Airthings Wave Plus - Reviews

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2.11.2019

Sensor technology has evolved considerably in recent years, and what would have been specialist equipment costing thousands of pounds a few years ago is now affordable to the general public. This democratisation of technology is a good thing - it lets us know when our immediate environment is unsafe, and empowers us to make changes.The Airthings Wave Plus is an excellent device, and builds on the success of the Wave (which I purchased a year ago) by adding an additional three sensors. My Wave Plus is mounted in my bedroom, and measures the following:Radon LevelTotal Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC)CO2 concentrationTemperatureHumidityAir PressureTHE APPVia the excellent mobile phone app,all of the above are measured and logged, with current readings given plus average values for the last 48 hours, week, month and year, together with graphs that show you measurement fluctuations for the same choice of intervals. It's a highly detailed and very informative system, and one that allows you to build up a picture of how and why your air quality is changing. I use this system not only for ensuring the air I breathe is safe, but for building maintenance too, controlling damp in my period property.PRIVACY CONCERNSAll that data being logged is transferred to the cloud and stored, via the app. Over time, and as users multiply, this data set will become a valuable resource for Airthings, who will be able to commercialise the information. I'm not suggesting that it will happen in this case, but we all need to be aware of the possible consequences from the data we give away daily. Could a historical log of high radon, moisture or TVOC levels in your home or neighbourhood affect medical or home insurance for instance? Might it affect the value of your property? I'd like the option of opting out of data sharing for the Wave Plus, with data logs stored privately on my device. If this is a concern to you I'd point you towards non connected detectors such as the Airthings Corentium Home radon detector (I own several and they're excellent)THE DEVICEIt's small and neat, looking very much like a standard smoke detector. Measuring 120mm wide x 40mm thick it mounts magnetically to a baseplate that can be screwed to any suitable surface. A quick traffic-light style visual indication of air quality can be read from the device by waving your hand near the front mounted proximity detector. The product shots make it look like the thing glows at you all the time but this is not so, thankfully, so it's suitable for a bedroom.Full functionality requires the use of a smartphone app to access readings and graphs, and the detector links via Bluetooth. The reason that WiFi isn't used is power consumption, which can be up to 40 times greater and would eat the batteries alive.WHAT DOES IT MEASURE?Of the 6 readings given the most important to me personally is radon. Radon is a radioactive gas that leaches naturally from the soil, and is present in all homes. If it builds up it poses a real risk to health, and is a major cause of lung cancer in non smokers. This detector gives a timely indicator of danger and prompts you to open windows and ventilate the gas away during peak events. Radon emission is very sporadic and can be low for weeks followed by sudden very high levels. So a bit like NASA with its sun spot detectors, knowing when these events are occurring can help to significantly reduce the risk posed. Every home should have a radon detector in my opinion, and the cost of this device is worth it for this measurement alone. I've watched members of my family die of cancer, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.Volatile organic compounds are chemicals released by the off-gassing of carpets, some plastics, engineered wood products like MDF, paint, air fresheners and anything with an added chemical scent. Limonene (lemon scent) in particular is a common household pollutant that decays to form formaldehyde. VOC's have been shown to be a risk factor in asthma and other respiratory conditions (especially in children), heart attack, stroke and lung cancer. Common consensus is that we are far healthier if we avoid them.Carbon dioxide is a waste product exhaled from our lungs as we breathe. A build up of it indoors leads to headache, poor concentration, poor quality sleep, drowsiness and generally feeling groggy. I've found this detector a very useful reminder that simply opening a window can make a big difference to how I feel. Two people sleeping in an unventilated bedroom can easily find themselves spending a third of their lives breathing six or seven times the concentration of carbon dioxide than there is in fresh air!Temperature and humidity are useful to know, but of less importance to me personally. Air pressure is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned - I have no control over that.CONCLUSIONSMy only disappointment is that a particulate sensor is not included, as this is arguably more relevant to health than temperature, humidity and air pressure combined. I'm not the only reviewer to say this, and perhaps Airthings might consider creating a fully featured device at a future date, with split particulate readings - I think it would be very successful, and I'd certainly be a buyer. In the meantime, the Airthings Wave Plus represents very good value for money and is currently the best on the market in my opinion, so despite the lack of a dust sensor still worth a solid five stars for the service it performs. Even if it's just for the peace of mind from knowing your homes radon levels, I thoroughly recommend investing in one. What price the safety of your family?

30.9.2019

I've enjoyed testing the Airthings Wave Plus for the last week or so. As you'll see from the photo, I have built up a little collection of air quality monitors. I hope this shows how attractive and unobtrusive it is compared to others that are available. It's like a small smoke detector in size and to look at, and, if you wave your hand over it, it glows green if the air is of good quality, and so on.I bought my first meter a good while back now, spurred on by learning that some of the streets in the town where I live have some of the worst air pollution in the country. Luckily, we live on a hill away from the town centre and its heavy traffic and our air quality regularly measures as "good".The Airthings is proving to be a very good product,as it should be for the high asking price. It seems to me that it is as accurate as matters in what it measures, and, within reason, gives similar results to my other devices. I’ve learned that worrying whether CO2 levels, for example, are being accurately measured when one device shows, for example, 650ppm and another shows 850ppm doesn’t matter. What matters is that both show when levels are really high (say 1200ppm) and indicate it’s time to open a window to let in some fresh air. Measurement of chemicals in the air (VOCs) is an area where all of my meters tell a different story but, again, within reason, they do work well enough to show when a window needs to be opened. I gather that professional monitors cost thousands, so these amateur versions are not in the same league – but surely do work well enough to advise when fresh air is needed.Unlike any other meter of this kind, the Airthings Wave Plus measures radioactivity levels (detected as radon gas). Depending on where you live, this might or might not be very useful. Despite living on a granite-laden area, where I gather radon can easily be a problem, I was relieved that there is next to no radioactivity in our house. Whew!The unit differs from others also in that it operates on a pair of AA batteries, so it has no plug and trailing wires. That is a real boon when so many electric sockets are filled with this and that these days; it also means it can be put anywhere and, being so attractive and small, it will always be unobtrusive.I've knocked off a star partly because it cannot measure the fine dust micro-particles that are a real issue in our modern air quality, those that once gave rise to the London smogs, for example, but now are emitted by such as diesel engines and wood-burner stoves, etc.. The unit also has no wi-fi link, only Bluetooth, which means the app only works when you are at home. This latter isn't a major issue, and is probably why it will work without a mains connection.Overall, this is an expensive device, but then none are cheap. No cheaper product measures CO2 levels, and this one does (the otherwise excellent Netatmo weather station’s indoor module does this, but it doesn’t measure any other aspect of air quality). CO2 is a useful measurement in my view, not that carbon dioxide is in any way dangerous to health, but it can easily bring the air quality to levels that create stuffiness and tiredness. It’s useful to know what is causing this in a room, and when to open a window. It also – uniquely – measures radioactivity as well as VOC, humidity, temperature, and air pressure. I do wish it measured fine particles, as I’ve mentioned. I’m surprised it doesn’t.Overall, this is an excellent product and won’t disappoint, for sure.