Are you living in a polluted urban city or metropolitan in the United States and worried about the air you breathe daily? Your concern is genuine and you must think of getting fresh air. With time, every city or rural community is witnessing deteriorating air quality. The situation is getting alarming day by day. You need to make some efforts to keep a pollution-free environment inside your homes. There are sure ways to take fresh air into your home and keep pollutants away. But first, you need to know the source of pollutants inside your home so that you can prevent them. You need to check the air quality with the help of some indoor air quality monitors.
How To Deal With Pollutants Inside the House?
If you’re living in a busy urban area, then you can’t escape pollutants outside. But can you create a healthy environment and prevent risks of pollutants? Once you understand risks, you should protect yourself from pollutants. An air quality monitor would help check the quality of air inside your home. Then you can take further precautions to remove them.
Know The Pollutants That Can Present Inside Your Home
Some of the commonly found pollutants inside the home are:-
Radon: This is one of the most found pollutants inside our home. It is a kind of gas that can damage your lungs, and we can detect it through a test.
Carbon Monoxide: It is a tasteless and odorless gas present in the air. This gas can be detected through carbon monoxide detectors that are commonly available. However, you can use an air quality monitor as an alternative to check the carbon monoxide levels in the air.
Asbestos: It is another toxic substance present in older homes and buildings. We find it on floors, ceilings, and walls. Asbestos comprises lightweight fibers that hang into the air and cause lung cancer.
Cigarette Smoke: We all know smoking is dangerous for health. But lots of people smoke and the release of harmful smoke from cigarettes can damage our lungs. We intake plenty of cigarette smoke daily.
Besides, there are other pollutants in the air like Nitrogen Dioxide, lead, and formaldehyde. These pollutants contaminate the air and can cause severe damage to our health. Formaldehyde is the most about pollutant in the air found in our homes. The high level of formaldehyde can cause severe infections in the skin, throat, eyes, and nose.
How Can We Prevent Pollutants In Our Homes?
Air quality is a major concern for everyone even in 2021. We are more aware of the dangers we face by sitting in our own homes. We breathe in toxins, chemicals, and dust that could have serious repercussions on our health. So what can we do? Fortunately, there are hundreds of products that can improve the air quality in your home. The only problem is that they all do different things. So you need a way to analyze the air quality before you can fix it. This is where air quality monitors come in. They use sensors to know exactly what’s in the air you breathe so you can take action to improve it.
The Best Indoor Air Quality Monitors Reviews
Airthings – 2930 Wave Plus Air Quality Monitor
Airthings Wave Plus is an award-winning indoor air quality monitor. Its innovative design, swift sensors, and precise radon detection make it top of the list. Airthings deliver accurate and consistent results.
It features sensors that can detect humidity, chemicals, radon, temperature, and many other pollutants in the air. Most air quality devices don’t give constant results because radon levels change frequently. It easily connects with mobile applications through Bluetooth.
It uses visual indicators to show air quality Green, Yellow, and Red showing Good, Fair, and Poor air quality. Airthings wave plus allows users to operate it by connecting with Alexa, and Google Assistant.
The most important feature of a quality monitor is its radon report that you may not get in the most expensive monitors. the company has done more than that for its customers by offering a 12-month extra warranty and customer support.
Airthings equips 6 powerful sensors that give you complete insight and report about your air quality. Although it’s a great air monitor, it doesn’t record readings for PM 2.5 or 10. It has the capability to only measure Radon, temperature, TVOC, and CO2.
| Pros | Cons |
| Airthings is easy to install and use It gives you a good value of money It delivers accurate measurements | No WiFi support is available in Airthings |
Awair 2nd Edition Air Quality Monitor
Awair 2nd Edition has secured a spot on the list as one of the best indoor air quality monitors. This is an updated version of an existing air quality monitoring device called Awair. It is one of the most popular and efficient air monitors on the market and features a few key updates to make the readings even more precise and easy to read.
This air monitor resembles the original model and was re-launched with a few improvements. The best thing about its design is that it looks good with almost any interior design pattern. The front side is an LED screen that can display a multitude of different readings. Or, you can set it to look like a clock.
Awair 2nd Edition tracks moisture and chemicals, dirt, CO2, toxins, and temperature. You can have readings for all pollutants on the device screen or using the mobile app. However, the app shows meaningful readings and helps you to improve your air quality. Each reading is displayed as a figure and swatch, so you can see at a glance whether a reading is good (green) or bad (red).
There are also more in-depth analysis options. It shows you readings over several days and Awair score with suggestions. This model has upgraded sensors to give accurate data and monitor changes in the air.
But our favorite feature is that it can be connected with Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, and Nest. This gives you the power to automate your actions on air quality, so the air you breathe is always perfect. In our opinion, this is one of the best indoor air quality monitors on this list, but we have seven more to choose from, so keep reading. Be sure to also check out our guide to the best air purifiers. It is one of the most efficient indoor air quality monitors to buy for a home.
| Pros | Cons |
| Appealing design with LED display Gives quick and accurate readings Easy to connect | It doesn’t show past reading comparison |
IQAir AirVisual Pro Air Quality Monitor
The IQAir air monitor is one of our favorite high-end products on this list. It does the same basic job as the cheaper air monitors, but the readings are generally more accurate and offer better connectivity. If you really want the most accurate reading, you should be spending more money. But not everyone needs to know exactly what their home’s CO2 levels are.
The special feature of this air monitor must be the large LED display. It is very bright and easy to read thanks to the color-coded smiley face system and the large font size.
You can set it to show exactly what you want to see at a glance, including the weather and the quality of the air outside. As soon as you turn it on, it can detect your location and display readings from the nearest monitoring station. This makes it a much more comprehensive tool than the other air monitors we’ve featured.
It is a professional grade monitoring system which means it is very accurate. It specializes in the measurement of PM2.5 thanks to its high-precision laser technology. And it is equipped with an industrial-grade CO2 sensor. Moreover, it can measure temperature and humidity precisely.
The smart home integration technology in this monitor is among the best on the list. It connects users with an App using the smartphone and sends alerts to your smartphone when the air quality reaches a certain level. But this product stands out because it allows you to compare the quality of indoor air to that of outdoor air.
It allows you to check your air quality history, it gives you a real sign of how effective the actions you are taking to improve air quality are. For example, if you are using an air purifier in your home, you should be able to see a marked difference after a few days.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to read LED display. Indicates weather and outdoor air quality. High precision for PM2.5 and CO2 measurements. It can be used with or without a smartphone. | A bit pricey |
Netatmo Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor
Netatmo is another reliable and well-built indoor air quality monitor you can buy. One of the first things everyone notices about this product is its looks. It has a sleek cylindrical design, is painted pink, and is barely larger than an iPhone.
No matter where you install it in your home, it will definitely add to the ambiance of the room. It is one of the most efficient air quality monitors on the market and is a perfect option if you want to improve the air quality in your home.
This air quality monitor is different from most available in the market. It does more than simply record air measurements and can be attached with a rain/wind gauge easily to a pole or to a wall. This air monitor gives you real-time information about your home environment right on your smartphone. This air monitor equips 4 sensors to monitor different measurements like air quality, temperature, noise, and humidity. In case of high-level pollution found in the air, you will receive alerts.
The main disadvantage of this product is that it cannot measure VOC or PM2.5 levels. This is all great, but you will probably be wondering how to know VOC and PM2.5 levels. Netatmo does the right tracking job inside your home and comes with a home kit.
However, on the positive side, it measures humidity, temperature, and, oddly enough, noise level. This is the only air quality monitor we have found that has a decibel meter, and it makes us think this product is primarily intended for people with young children. And, in this vein, there are three different modes: All the family, baby, &; Asthmatic.
| Pros | Cons |
| Responds quickly to changes. Easy to use application. Monitors CO2, humidity, temperature and decibels | Does not measure VOC or PM2.5 levels |
How Do We Choose Air Quality Monitors?
Reviews
One of the first things we do when creating our buying guides is read customer reviews. This is a wealth of information about a product that you cannot get by reading the product description and looking at the pictures.
Customers don’t have much interest in lying about the product they’ve purchased, so the review section is filled with honest opinions. We also read comments from other experts to see if they noticed anything we missed.
Price
Air quality monitors typically sell for around $100 to $300. The more money you are willing to pay, the more accurate you can get. The more expensive models also tend to be more attractive, but that is only our opinion. Check out our Best Value and Premium Products options for the lowest and most expensive products.
Quality
You should always look for a high-quality air monitor. It should be made of quality materials and built to last. So you should never have to replace it. The products in this listing are all of the high quality.
Features To Look at When Buying Indoor Air Quality Monitors
Smart Integrations
Some of the more expensive air quality monitors can be controlled using Alexa and other smart home devices. They can also be integrated to be able to turn dehumidifiers, fans, and other air quality devices.
Nightlight
An air quality monitor can also serve as a nightlight. It’s not an essential feature, but it’s definitely a nice addition.
Access To Smartphones And Tablets
Most air quality monitors are accessible from a smartphone or tablet. This allows you to check your readings from anywhere.
LED Display
Some air monitors come equipped with an LED display so you can check your readings without having to access an app.
Air Quality History
It is helpful to see how your air quality has improved or deteriorated over time. This tells you if the steps you are taking to improve it are working.