Air sensors & air meters in comparison

Nitrogenous or polluted indoor air promotes complaints such as headaches, fatigue or poor concentration. Serious contamination can even trigger allergies or chronic diseases. Air measuring devices analyze the air components and draw attention to bad air.

There are many suppliers for air measuring devices on the market.

Air sensors under test: Which is the best measuring device?

If you are thinking about purchasing a smart air meter, you should answer the following questions in advance:

Which measurements do you want to perform with the device? Which sensors do you need?
What should happen in case of bad air? Do you need warnings: e.g. audible, visual, push or mail?
Would you like advice (in person or electronically) to address the air quality problems you may have discovered?
Where and how do you want to place the device?

Smart air meters usually offer an app for evaluating the air analysis, which can be downloaded from the iOS and Android app stores. Most smart meters can also be integrated into the smart home and used to control ventilation, etc., or even - at least partially - by voice.

It is therefore worthwhile to compare the functions of the air measuring devices with your own wishes before buying. Should it rather be an entry-level device for sporadic use or "just to try it out" or is it about serious measurements. In our comparison test, we present the advantages and disadvantages of the air measuring devices from the following suppliers: Awair, Uhoo, Airthings, Amazon and air-Q.

What we noticed about the air meters - in comparison

Awair

Awair can analyze seven measured values: Temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), particulates, noise level and light intensity. The device uses an LED display and a three-level color scale to indicate the range in which the air quality is moving. On the front of the device, LED bars indicate the quality of the air. The color dot shows the user the general quality of the air in the room: good, okay or poor. The bars indicate an approximation of the measured value. This works well for the number of measurands offered and is clear. We really like the design of the Awair.

Unfortunately, the smartphone app only provides an evaluation in the form of graphs for one day - other time periods (e.g. several days, weeks or even just hours) cannot be selected. The air meter gives tips on the development of the measured values and the air quality. Here, the values can be compared with those from the previous day. The app is clearly structured so that the user can directly see how the measured values are in each case. However, the app and all texts and analyses are only in English.

Integration into a smart home is possible with the Awair, because there are various connections for: IFTTT, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.

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Uhoo

Compared to the Awair, the Uhoo offers significantly more sensors: temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, VOC, barometric pressure, ozone, particulates and nitrogen dioxide.

There is no LED display or other optical signals on the device itself that show the air quality. In the event of a sharp increase in the measured values, the user receives a notification on the smartphone. The measured values and notification thresholds are already set up in advance, so users cannot change or adjust them. The measured values and their development can be displayed graphically for the periods "current day", "two hours", "entire day" and "entire month". An individual selection is not possible.

Uhoo provides a lot of information about the readings, explains the limits and what to do in general if they are exceeded. However, users only receive tips on the individual measured values if they have concluded a subscription contract.

The Uhoo is suitable for smart home providers IFTT, Alexa, Google Home, Mediola and AirTeq.

Airthings

Airthings offers seven readings in the largest version of the meter: radon, particulates, carbon dioxide, humidity, temperature, VOC and air pressure. Controlled by a gesture control on the device, the air meter displays air quality via an LED display and a three-level color scale. Actually well intended, but not useful in practice, as you always have to stand up and walk over to see the color scale.

As with the Uhoo, warning messages appear when a limit is reached. However, neither the measured values nor the limits for the notifications can be customized on this device, which is a pity.

The device also integrates a pollen warning function that receives data from the Internet, i.e. there is no pollen sensor or similar. For this information, users must specify their location and receive information on the general pollen load. Users get a graphical evaluation on the readings for the following time periods: 48 hrs, week, month or year. The application does not offer a more granular display. A connection to the smart home works with IFTTT, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

The biggest difference to the other devices is the battery operation. All other measuring devices presented here use a wired power supply. Airthings relies on a Bluetooth connection instead of a WLAN connection, which is much more power-efficient and allows battery operation. At the same time, however, the Airthings cannot be used to retrieve data via the Internet without an additional bridge. The wireless range of Bluetooth is also significantly lower than that of WLAN.

Amazon

In comparison with the competitors, Amazon's air sensor appears to be the entry-level device. It only offers five measured variables: particulates, VOC, carbon monoxide, humidity as well as temperature. The Amazon air meter does not include a CO₂ sensor. However, carbon dioxide is the main indicator to know when to ventilate and has become virtually standard. Users also do not receive any tips regarding the collected measurement data.

Amaon sensors as icons and with short description text — The air meter from Amazon covers the basic need for sensors.

On the device, the air quality is displayed with an LED in three colors. However, if limit values are exceeded, there is no separate notification. A graphical evaluation is possible for the period "hour", "day" and "week". No date can be entered. To see past values, users have to click backwards through the measurement days. This is rather impractical for handling. Using the Alexa app makes device setup very easy. This is also the only smart home integration offered.

air-Q

With 14 dedicated sensors and two additional virtual sensors, the air-Q offers most of the measured variables as well as additional indexes for health and potential virus load. In addition, the device can be expanded with other additional sensors, some of which are special. All sensors are plugged in and can be exchanged. The air-Q is the only device that measures in real time with a measuring frequency of 2 seconds - all other air measuring devices in this comparison are in the range of several minutes.

For data evaluation, any time period, from minutes to years, can be selected completely freely; however, this is only one function of the Profi Chart Module. Individual alarm limits for a notification (acoustic, optical, mail or push) can be defined for each measured variable. To be able to quickly evaluate the many values, there is the health index and the performance index. The digital health advisor then provides individual tips for improvement. On the measuring device itself, thanks to 18 LEDs and two displays, the development of the air quality or individual measured values can be read and individually set.

When it comes to integration into the smart home, the air-Q is one of the leaders. The integration of the providers IFTT, Home Assistant, openHAB, FHEM as well as Homey ioBroker and others is possible through the open interface. The special feature: The integration is also possible locally, since the air-Q also works without the Internet, collects, stores and transmits data.

Listing logos smart home provider — The air-Q air meter can be connected to various smart home providers.

The weak point is still the missing or unsatisfactory implementation of Alexa. Unfortunately, Amazon does not allow addressing all available sensors due to limitations of its own platform, since only standard modules for temperature and humidity exist. We hope that Amazon will remove these restrictions in the future. This would benefit all providers and the air-Q skill would finally be fully usable.

The air-Q with its different variants (air-Q light, basic, pro and science) is aimed at ambitious users, serious gas measurement enthusiasts and professionals. For this, it is also one of the most price-intensive devices in comparison, but offers a variety of sensors and upgradeable sensors for special applications. The app is the most versatile. All applications are available in German as well as in English and French. Quality made in Germany.

Conclusion comparison air sensors

Depending on the model, you can measure different parameters. If you want to get the most comprehensive information about the components of your indoor air and the development of air quality, you should choose an air sensor that can take several measurements at the same time.