According to EPA, the concentration of pollutants is 2-5 times more indoors than outdoors. To breathe in a healthy environment, you need to make sure your home is contaminant-free. You can use air quality monitors to assess the quality of air indoors.
What Type of Pollutants Can Be Found Indoors?
The detrimental indoor environment is usually the joint venture of smoke, gases, dust mites, and pet dander. Breathing in this unhealthy environment can lead to lung issues, asthma attacks, and an increased probability of heart attacks, especially in people with heart disorders.
Furthermore, VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) from adhesives and cleaning products can cause headaches, nausea, irritation in the eyes and throat, and damage to the nervous system, liver, or kidneys.
Gases like carbon dioxide and silent killer (carbon monoxide) are also present in indoor environments and can cause damage to health. You can take preventive measures only if you are aware of their presence.
What Can Air Quality Monitors Detect?
You can’t even imagine the types of pollutants residing in the air inside your home. Air quality monitors give you an insight into the quality of the indoor air by detecting these toxic particles.
Among different types of contaminants, air quality monitors can successfully detect the following.
Particulate Matter
The dust and smoke in the air are collectively named particulate matter. Besides its presence, its size also matters a lot.
Based on the size, they can be categorized as PM10, PM0.1, and PM2.5. In recent studies, PM 2.5 is regarded as the most harmful type of particulate matter. It contributes to premature mortality.
Air quality monitoring devices help you detect the presence of particulate matter in your home.
Indoor Gases
There can be a lot of harmful gases in your home. Carbon dioxide is an ordinary gas. However, higher concentrations of CO2 can lead to eyes and nose infections.
Similarly, carbon monoxide is a silent killer. It has no color or smell, and it can silently drag you close to miserable health conditions.
Air quality monitors can detect the presence of harmful gases in the atmosphere. Other than CO2 and CO, they can also sense nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, ammonia, and TVOCs.
VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
As mentioned above, you use numerous products in your home that can release VOC in the atmosphere, such as surface cleaners, paints, and adhesives. They can cause grave damage to human health if inhaled for an extensive period.
To limit their repercussions, air quality monitoring devices warn you about their increasing concentration in your home.
How Does an Air Quality Monitor Work?
Air quality monitor devices have sensors implanted in them. These sensors keep track of the composition of indoor air. These sensors can measure the presence of different particles in air, mold growth, the concentration of harmful gases, humidity, and temperature of the air.
These monitors display warnings if they sense any need to clean the air. Different types of air quality monitors can detect contaminants to different extents.
What to Consider When Buying Air Quality Monitors for Home?
So you have decided to buy an air quality monitor for your home! That is a great decision. However, be careful while executing this decision.
All air quality monitors are not equal. You have to buy one according to your requirements.
Consider the following factors when you are buying an air quality monitor for your home.
Accuracy
Air quality monitor devices for homes are not similar to the ones used for monitoring in laboratories. Laboratory monitors are very advanced. However, consumer-oriented monitors should be accurate enough to warn you about the contaminants present indoors.
Check the precision of the air quality monitor when you are buying it. Some are specifically designed for detecting VOCs, others for particulate matters. You will also come across all-in-one options. Whatever you are opting for, validate its accuracy.
Ease of Use
Consumer-oriented air quality monitors are designed to fulfill the needs of people. Therefore, it should be user-friendly, and the interface should be simple. Numerous air quality monitors feature high-tech designs. You can connect them with Wi-Fi and operate them through your phone.
While buying an air quality monitor, choose the one that is easy to use.
Best Air Quality Monitors for Home
To narrow down your research, here are a few best air quality monitors for homes.
Best Air Quality Monitor Overall – Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor
Along with an interactive design and user-friendly interface, the functionality of this monitor is also up to the mark. It can detect all types of pollutants, such as HCHO & VOC concentration, PM of all sizes, humidity, and temperature.
It is portable and allows you to perform real-time analysis of the quality of the atmosphere around you.
Best Air Quality Monitor for PM2.5 Detection – Tempto M10 Indoor Air Quality Monitor
It comes with an accurate sensor and is considered best for the detection of PM2.5. Besides, it can also detect VOCs, humidity, and HCHO concentrations.
With a large LCD and a long battery life, it is an ideal option for indoor air quality monitoring.
Best Air Quality Monitor for VOC Detection– Eve Room Indoor Air Quality Monitor
It is famous for its exceptional ability to detect VOCs. Its real-time stats notify you when there is a need to ventilate the indoors. The long battery life makes it user-friendly.
It also allows you to take a look at the previous detections by saving them. Besides, it also forecasts future air quality.
Conclusion
People spend most of their time at home. To avoid the repercussions of air pollution, you need to examine the air quality of your home. For this purpose, you can use air quality monitors.
Though they aren’t 100% efficient, they can detect the contaminants in the atmosphere. They are of different types; you can choose one based on your requirements.
If your primary concern is the detection of PM2.5, you can buy Tempto M10. However, if you want a multifunctional air quality monitor that can detect all types of pollutants, you can check out Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor.
Whatever you are buying, make sure it is functional and can help you breathe in healthy pollutant-free air.