Air Quality Monitors

Discover the Best Air Quality Monitors for your Smart Home.

If you're a health-conscious person, you already know how vital clean air is. Breathing in pollutants can lead to numerous health problems and significantly reduce your quality of life.

By adding a high-quality air monitor to your smart home, you can keep a constant eye on the air quality in your living space. When paired with Homey, you'll always have the information you need to take action and maintain a healthy environment.

How to choose a good air quality monitor

Different air quality monitors can detect various gasses and pollutants in your environment. While some sensors are nice to have, others are essential for preventing long-term health issues. With that in mind, here’s what you should consider when choosing an indoor air quality monitor:

• Types of Pollutants Detected: Ensure the monitor can detect key pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and other harmful gasses. Choosing a sensor that monitors pollutants beyond these requires an analysis of your environment. Otherwise, you might end up spending money unnecessarily.
• Accuracy and Sensitivity: Look for a monitor with high accuracy and sensitivity to provide reliable data. For individuals with pre-existing health conditions, even a small change in readings can be crucial, allowing you to act accordingly.
• Additional Features: Some monitors come with extra features such as humidity and temperature sensors, dew point and absolute humidity calculators as well as noise detectors. These are not essential for monitoring the air quality of your living space, but are a nice addition. Evaluate the added value and compare it to the price increase, as highlighted in our article.
• Price and Value: Assess the cost of the monitor in relation to its features and accuracy. More expensive models often offer better accuracy and additional features, but there are also budget-friendly options that provide good basic monitoring. Consider the price-to-features ratio outlined in our Best Buy Guide.

Brand	Model	Protocol	Temperature	Humidity	Pressure	CO2	CO	PM	VOC	Radon	Price
Air-Q	Basic	Wi-Fi									€419.00
AirThings	View Plus	Wi-Fi									€210.00
Aqara	TVOC	Zigbee									€44.99
Aranet4	Home	Bluetooth									€169.00
Awair	Element	Wi-Fi									€209.00
Eurotronic	Air Quality Sensor	Z-Wave									€99.99
Frient	Air Quality Sensor	Zigbee									€57.95
Ikea	Vindstyrka	Zigbee									€39.99
MCO Home	A8-9	Z-Wave									€228.00
Netatmo	Weather Station	Wi-Fi									€189.99

The Air-Q Basic is a high-quality air monitor equipped with specialized sensors to provide a comprehensive assessment of your indoor air quality. This model measures temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, air pressure, and particulate matter in sizes of 1.0, 2.5, and 10.0 microns. 

It can also calculate the dew point and absolute humidity of its surroundings, giving you access to data about the total amount of water vapor in the air. This makes the Air-Q Basic highly suitable for use in greenhouses, gardens, closely monitored wine cellars, and basements, as well as for helping people with asthma and allergy management.

Thanks to a clever algorithm, the Air-Q Basic can generate indexes and notify you whenever there are possible risks of mold, active pollutants, or simply send you a notification when the preset thresholds are exceeded for any sensor. Additionally, the Air-Q Basic is equipped with a set of LEDs that act as visual indicators based on the current air quality, ranging from simple warning colors to full red alarm colors.

The Air-Q Basic is powered by an USB-C adapter, uses Wi-Fi to connect to your home network and pair with Homey. It’s a premium device and thus comes at a premium price, costing upwards of 400 eur. For the really health-conscious individuals, Air-Q offers the Pro version which measures radon, ozone, oxygen levels and much more.

The AirThings View Plus is a beautiful and modern looking air quality monitor. It displays data on a 2.9” e-paper display, allowing you to quickly glance at the readings from any angle and distance.

Looking at the View Plus’s screen, you would assume it only measures two air pollutants. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as the View Plus is a very capable air quality monitor, measuring radon, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air pressure, as well as temperature and humidity.

Radon is rarely monitored in a home environment, but long-term exposure to this radioactive gas is the top cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The primary source of Radon is rock and soil decay, building materials as well as natural gas.

The AirThings View Plus can be powered by USB-C or make it portable with 6xAA batteries and move it around your home. It integrates really well in Homey, allowing you to create alarms with Flows for all its sensors. However, one drawback of the View Plus is the inability to customize reading thresholds; alarms trigger only when measurements surpass preset limits.

If you are looking for a simple air quality monitor, the Aqara TVOC is a budget-friendly option that you need to consider. Like most Aqara devices, the TVOC uses Zigbee to communicate with Homey Bridge or Homey Pro, enabling a completely local connection.

The Aqara TVOC measures temperature, humidity and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC). The latter includes various gasses that form a general index of the overall air quality, including cooking gasses, fire and burning smoke, candle fumes, aerosol and formaldehyde sprays, and several others.

The temperature, humidity, and TVOC readings are displayed on a simple e-ink display, allowing you to check the current state from a distance. TVOC levels can be shown simply as a number in ppb (parts per billion) or as an index on a scale from 1-5, displayed neatly with leaves.

The TVOC air quality monitor uses two button cell batteries with a lifespan of 1 year. Thanks to its magnetic back, it can be mounted on a metal surface or installed on a wall with a sticker. It integrates perfectly with Homey, allowing you to monitor the air quality as well as current battery level of the device.

The Aqara TVOC updates its readings at irregular intervals, which makes it unsuitable for users who need frequently updated real-time data.

The Aranet4 Home Air Quality Monitor measures essential air quality parameters: CO2 concentration, relative humidity, temperature, and atmospheric pressure. It primarily functions as a carbon dioxide-focused air quality sensor, enabling you to monitor the current level within your Homey Pro.

The Aranet4 utilizes a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor to measure CO2 levels. This CO2 reading method offers higher precision than regular electrochemical sensors, as it uniquely detects carbon dioxide with no interference from other gasses. Furthermore, an NDIR sensor has a much longer lifespan and requires less recalibration than other sensors.

Powered by a set of AA batteries, the Aranet4 boasts an excellent battery life of 4 years! The low-power e-ink display used to showcase the readings only bolsters its case as a long-life, battery-powered air quality monitor.

The Aranet4 Home uses Bluetooth to communicate with your Homey Pro, allowing you to create Flows based on the current temperature, humidity, air pressure, or carbon dioxide readings. The battery level can also be monitored in Homey.

The Aranet4 is priced higher than comparable models, but the investment could be well worth it if you require a premium carbon dioxide sensor.

The Awair Element is one of the most well-known and tested air quality monitors on the market. It can measure carbon dioxide levels, TVOC, particulate matter 2.5, temperature, humidity, as well as current illuminance levels.

Designed with a sleek and minimalistic touch, the case of the Awair Element blends seamlessly with any home decor. Data is displayed on an integrated LED matrix, adding a modern vibe while discreetly housing powerful air quality monitoring technology inside.

The Awair Element connects to your home network via Wi-Fi and seamlessly integrates with Homey Pro. All sensors are accessible through the app, allowing you to create Flows and alarms based on current readings. Additionally, the Element generates an aggregated air quality index based on all available data.

To power all sensors and its display, the Awair Element uses a wired USB-C adapter. While it will certainly enhance the aesthetics of your living space, the display may be difficult to read unless you are very close to it.

The Eurotronic Air Quality is a German-made monitor that measures carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, temperature, and humidity. It’s available in Z-Wave and Zigbee variants, both compatible with Homey Bridge and Homey Pro.

The Eurotronic is equipped with a set of LEDs on its front, ranging from green to red, used to indicate the current levels of CO2 and VOC. It uses a plug-in power supply and can be attached to a wall, ceiling, or mounted with the included stand.

Once paired with Homey, all readings are transmitted as absolute values, allowing you to set your own thresholds for alarms. For instance, you can create a Flow that triggers a custom sound on a speaker when the CO2 reading exceeds 800 ppm.

The main drawback of the Eurotronic Air Quality Sensor is that it doesn’t utilize a dedicated carbon dioxide sensor, but rather something called CO2eq. This method estimates CO2 levels based on the VOC sensor, a technique commonly used in gyms and offices where exact values aren’t crucial. It may be good enough to tell you when you need to open a window, but not much beyond that.

Similar to the Aqara TVOC model, the Frient Air Quality Sensor is an excellent choice for monitoring total volatile organic compounds in your living space. It uses Zigbee to communicate with Homey Bridge and Homey Pro, allowing you to use the readings in Flows.

In addition to VOC, the Frient Air Quality monitor also tracks temperature and humidity, providing the user with a basic overview of the current ambient air quality. By default, it reports its values every 5 minutes, which is sufficient for most users.

The Frient Air Quality is powered by two AA batteries and has an excellent lifespan of two years. Its battery level can be monitored in Homey, triggering a simple alarm when it requires replacement.

Measuring 7cm in length and width and only 2.1cm thick, this device is one of the smallest air quality sensors on our list. However, it comes with a higher price tag compared to other models that solely measure TVOC, resulting in a less favorable price-to-features ratio.

The IKEA Vindstyrka is a nifty device at a very affordable price tag, a great choice for monitoring indoor air quality. It measures temperature, humidity, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and even particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), giving you the lowdown on your indoor environment.

The main sensor used to measure particulate matter is made by Sensirion, a Swiss manufacturer known for producing very accurate air quality sensors. Its value is pushed to Homey, keeping you constantly informed about your indoor air quality.

The Vindstyrka uses Zigbee to pair with Homey Bridge and Homey Pro, acting as a router in a mesh network. It’s powered by an USB-C cable and adapter, eliminating the need for frequent battery changes.

All data is displayed on a well-designed LCD screen, so you can get a quick overview when passing by. The display is not the best of quality and has limited viewing angles, somewhat remedied with the backlight behind it.

The IKEA Vindstyrka is an accurate air quality monitor that won’t break the bank. Even compared to currently existing ‘affordable’ options, it undercuts most of them significantly.

If you prefer adding Z-Wave devices to your smart home, consider the MCO Home A8-9 Monitor. This air quality monitor uses a 12V DC adapter for power and pairs with Homey Pro via Z-Wave, while also acting as a network router.

The MCO Home A8-9 is a multi-sensor capable of measuring temperature, humidity, illuminance, smoke, PM2.5, CO2, VOC, and noise levels. It is also equipped with a PIR motion sensor that can be used independently in Homey as a Flow trigger.

The A8-9 multi-sensor displays all data on a 3.5-inch TFT screen, organized in a table-like layout. Every measurement is present on the screen at all times, so you don’t have to cycle through the menu. Unfortunately, the display is of mediocre quality and has poor viewing angles, so you need to be very close to read it clearly.

All measurements are available in Homey as values, triggering a set of alarms when the preset thresholds are surpassed. You can use these values to develop more Advanced Flows or simply trigger a sound or light alarm. For example, you can set Homey to blink your LED strip in red when the PM2.5 value exceeds 10μg/m3, prompting you to react and air the place out.

Even though the MCO Home A8-9 has a relatively high price tag, its comprehensive sensor set and Z-Wave communication method justify the cost. If you need this type of sensor, the MCO Home A8-9 is an excellent choice.

The Netatmo Weather Station is a premium air quality monitoring system consisting of two units: one for outdoor use and one for indoor use. Both units feature sleek aluminum monobloc bodies, making them visually identical. The weatherproof outdoor unit can be mounted anywhere, such as on the patio, in the garden, or at your front gate.

The indoor unit monitors air quality in your living space, measuring temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, and noise levels while also generating an air quality index. The outdoor unit tracks outside temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure.

The Netatmo Weather Station’s capabilities can be expanded by adding a smart rain gauge or a smart anemometer. The rain gauge measures real-time rainfall at your home, while the anemometer provides wind information, including strength and gust direction. If you only need indoor monitoring, Netatmo also offers the Home Coach, an independent indoor air quality monitor that measures temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, and provides an air quality index.

The Netatmo Weather Station connects to your home network via Wi-Fi and is fully compatible with Homey. Real-time updates allow you to create live alerts with Homey Flows, keeping you informed about your environment’s air quality.

While there are no hidden subscription fees for using Netatmo’s Weather Station, it’s important to note that it does rely on their cloud service, which may be a drawback for some users.

Final Thoughts

Investing in a reliable air quality monitor is crucial for effectively managing and monitoring indoor air quality. Depending on your specific requirements, you may prioritize certain features over others. While noise level monitoring might not be necessary for you, tracking CO2 and VOC levels is vital.

Regardless of the device you select from our Best Buy Guide, it will integrate seamlessly with Homey, enabling you to stay ahead of the curve. With Homey, you can set up real-time alarms, alerts, and Advanced Flows, ensuring that you are always aware of the quality of air you breathe.