Does your home need an air quality monitor?

Photo Credit: NBC News Warmer weather, blossoming trees, and a ton of pollen are all signs that spring has here. Seasonal allergy sufferers may find this time of year challenging, and for residents in the West, it signals the beginning of the wildfire season. Air quality monitors are an excellent alternative to air purifiers for keeping your house free of all these airborne contaminants. Are they valuable additions to your house? Here is a closer examination of air quality monitors, including what they can do, what to look for when buying one, and whether they are actually worthwhile. An air quality monitor monitors several airborne contaminants to provide you with a general idea of how clean your air is. Air quality monitors are made to measure a wide variety of contaminants, including pet dander, dust, and seasonal allergies as well as smoke from wildfires. Photo Credit: Vital Record-Texas A&M Health Air quality monitors won't help clean your air because they usually operate independently of air purifiers. Instead, they're intended to provide you a thorough understanding of the condition of your interior environment, and they typically do that function far better than the built-in sensors on your standard air purifier.

What is the criteria to purchase an air quality monitor?

What the device can actually measure is one of the most crucial factors to take into account when purchasing an air quality monitor. There are several different price points for air quality monitors, and the more money you spend, the more measurements you'll get. The majority of products detect temperature, humidity, and PM2.5 (particulates with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less), but some also include measures of volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Also Read: New Controls for the Google Home App: Here’s How to Apply It to Fans, TVs, and Air Purifiers In addition to offering more measurements, more expensive models frequently provide results that are more accurate, so bear that in mind before choosing the cheapest air quality monitor you can find. Although you can find decent solutions with the essentials for around $50, such as the Govee Air Quality Monitor, expect to spend slightly around $100 for a reliable air quality monitor. Auxiliary features like smart home connectivity or companion apps are other things you should consider. Companion applications are especially helpful because they allow you to check the air quality history of your house or monitor it from a distance. Although most air quality monitors are made to simply sit on a table or countertop (so you won't need to get out any equipment to get them running), installation is often not a problem. But, if you'd rather have them on a wall, you'll want to consider their overall size and whether or not they can be mounted.

Who would gain from a monitor of air quality?

Most households probably don't need air quality sensors. But, bringing one into your house is a smart move if you live in a wildfire-prone area, suffer from seasonal allergies, or have health issues that are made worse by poor indoor air quality. This will provide you plenty of information on what you can do and help you identify exactly when your air quality is declining. Photo Credit: Sensibo Most air quality monitors are not only shockingly economical, but also simple to use and set up. They may also assist you in determining whether your air purifiers are operating as intended or whether your HVAC system needs to have its ducts cleaned. If you don't fit into one of the aforementioned groups, you should probably pass on this smart home item. Nonetheless, if you do choose to get one, you might want to start your search with your shortlist of the top air quality monitors.