Healthy Indoors Magazine
Issue link: https://hi.healthyindoors.com/i/917400
28 | HOUSE WHISPERER —November/December 2017 • Good and Bad — A good device informs intuitively what a good or bad reading is. What are the thresholds? • Onboarding — Teaches you how the device and soft- ware work, preferably in small bites. • Good Apps — Intuitive app and/or web app for analysis. • Wifi Connection — This may seem obvious, but several devices only have a BlueTooth connection. One needs a cable. This is the internet of things, people. Get your things on the internet. • Visual Cues — With a glance at the device you should intuitively have an idea of how your air quality is at that moment, without having to open the app. • Behavior — Logging and asking for tags helps you un- derstand what behaviors are causing spikes, i.e. cooking, cleaning, rush hour traffic, or high humidity. • In & Out — Helps you understand the relationship and difference between indoor and outdoor environments. For example, when is it ok to open windows? When is it better to keep them closed and turn on the AC? • Trends — Help you understand trends over days, weeks, months, and even years. Summer and winter will likely be different for IAQ, and tracking over time helps you under- stand this. • Do I Need to Act? — 'Nuff said. • Planning — What factors are a problem in your home so you can begin to formulate a plan to solve them. If an air pollution detector has all of these attributes, it should be useful to homeowners (and pros) trying to diagnose Indoor Air Quality problems in their homes. Done well, homeowners should have a pretty good understanding of what factors need a solution and potentially what to try first. The device may even suggest contacting a building science pro. For pros like myself, there are a few more things that I'd like to see: • Advanced Visualization — An upgraded web app that lets me slice and dice the timeframes and readings. This is important for helping figure out what's going on in a client's home. • Diagnostics Usefulness — Enough well-calibrated sen- sors to help diagnose problems rather than leave me scratching my head and looking for more data. • Comparing Multiple Monitors — I like to place multiple monitors in client homes, one on each floor and one out- side if possible. That way I can watch for weird patterns and also splits in temperature. If the second floor is much hotter than the first in summer, there is a problem that needs to be diagnosed and solved. • Easy Access to Multiple Clients — I don't want to mess around with multiple logins. Having to save and access more than one username and password for any site is a pain in the neck. I want to be able to access multiple clients with just a few clicks. So, how do I feel the devices stack up on Software and Visualization? Here's my comparison: Results - Understanding Basically, the Foobot cleans up. It simply doesn't have a weakness in this aspect aside from no consumer desktop app. The mobile app is very powerful; it sends notifications of pollutant spikes, the simple visual cue of blue/orange Consumer Indoor Air Quality Monitors Comparison Software and Visualization Product Cost Diagnostics Usefulness Connection Visual Cue On Unit Email Onboarding Mobile App Desktop App Pro App* Viewing Multiple Clients Overall Air Mentor 6 in 1 $219 D Blue Tooth D – B – – – C– Awair $199 F Wifi B – B – Not Tested – C Dylos DC1100 $260 A USB B – – C (PC only) – – B– Hobo MX1101 $135 A Blue Tooth B – B+ – – – B+ Foobot $199 A Wifi A A A – A A A NetAtMo $149 A Wifi D – A A – B A Speck $149 B Wifi B – C A– – – B+ – = Not Available ** Professional application refers to an app that can be used to view multiple clients with ease and that may have additional diagnostic usefulness.