 to +125°C / -40 to +257°F
  2. Humidity: 0 to 95%
  3. CO2: 0 to 4000 ppm
  4. VOCs: Air Hydrogen, Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia, Ethanol, Toluene to name a few, ranging b/w 0.1~30 ppm
  5. Dust: Particles PM2.5 from 0 to 500 μg/m3. (On their site they mention, dusts and particles under 2.5mmg)
  6. Ambient light

Awair is one of the tools I will use to monitor my indoor air quality (TZOA is the other one). It has awesome design and I love the walnut timber, high quality of course and is painted without harmful VOCs. It will constantly show me the AQI inside my bedroom which is the most important room in my home. During day we are more aware about air quality but during night we aren’t, so I will be able to see if my bedroom offers me more than a bed and a regular night sleep. During sleep our bodies rebuild and our minds refresh, so do we offer them the best conditions?

During day and night time I will conduct experiments with it. Measuring CO2 with and without plants, VOCs with different cleaning products plus furnitures and dust particles from mattresses and bed clothing. All of these experiments will be published here on #SeetheAir.

Temperature and humidity sensors are very import inside a room for many reasons as well. First by knowing the temperature inside a room you can have optimum sleep during night time, in general is recommended slightly cool temp 65ºF/18.5ºC. Second low humidity may cause respiratory problems, itchy eyes and skin. On the other hand, high humidity will result in molds that serve as breeding ground for bacteria. Also dust mites love high humidity. The optimum humidity level is 35-45%.

I live on the coast and humidity levels are so high here so I had to invest on a dehumidifier but I did a smart purchase because I bought an A/C with dehumidifier, this way I control temperature and humidity. Awair is capable of communicating with smart home appliances and turn them on/off via IFTTT. In case your home appliances aren’t smart enough you can boost them with TADO The Smart A/C Control.

Finally the app is elegant and simple for the everyday use but with valuable infos.

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Air-filtering houseplants

Sotirios Papathanasiou4 Comments

houseplants-lead

In 1989, NASA conducted a Clean Air Study to find out which house plants most effectively ward off the toxins found in a range of household goods. The research was carried out by placing plant species inside a plexiglas chamber and adding the following chemicals inside before collecting air samples to see how the soil and plants fared in removing the air pollutants. ( here is the complete infographic via Love the Garden).

My personal experience with plants has showed me that they actually work. A key parameter here is also a good quality of  soil without pesticide and fertilizer. No need to go wild and convert your house into a jungle one-two plants in each room are enough.

Each week I will dedicate a post for a house plant and its benefits.

Also this fall I will conduct an experiment with some plants and VOCs, so stay tune.

Here are 27 House Plants That Detox The Air In Your Home Naturally
  1. Dwarf Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii)
  2. Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens)
  3. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’)
  4. Kimberly Queen Fern (Nephrolepis obliterata)
  5. English Ivy (Hedera helix)*
  6. Lilyturf (Liriope spicata)
  7. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
  8. Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum aureum)*
  9. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’)*
  10. Flamingo Lily (Anthurium andraeanum)*
  11. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)*
  12. Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
  13. Broadleaf Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa)
  14. Variegated Snake Plant, mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Laurentii’)*
  15. Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron cordatum)*
  16. Selloum Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum)*
  17. Elephant Ear Philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)*
  18. Red-Edged Dracaena (Dracaena reflexa)*
  19. Cornstalk Dracaena (Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’)*
  20. Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)*
  21. Barberton Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
  22. Florist’s Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)*
  23. Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)*
  24. Dendrobium Orchids (Dendrobium spp.)
  25. Dumb Canes (Dieffenbachia spp.)
  26. Moth Orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.)
  27. Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis Mill.)