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Yeah unfortunately they are not cheap; I have two, both by Airthings. I first purchased the Corentium version [shows a 1 day, 7 day and lifetime average], and m
by verelo 9y ago
Yeah unfortunately they are not cheap; I have two, both by Airthings. I first purchased the Corentium version [shows a 1 day, 7 day and lifetime average], and most recently the "Wave" product [graphs the details over time, also tracks temperature and humidity, transmits results to an app via bluetooth].
I actually went to the effort of decompiling the source code to their Android app as I want to integrate the Wave product to my SmartThings hub so i can automatically ventilate if levels go too high. I find my radon levels build up from around 60 to 200bq/m^3 over time [takes about a month], and my basement walk out opening for 15 minutes once a month tends to lower them < 100bq/m^3 again. The goal i have is to intercept the BT traffic and send it to SmartThings from there over an internet connection or local wifi, ideally automating turning on a vent to the outside that is located near the ground level.
I also learnt a while back that different countries have different levels of "acceptable" radon in residential properties. Currently Canada has a limit set pretty high compared to the rest of the world (200bq/m^3), where as most European countries are suggesting < 100bq/m^3. I found that in the code they consider this when deciding what colour LED to show on the device: https://gist.github.com/ndroo/384bceeb16d771757b6996bd28001d8c https://gist.github.com/ndroo/384bceeb16d771757b6996bd28001d...
The level's they use i personally find a little irresponsible, I'd prefer they pick reliable research (1) and go by that. Experts in Canada acknowledge our recommended levels are out of date and need changing, hopefully an update comes soon that lowers what is acceptable. For now, I've told the app I live in France.
Here is a snippet that I find interesting from the study:
"Radon levels greater than Health Canada’s acceptable limits (of 200 Bq/m3) for the naturally occurring but cancer-causing gas were detected in all areas, with one in eight containing dangerously high radon levels between 200 and an astounding 3,441 Bq/m3. The World Health Organization estimates that the relative lifetime risk of lung cancer increases by 16 per cent for every 100 Bq/m3 of chronic radon exposure. Surprisingly, the scientists found that newer homes, built within the past 25 years, contained substantially higher radon gas levels compared to older homes."
The goal of Airthings states they want "to make radon sensors as common as smoke alarms". I don't know how many lives per year smoke alarms save, i imagine a lot, i would guess if everyone had one of these we would see a massive public health spend drop in relation to lung cancer treatments.
Expensive, but hopefully they get cheaper with time. If you can afford one, get one.
(1) http://cmajopen.ca/content/5/1/E255.full http://cmajopen.ca/content/5/1/E255.full