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Ikea Vindriktning Air Quality Sensor Review and Accuracy

495 points by ahaucnx 5y ago

Foivos 5y ago
For the price it is offered, it performs very well. I am not aware of any other PM2.5 sensor at $10. It cheapest I have seen is $40. You can still use it to get a rough idea of your air quality and it is definitely "better than nothing (or not having it)".
- Semaphor 5y ago
  The one they use for their DIY Kit [0] actually costs $16-19 [0] at aliexpress [0]: https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ [1]: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32944660534.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32944660534.html
jansan 5y ago
My takeaway from the article: Buy the sensor, make sure air quality is in the "good" range (green light) and you will be fine. I think I will order a few.
- tdrdt 5y ago
  Exactly. Recently I bought a very cheap CO2 meter. It is inaccurate, but still accurate enough for 99% of the people.
  - TheBlerch 5y ago
    Which CO2 meter did you get, how accurate is it and how much did it cost? Agreed people just need a meter good enough to tell them when air quality isn’t good.
    - tdrdt 5y ago
      The brand is Simr, but I think there are only 3 or 4 meters that are sold as whitelabel and rebranded a thousand times. I think it was around $30. Outside it measures around 400ppm so the base point is good. Inside it measures 480ppm with good ventilation. When someone farts it goes to 2000ppm for a while. So I think it measures 'alright'.
      - mh- 5y ago
        I'd pay $30 for a fart detector. CO2 accuracy would just be a bonus
  - numpad0 5y ago
    Referring to acetone detectors with lousy linear lookup feature as “eCO2 sensor” is infuriating but do I must admit it’s an okay reminder for room occupants to open windows…
- etimberg 5y ago
  Agreed. I think I will buy at least one given that the cost is so low.
- blackbear_ 5y ago
  > Conclusion: [...] However, the defined cut off values for the air quality and its description as “Good”, “OK”, and “Not Good” are not based on science or international recommendations and create the false understanding that the air is good, when in fact it is not good at all.
  - jansan 5y ago
    Considering that the article was basically written by somone who is selling competing products I would take this statement with a truckload of salt.
    - colechristensen 5y ago
      I’m not selling anything and unless the writer is outright lying about the number ranges, I agree with them. The “green” range is way too lenient and the sensor will only help you keep away from really terrible air quality, most people would have it green always while doing nothing at all.
      - jansan 5y ago
        As I understand it "yellow" will indicate better air quality than "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" according to the US standard. I see a difference between "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" and "really terrible air quality" as you describe it.
        colechristensen 5y ago
        There's acutely unhealthy for sensitive groups and there's long term unhealthy for anyone. Convincing reasons exist to think that significantly lower levels than are acutely unhealthy have long term health impacts. On top of that, you don't really need a sensor to know whether or not your air has particulate levels that are acutely unhealthy, you just know it. If you don't care or only want to know if your air is quite bad, sure, buy one of these. I don't think it's a reasonable level, but you do you.
baxuz 5y ago
Oh, I was just about to buy a few.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
Someone1234 5y ago
Informative article with fair, fact based, conclusions. I'd like to add that: - The VINDRIKTNING is extremely consumer accessible ($11.99, good build, simple traffic light system). - It may be put into spaces that previously had no particulate air quality monitoring. - The spouse-acceptance-factor is extremely high (unlike e.g. a couple of circuit boards wired together off of Aliexpress). There are other consumer friendly offerings, but they aren't affordable (e.g. Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor 4x cost, Airthings 10x cost). That being said, IKEA could fix their traffic-light system's cut off points for free and should consider it.
- LeanderK 5y ago
  I think being low-cost is very important, otherwise I wouldn't consider it. I don't live near a major road, but in a small city. I don't think the air-quality is bad, but I also don't know for sure. I would not invest a significant amount of money (more than 10-15€).
  - TheBlerch 5y ago
    You may find the Breezometer app helpful - I’ve found it quite accurate for local outdoor air quality in several different areas.
  - Someone1234 5y ago
    I've found a lot of indoor sources of contaminants for example cheese that fell off a Pizza onto the oven floor will put you into "yellow" the next time you run the oven.
- azth 5y ago
  > - The spouse-acceptance-factor is extremely high (unlike e.g. a couple of circuit boards wired together off of Aliexpress). Which circuit boards do you recommend that have high accuracy that can be ordered?
  - ahaucnx 5y ago
    I can recommed the Plantower 5003 PM sensor. Plantower also has smaller ones, e.g. 7003 or A003 but we get the best (most accurate and stable) readings from the 5003 model. We also experienced with more expensive ones e.g. from Sensirion but did not really measure a significant advantage compared to the Plantower.
thecal 5y ago
Direct link to the item: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vindriktning-air-quality-sensor-60515911/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vindriktning-air-quality-sensor...
jerjerjer 5y ago
Anything proven and with a better sensor quality?
ahaucnx 5y ago
Author here. I forgot to mention: With a Wemos D1 mini (ESP8266) MCU that costs around USD 2.00, you can pretty easily make the Vindriktning WiFi connected and get the data to a backend [1]. You just need to solder three wires, and there is enough space within the enclosure to fit the D1 mini inside. This would then allow you to get the exact measurements and to better understand if the "green" is more on the lower end or the higher side. [1] https://github.com/Hypfer/esp8266-vindriktning-particle-sensor https://github.com/Hypfer/esp8266-vindriktning-particle-sens...
- jb1991 5y ago
  It would be great to hear some alternative suggestions for a consumer air quality meter that is accurate, reliable. I.e. are the AirThings products good? Or do you have any other recommendations?
  - samsolomon 5y ago
    I purchased two Airthings View Plus monitors about a month ago. We had a subslab depressurization system installed to mitigate Radon in the basement. The company offered continuous monitoring for $300/yr. Instead I decided to purchase monitors and keep an eye on it myself. It's hard to know how good the products will be long-term, but the app and charting is pretty good. You can download reports via their web dashboard. I've turned off all notifications except for the CO2 monitor. The ePaper screen is legible, but the text is a little rough around the edges. Here's what it tracks: - Radon - PM 2.5 - VOC - CO2 - Humidity - Temperature - Pressure I will say that the View Plus is Airthings most expensive product. If you don't care about PM 2.5 or Radon monitoring, they have significantly cheaper options.
- 404mm 5y ago
  Hi, thanks for the article! Are there any non expensive sensors you could recommend? I care about the indoor air quality but it gets very pricey. I have Awair at home but it covers only one room and the unit runs $300 a piece :(
  - 5y ago
errcorrectcode 5y ago
Nope, just nope. Ikea: purveyors of chemical-laden flat packs and cheap, unrepairable items that don't last. PMS5003 modules are much better (PM1, 2.5, and 10) and only cost $20. PM1 and 2.5 are far more damaging to health than PM10.
- Swenrekcah 5y ago
  Almost all furniture I’ve ever owned has been IKEA. With very few exceptions they have all been very durable. Repairability is excellent because everything is designed to be taken apart by amateurs and spare parts are easily found. They are also easy when moving because they can so easily be taken apart.
  - errcorrectcode 5y ago
    It wouldn't need spare parts if it didn't break. "Very durable" compared to what since you have no experience with anything else? Not solid wood furniture. A table that weighs 8 lbs and costs 10 dollars should only be used on a Hollywood set as breakaway furniture for safety. You sound like you're rationalizing a religious tribe rather than making a rational argument.
    - avh02 5y ago
      > It wouldn't need spare parts if it didn't break I guess you've never lost a single screw in your life.
      - errcorrectcode 5y ago
        Cheap shot. Maybe you shouldn't be commenting today.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - maltalex 5y ago
      > You sound like you're rationalizing a religious tribe rather than making a rational argument. I can't believe that I find myself defending Ikea on HN, but... what? The parent's argument is very rational - in their experience products have been durable, and the repairability high for obvious reasons. What's religious about that? I owned several pieces of Ikea furniture myself, and some were well made out of solid materials. Others were not. Unsurprisingly, the material quality was strongly correlated with the price of the item.
micheljansen 5y ago
The article already mentions connecting a Wemos D1 mini, which lead me to searching for a howto. Stumbled onto this excellent article by my old friend Guy, complete with assembly pictures: https://style.oversubstance.net/2021/08/diy-use-an-ikea-vindriktning-air-quality-sensor-in-home-assistant-with-esphome/ https://style.oversubstance.net/2021/08/diy-use-an-ikea-vind...
- jve 5y ago
  Was super easy to follow instructions and get the same steps done. Can you/your friend point out what kind of lovelace widget is that? Named: Our VINDRIKTNING chart after normal cooking, that helpfully has 3 gradients (green/orange/red)? Thanks.
  - micheljansen 5y ago
    I'd reach out to him on Twitter (he's @guysie there).
rceDia 5y ago
Cheap, easy to use is o.k. not sure of reliability. Another IOT at home air quality solution is Purple Air. Offers units for outdoor or indoor. Not as cheap as IKEA but affordable. https://www2.purpleair.com/ https://www2.purpleair.com/
- micheljansen 5y ago
  $200 for the cheapest model though. That's a factor 20!
dsizzle 5y ago
Does anybody have any stories of how devices like this revealed a problem -- what the problem was, does an air filter fix it, etc?
- dirtyid 5y ago
  I have a xiaomi air purifier with AQ detector. Scrubber seems to to help with allergies. Detector itself is pretty much a glorified smoke detector Tamagotchi toy for me. I haven't found much use for it other than to keep numbers as low / nominal as I can. For which living in a pretty clean part of the city with good air quality means being more mindful when I cook to reduce smoke. That said the high AQ alarm has saved me a couple times from leaving stove top on / burning pots. Kind of paid for itself in that sense.
- colechristensen 5y ago
  You would be surprised how much particulate certain cooking methods produce, your home can go from 0 AQI to forest fire levels for a few hours without a filter. With the right filter and sensor, you can keep your AQI in the single digits consistently and react appropriately to particle buildup. If you have a CO2 sensor as well you can react to CO2 buildup which is something I have experienced plenty of times in a modern apartment (not necessarily dangerous levels but levels high enough that cognitive effects should be expected). It is hard to keep indoor CO2 levels anywhere near outdoor levels without forced ventilation with the outside or living in a large house.
  - dsizzle 5y ago
    Do you have any recs for the right filter and sensor?
    - colechristensen 5y ago
      HEPA filters which include a claim for 99.97% filtration (HEPA is put on a lot of things that are much less useful) Honeywell makes good ones. MPR 2800 furnace filters for the box fan contraption. 3M makes good ones. Your furnace might not appreciate how much they slow down flow. IQAir monitors are unreasonably expensive and IOT nonsense, but still good.
ortusdux 5y ago
Does anyone know how amazon's new unit fares? It monitors PM 2.5, CO, VOCs, temp, & humidity for 70$. I wouldn't buy one considering the source, but I am interested in how effective it is. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W8KS8D3?&linkCode=ll1&tag=androidpolice-20&linkId=94100b6ff8788125941f574f1290c259&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W8KS8D3?&linkCode=ll1&tag=andro...
stdbrouw 5y ago
The choice to display anything under 35 μg/m³ as "good" does not seem unreasonable at first glance. Indoor PM2.5 can often be higher than outdoor so that the yearly average will be pushed down by time spent outside and there is no need to have <5 μg/m³ inside too. Also, by the author's admission the unit also measures particles larger than PM2.5 which are less harmful. There's no point in having a unit that will flash orange or red for almost everyone almost all of the time.
- ahaucnx 5y ago
  As I mentioned in the article it really depends on the length of the exposure and how you use the sensor. Yes in many places in Europe or North America, the outdoor air quality is most of the time good. However -unfortunately- there are also many places where the outdoor air quality is very unhealthy most year round and then an annual exposure to 35 μg/m³ vs 5 μg/m³ makes a big difference.
  - aaron695 5y ago
    > the outdoor air quality is most of the time good. This is the point, knowing when it's bad so you can change behaviour? When does it spike in a forest? You'd guess when it's windy? But is it seasonal? Does dust matter more the pollen, I think pollen is more PM 10. Salt from the sea breeze is bad (PM2.5), how does that mix with leaf matter in Fall? > Indoor PM2.5 can often be higher than outdoor so that the yearly average will be pushed down by time spent outside and there is no need to have <5 μg/m³ inside too. This line form OP is totally incorrect. Indoors should be less than outdoors, unless you have a fire or smoke indoors. And why does "yearly average" matter? Smoking cigarettes (which is exactly the same as what we are talking about) is not about a "yearly average".
- srg0 5y ago
  I think it was a conscious design decision to reduce false alarm rate. Assuming that this low cost device can be/become very inaccurate, then the designers had two choices: 1) Report all alarms as detected. Eventually, the device becomes a red LED which users learn to ignore. 2) Report a problem when the device is reasonably sure there is a problem. Green light does not necessarily mean that the air quality is good, but when the LED becomes red, it should be taken seriously.
punnerud 5y ago
Archived version (from today): https://web.archive.org/web/20211206144732/https://www.airgradient.com/resources/ikea-vindriktning-accuracy/ https://web.archive.org/web/20211206144732/https://www.airgr...
prashnts 5y ago
I have a question since the author is around: My sensor was working fine for a few months. It’s located near the area I smoke, so whenever I’m smoking it changes to red quickly. And after a few minutes (10 or so) it’d go back to green. But for past few weeks it’s stuck at red. I disassembled it and cleaned the intake hole (which is covered with a fabric) and it worked after. However it went back to displaying red again all the time. So my question is whether this sensor needs frequent cleaning? If so what are the alternatives?
- ahaucnx 5y ago
  I don't really have much experience with the PM1006K in the Ikea sensor but it is not untypical that PM sensors can get "stuck" and showing high concentrations. Sometimes it helps to blow compressed air inside to push out any dust that might cover the optics but that also often does not help too much or only temporary.
  - prashnts 5y ago
    Thank you! I’ll try that. Building an airgradient sensor is next in my list of projects!
  - skybrian 5y ago
    I've seen this and rebooting my Temtop sensor seems to help, sometimes.
- renewiltord 5y ago
  Out of curiosity, and with no judgment intended, what is the purpose of the air quality sensor if you are actively smoking? Is it a mechanism for you to determine whether the smoking is exposing other members of the household to second-hand smoke, etc.? I only ask because it seems to me (with no concrete research) that the smoking risk is much greater than generalized air quality risk.
DannyBee 5y ago
I would be very careful with this kind of evaluation. There are lots of sensors that perform well vs reference instruments but not in the field. If you want real evaluations, SCAQMD (the folks in charge of air quality for southern california) do evaluations of commercially available, low cost sensors, both against reference instruments and the lab. See http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations You can see what i said is true from the table - lots of sensors that are very well correlated with reference instruments in the lab, but suck horribly in the field. I would think you would be better off submitting the sensor in question to them, and letting them put it through its paces. (They publish within a month of finishing testing, and testing takes ~8 weeks)
- dognotdog 5y ago
  IMO, the single biggest problem is that even five-figure reference instruments disagree considerably in the 0-20 ug/m3 range, and if you look at the figures of the SCAQMD tests, you won't see much more than noise in the scatter plots in that range, with increasing consistency at larger concentrations. Some of this is due to mismatches in response times and synchronization, but a lot of it is due to different disturbances, noise processes, and varying sensitivities to different particle size distributions in different sensor types. With inexpensive optical scattering sensors, the situation is even worse. While it is easy enough enough to "count" individual 2.5um particles, the scattering equations work out to an order of 10^6 reduction in scattering amplitude, per particle, going down to 0.3um (when measured with red or infra-red light), and different particle compositions will scatter differently. On top of that, the number of particles increases significantly per unit mass concentration, making the signal processing a lot harder once one can't just threshold individual "blips" in the signal. Whether the sensors are particle counting or nephelometric in principle, the basic trade-off is that to see smaller particles, they need higher amplification factors, which in turn increases thermal noise, also amplifies stray light, and makes the device more sensitive to EM interference. Many signal processing pipelines do simplistic noise filtering, throwing out much of the baby with the bathwater. On top of these principal difficulties, the optical scattering type sensors are quite sensitive to temperature variation, and aging of the photoelectronic components, which is why field tests under varied conditions often depress their accuracy even further. Long story short, it is very easy to build a sensor with qualitatively good correlations to actual PM concentration, as long as the PM concentration is sufficiently high, but the health effects have no threshold, and every added bit of pollution counts, starting at zero. Unfortunately, commodity PM sensors are quite bad at quantifying these low, yet meaningful, ambient pollutant levels, which is probably why IKEA chose their traffic light thresholds the way the did: not because of how it relates to health, but because this is what they could do with a $12 device.
deleted 5y ago
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intrasight 5y ago
http://energysmartohio.com/indoor-air-quality/which-indoor-air-quality-monitors-are-best-and-why/ http://energysmartohio.com/indoor-air-quality/which-indoor-a... I've always returned to the Dylos sensor as the gold standard Another good review of sensors: http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations/summary-pm http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations/summary-pm
simonebrunozzi 5y ago
It's almost incredible that for something as "simple" as an air quality sensor, particularly in relation to PM2.5 (the most important metric for most buyers, IMHO), there's no simple answer as: product X costs $50 and provides 99.X% accuracy; product Y costs $200 and provides 99.9X% accuracy. Two years ago, during one of the most intense fire seasons in California, I spent a few hours studying different solutions, and ended up buying a refurbished PurpleAir sensor. It seemed to work great, but I felt it was a bit too expensive for what it was doing, too bulky, and in general not as easy to use for the ordinary person as it should be. Same problem with home air filters - if you want to purify the air in your house, there's too many snake-oil solutions out there, and few that are worth the spending.
- ortusdux 5y ago
  Finding myself in a similar situation with last years fires, I have had great luck with the WINIX air filters sold at costco. I bought 2 on sale for $100/ea. They are 5 staged with HEPA and charcoal filters, have a built-in air quality monitor of unknown quality (I should open one up one of these days), and they have an ok app that allows you to check air quality and adjust their settings. Each unit includes 2 years of filters, and they look to be about $30/year/unit to replace after that.
- hedora 5y ago
  Air filtration and monitoring are a classic market for lemons. Wirecutter has decent-ish tests of air filters, though they assume tiny New York apartments, so you have to dig around a lot to find results for larger units. (From reading their review, you’d think >1000 sq ft homes are unheard of in the US, but the average is closer to 2000 sq ft)
- s0rce 5y ago
  If you have some electronics experience you can buy the Plantower sensors that PurpleAir uses and connect it to a microcontroller, there are guides mentioned in the comments here.
GatorD42 5y ago
The color guides seem similar to the IQAir AirVisual Pro and Apple’s weather app. Like the article mentions this is likely to be inside and most useful for alerting when cooking has caused significant particle emissions, that’s what I use my AirVisual for.
maltalex 5y ago
Say I'm convinced enough to order an AirGradient kit. Is this accurate? Does it take up to 5 weeks for most destinations? > We currently ship approximately 1-2 weeks after receipt of payments. Delivery takes 2-3 weeks to most destinations (North America, Europe, Australia).
- ahaucnx 5y ago
  The shipping times mentioned on the website are a bit conservative and often it is faster. We currently have kits in stock and ship within a few days of orders received. Shipping times really vary depending on destination and are hard to predict but 2-3 weeks is a good estimation.
jve 5y ago
Really glad this was published. I was looking at airgradient solution for PM2.5 monitoring, but while thinking - saw this @ IKEA and bought it. And it is in my short term plan to wire it with Wemos D1 so I plot values and make sense on whether IKEA air purifier helps anything or not. Because if I follow the LEDs, it's chaos - it can be RED for hours with purifier nearby. And the same without purifier - colors just like to change in my house. I have a question about precision: If the precision ±20μg/m³ - isn't it actually normal that they "extend" the green led up to 35μg/m³ then? Because that 12μg/m³ is maybe 32? Uh, looks like not even PMS5003 can reliably show you that green line with a high confidence, doesn't it? Btw here is a nice thread that shows you how to wire it up with Wemos D1 and connect to Home Assistant. People compare their readings with other meters, too. But someone says he bought multiple of those and even those show different numbers. Someone sees IEKA values 10x higher (for lower values, but within specified accuracy) than other sensor https://community.home-assistant.io/t/ikea-vindriktning-air-quality-sensor/324599/168 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/ikea-vindriktning-air-... But at least they FOLLOW the plot of more accurate sensors. I see value in that. I want to know if air purifier helps something or how much it helps.
- genewitch 5y ago
  As a quick aside, both the air quality things I bought say not to rely on instantaneous readings but instead to use the aggregator average reading. One has the ability to show averages and the other is more like "if the value is consistently higher than normal it's probably correctly 'high'" - so unless there's some weirdness in the Ikea one it shouldn't be switching colors unless you are very close to the threshold. It is possible that your air filter shakes or vibrates enough that it's kicking dust up, or you have poor indoor air quality. How often do you have to replace filters and how dirty are they? For reference I live in a forest, with pollen and dirt dust and people and pet dust, poor seals on windows, and open doors/screens, as well as high humidity year round; I buy the 3M 1000-1500 filters which are pretty beefy, and they last about two months before becoming uniformly dark grey on front and back. Ideally I'd replace them monthly but they're about $15 each and that adds up across three filters. I ask because I don't think my system does anything for VOC, I don't use carbon filters for the three, so I'm mostly filtering dust, pollen, clay, etc.
dahart 5y ago
I don’t think using the brand new WHO guidelines is very fair. Not sure when it was released, but regardless this product was likely completely designed and manufactured before the WHO guidelines were published, just a few months ago. Also, Airnow.gov still has a published scale that is worse than the IKEA product. https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/ https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/. Green is 0-50, Yellow is 51-100, Orange 101-150, and Red 151-200.
- ahaucnx 5y ago
  Airnow is using US AQI and not μg/m. US AQI 50 corresponds to approx. 12 μg/m.
  - dahart 5y ago
    Oh thank you, pre-coffee units fail on my part. So I’d guess most air sensors on the market aren’t necessarily classifying their readings into green-good / red-bad, or at least come with a now-outdated chart. Are there sensors that have been released and/or updated to match the new guidelines already?
flybrand 5y ago
I work at H&V - we’re one of the biggest makers of air filter media (the rolled goods / fabrics - not the actual filters). We love seeing the innovation going on in this space - any suggestions on how we could better support this growing awareness of the value of IAQ?
- dribblecup 5y ago
  Sponsor open source code and open source hardware solutions that DIY folks can put together at $300 or below price point. Gold star if you sponsor an independent test of this solution to verify its effectiveness. Bonus points for explaining what matters in terms of testing. Self-serving (which is OK in this context) points for explaining how your product mitigates the problem by demonstrating the DIY metered results.
  - jve 5y ago
    I mean... first of all I would like to hear what are the consequences of good/bad IAQ (Indoor Air Quality?) I'm actually more driven/interested in data/compare it to other folks, but I don't have a clue what does it mean for my health. What's the difference between PM2.5, PM10, PM1, PM0.1. What is TVOC (as in sensor description: benzene,etc Volatile organic compounds), HCHO (is for formaldehyde). How do I measure them (parent expands on these questions), what are the "norms" and, most importantly: WHY should I care about those values? Then ofcourse tips on HOW to decrease those particles. That's where filter comes in, yeah. First time someone said he just slaps filter on an air ventilator, I was like: "Wow, it's SO simple? Yeah, sounds logical"
    - flybrand 5y ago
      That’s one of the reasons I’m asking - the supply chain is really split up. 1/ lots of medical studies cover benefits of better iaq 2/ filter design is well described in academia and by filter makers (grade of media chosen, pleat type, system specs) For both, we could do some education modules if we did this.
  - flybrand 5y ago
liversage 5y ago
Some trivia: ‘Vindriktning‘ is ‘wind direction' in Swedish.
djanogo 5y ago
Playing devil's advocate, this device is obviously made for mass market($11.99), what if the WHO/AQI "Good" numbers are too hard to achieve for general consumers?, the buyers of this device might be venturing into clean air for the first time and the last thing they want to see is "orange/red" ALL the time.
- blacksmith_tb 5y ago
  I bought three Vindriktnings when they came out, and on a day when we had some wildfire smoke making outdoor air quality around 150 put all three outside. Two went yellow then red, while the third stayed green... I guess I'd prefer a false positive to a false negative personally. It's true, they only cost me $13 each, so not a huge loss but it does suggest there are quality control problems with either the sensor or the whole device.
- NamTaf 5y ago
  I think it's folly to try to cater for the type of person who buys a product, has it identify an issue, then blames the product for identifying the issue.
pnathan 5y ago
When I was looking into air quality a year or two ago, I realized that the color-coded "AQI" so popular are not precisely a scientific analysis, as they are a blend of different measurements, with cutoffs specified by committee. Different countries have different formulas for AQI. That doesn't make them wrong, but it makes them not a "gospel truth". I have a Dylos rigged up inside my apartment, feeding particle measurement data to a serial port, which stores the data on my own cloud. I don't bother with AQI.
Animats 5y ago
That's just particles. No CO2 sensor.
- mpalczewski 5y ago
  Just to add to this: CO2 is important because it is a proxy for how much air you are rebreathing. This is especially important because of Covid. If you have a few people in a poorly ventilated room co2 will climb. Whereas in a well ventilated room, it might be nearly as good as being outside. Even for just being at home this is important because if the air is poorly ventilated it will feel "stuffy". It can affect how well you are able to think and work. Most air quality meter's only measure pollution, and you have to get an expensive one to measure co2 which is why it is frequently omitted despite importance.
  - eb0la 5y ago
    Not just Covid. In an office environment or a school, you need to be under 1000ppm: Effects of low-level inhalation exposure to carbon dioxide in indoor environments: A short review on human health and psychomotor performance https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018312807 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041201...
  - knownjorbist 5y ago
    What are good CO2 monitoring options near this price point?
    - mpalczewski 5y ago
      I don't believe there are any.
AdrianoKF 5y ago
I have a Vindriktning with the ESP8266 makeover sitting on the desk behind me, feeding its data into my Home Assistant instance. So far it's working great, except for one annoying detail: I'd much prefer the forced airflow fan to be on at all times, since the constant on-off cycling (around every ~10s) is quite audible and distracting in a quiet environment.
- solomonb 5y ago
  How do you know it is working great? Have you compared it against other known sensors?
  - AdrianoKF 5y ago
    "Working great" in the sense that the modification and integration was pretty painless. In terms of output quality, I've only done a few smoke tests (pun intended) - cooking, blowing smoke over the sensor - with decent results.
- gedy 5y ago
  You can move the fan power to the 3.3v pin on the ESP8266, runs much quieter
zahma 5y ago
I think I’ve plugged this here before. Sensor is an open community trying to track pollution. You can build your own sensor by ordering a dozen or so parts for 50-100 USD off AliExpress or Amazon (or wherever else you’d prefer because there’s really nothing extraordinary here). Some sensors even go down to 1 micrometer. The firmware is built to distinguish between 1, 2.5, and 10 micrometers. I believe AQI is the standard metric that is used for the map’s visualization. It requires minimal technical expertise, no 3D printing, no soldering, and minimal configuration. It’s a noble mission, and I find the granularity of data for both pollution and temperature far more telling than the estimates of more centralized systems. Check out the map and guide here: https://sensor.community/ https://sensor.community/ https://sensor.community/en/sensors/ https://sensor.community/en/sensors/
- dheera 5y ago
  I've been using a Adafruit Plantower PMSA003I and it always reads 0 even if the AQI is 90 at my place. It basically always reads 0 if the AQI is anywhere under 200, and pretty useless. I wonder if there is a better I2C sensor that I could use?
  - zahma 5y ago
    Sounds like it’s not working. There is always particulate matter to be detected, so even if you are fortunate enough to live in a low-pollution area, there should be some PM readings. The AQI is just an estimation of how healthy it is to breathe particulate matter per 8hours or ozone per 24 hours. So if the AQI is reported to be 90, it means you should definitely see some PM readings. My sensor was not very expensive but worked very well for a couple years until it broke a couple weeks ago, likely from moisture. Go to the guides section of the sensor community site and see which sensors they recommend. I think they’re largely interoperable.
    - dheera 5y ago
      What sensor are you using?
- rplnt 5y ago
dheera 5y ago
I've been using a Adafruit Plantower PMSA003I and it always reads 0 even if the AQI is 90 at my place. It basically always reads 0 if the AQI is anywhere under 200, and pretty useless.
FPGAhacker 5y ago
> Green: 0-35 /Good + Low > Amber: 36-85/OK + Medium > Red: 86- /Not good + High I absolutely despise this pattern. You could not pick a worse set of colors for the most common form of color blindness.
- Spivak 5y ago
  It's not so bad because it operates on the same philosophy as street lights. Even if you were completely color blind you would still be able to tell. This is how it appears in real life. +---+ +---+ +---+ | | Good | | Fair | * | Poor | * | <-- | * | <-- | * | <-- | * | | | | | +---+ +---+ +---+
giantg2 5y ago
I wish I could find a home executable mold spore test procedure that will give me spore counts by types. Most of the consumer tests are next to worthless. I think all I need is a fan with known volume of flow through some .3 micron filter paper, then I can check it under a microscope (guess the filter paper could use a grid, unless my hemocytomer will cast shadow through the paper.

495 points by ahaucnx 5y ago

For the price it is offered, it performs very well. I am not aware of any other PM2.5 sensor at $10. It cheapest I have seen is $40. You can still use it to get a rough idea of your air quality and it is definitely "better than nothing (or not having it)".

Semaphor 5y ago
The one they use for their DIY Kit [0] actually costs $16-19 [0] at aliexpress [0]: https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ [1]: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32944660534.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32944660534.html

jansan 5y ago

My takeaway from the article: Buy the sensor, make sure air quality is in the "good" range (green light) and you will be fine. I think I will order a few.

tdrdt 5y ago
Exactly. Recently I bought a very cheap CO2 meter. It is inaccurate, but still accurate enough for 99% of the people.
- TheBlerch 5y ago
  Which CO2 meter did you get, how accurate is it and how much did it cost? Agreed people just need a meter good enough to tell them when air quality isn’t good.
  - tdrdt 5y ago
    The brand is Simr, but I think there are only 3 or 4 meters that are sold as whitelabel and rebranded a thousand times. I think it was around $30. Outside it measures around 400ppm so the base point is good. Inside it measures 480ppm with good ventilation. When someone farts it goes to 2000ppm for a while. So I think it measures 'alright'.
    - mh- 5y ago
      I'd pay $30 for a fart detector. CO2 accuracy would just be a bonus
- numpad0 5y ago
  Referring to acetone detectors with lousy linear lookup feature as “eCO2 sensor” is infuriating but do I must admit it’s an okay reminder for room occupants to open windows…
etimberg 5y ago
Agreed. I think I will buy at least one given that the cost is so low.
blackbear_ 5y ago
> Conclusion: [...] However, the defined cut off values for the air quality and its description as “Good”, “OK”, and “Not Good” are not based on science or international recommendations and create the false understanding that the air is good, when in fact it is not good at all.
- jansan 5y ago
  Considering that the article was basically written by somone who is selling competing products I would take this statement with a truckload of salt.
  - colechristensen 5y ago
    I’m not selling anything and unless the writer is outright lying about the number ranges, I agree with them. The “green” range is way too lenient and the sensor will only help you keep away from really terrible air quality, most people would have it green always while doing nothing at all.
    - jansan 5y ago
      As I understand it "yellow" will indicate better air quality than "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" according to the US standard. I see a difference between "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" and "really terrible air quality" as you describe it.
      - colechristensen 5y ago
        There's acutely unhealthy for sensitive groups and there's long term unhealthy for anyone. Convincing reasons exist to think that significantly lower levels than are acutely unhealthy have long term health impacts. On top of that, you don't really need a sensor to know whether or not your air has particulate levels that are acutely unhealthy, you just know it. If you don't care or only want to know if your air is quite bad, sure, buy one of these. I don't think it's a reasonable level, but you do you.

baxuz 5y ago

Oh, I was just about to buy a few.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

Someone1234 5y ago

Informative article with fair, fact based, conclusions. I'd like to add that: - The VINDRIKTNING is extremely consumer accessible ($11.99, good build, simple traffic light system). - It may be put into spaces that previously had no particulate air quality monitoring. - The spouse-acceptance-factor is extremely high (unlike e.g. a couple of circuit boards wired together off of Aliexpress). There are other consumer friendly offerings, but they aren't affordable (e.g. Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor 4x cost, Airthings 10x cost). That being said, IKEA could fix their traffic-light system's cut off points for free and should consider it.

LeanderK 5y ago
I think being low-cost is very important, otherwise I wouldn't consider it. I don't live near a major road, but in a small city. I don't think the air-quality is bad, but I also don't know for sure. I would not invest a significant amount of money (more than 10-15€).
- TheBlerch 5y ago
  You may find the Breezometer app helpful - I’ve found it quite accurate for local outdoor air quality in several different areas.
- Someone1234 5y ago
  I've found a lot of indoor sources of contaminants for example cheese that fell off a Pizza onto the oven floor will put you into "yellow" the next time you run the oven.
azth 5y ago
> - The spouse-acceptance-factor is extremely high (unlike e.g. a couple of circuit boards wired together off of Aliexpress). Which circuit boards do you recommend that have high accuracy that can be ordered?
- ahaucnx 5y ago
  I can recommed the Plantower 5003 PM sensor. Plantower also has smaller ones, e.g. 7003 or A003 but we get the best (most accurate and stable) readings from the 5003 model. We also experienced with more expensive ones e.g. from Sensirion but did not really measure a significant advantage compared to the Plantower.

thecal 5y ago

Direct link to the item: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vindriktning-air-quality-sensor-60515911/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vindriktning-air-quality-sensor...

jerjerjer 5y ago

Anything proven and with a better sensor quality?

ahaucnx 5y ago

Author here. I forgot to mention: With a Wemos D1 mini (ESP8266) MCU that costs around USD 2.00, you can pretty easily make the Vindriktning WiFi connected and get the data to a backend [1]. You just need to solder three wires, and there is enough space within the enclosure to fit the D1 mini inside. This would then allow you to get the exact measurements and to better understand if the "green" is more on the lower end or the higher side. [1] https://github.com/Hypfer/esp8266-vindriktning-particle-sensor https://github.com/Hypfer/esp8266-vindriktning-particle-sens...

jb1991 5y ago
It would be great to hear some alternative suggestions for a consumer air quality meter that is accurate, reliable. I.e. are the AirThings products good? Or do you have any other recommendations?
- samsolomon 5y ago
  I purchased two Airthings View Plus monitors about a month ago. We had a subslab depressurization system installed to mitigate Radon in the basement. The company offered continuous monitoring for $300/yr. Instead I decided to purchase monitors and keep an eye on it myself. It's hard to know how good the products will be long-term, but the app and charting is pretty good. You can download reports via their web dashboard. I've turned off all notifications except for the CO2 monitor. The ePaper screen is legible, but the text is a little rough around the edges. Here's what it tracks: - Radon - PM 2.5 - VOC - CO2 - Humidity - Temperature - Pressure I will say that the View Plus is Airthings most expensive product. If you don't care about PM 2.5 or Radon monitoring, they have significantly cheaper options.
404mm 5y ago
Hi, thanks for the article! Are there any non expensive sensors you could recommend? I care about the indoor air quality but it gets very pricey. I have Awair at home but it covers only one room and the unit runs $300 a piece :(
- 5y ago

errcorrectcode 5y ago

Nope, just nope. Ikea: purveyors of chemical-laden flat packs and cheap, unrepairable items that don't last. PMS5003 modules are much better (PM1, 2.5, and 10) and only cost $20. PM1 and 2.5 are far more damaging to health than PM10.

Swenrekcah 5y ago
Almost all furniture I’ve ever owned has been IKEA. With very few exceptions they have all been very durable. Repairability is excellent because everything is designed to be taken apart by amateurs and spare parts are easily found. They are also easy when moving because they can so easily be taken apart.
- errcorrectcode 5y ago
  It wouldn't need spare parts if it didn't break. "Very durable" compared to what since you have no experience with anything else? Not solid wood furniture. A table that weighs 8 lbs and costs 10 dollars should only be used on a Hollywood set as breakaway furniture for safety. You sound like you're rationalizing a religious tribe rather than making a rational argument.
  - avh02 5y ago
    > It wouldn't need spare parts if it didn't break I guess you've never lost a single screw in your life.
    - errcorrectcode 5y ago
      Cheap shot. Maybe you shouldn't be commenting today.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - maltalex 5y ago
    > You sound like you're rationalizing a religious tribe rather than making a rational argument. I can't believe that I find myself defending Ikea on HN, but... what? The parent's argument is very rational - in their experience products have been durable, and the repairability high for obvious reasons. What's religious about that? I owned several pieces of Ikea furniture myself, and some were well made out of solid materials. Others were not. Unsurprisingly, the material quality was strongly correlated with the price of the item.

micheljansen 5y ago

The article already mentions connecting a Wemos D1 mini, which lead me to searching for a howto. Stumbled onto this excellent article by my old friend Guy, complete with assembly pictures: https://style.oversubstance.net/2021/08/diy-use-an-ikea-vindriktning-air-quality-sensor-in-home-assistant-with-esphome/ https://style.oversubstance.net/2021/08/diy-use-an-ikea-vind...

jve 5y ago
Was super easy to follow instructions and get the same steps done. Can you/your friend point out what kind of lovelace widget is that? Named: Our VINDRIKTNING chart after normal cooking, that helpfully has 3 gradients (green/orange/red)? Thanks.
- micheljansen 5y ago
  I'd reach out to him on Twitter (he's @guysie there).

rceDia 5y ago

Cheap, easy to use is o.k. not sure of reliability. Another IOT at home air quality solution is Purple Air. Offers units for outdoor or indoor. Not as cheap as IKEA but affordable. https://www2.purpleair.com/ https://www2.purpleair.com/

micheljansen 5y ago
$200 for the cheapest model though. That's a factor 20!

dsizzle 5y ago

Does anybody have any stories of how devices like this revealed a problem -- what the problem was, does an air filter fix it, etc?

dirtyid 5y ago
I have a xiaomi air purifier with AQ detector. Scrubber seems to to help with allergies. Detector itself is pretty much a glorified smoke detector Tamagotchi toy for me. I haven't found much use for it other than to keep numbers as low / nominal as I can. For which living in a pretty clean part of the city with good air quality means being more mindful when I cook to reduce smoke. That said the high AQ alarm has saved me a couple times from leaving stove top on / burning pots. Kind of paid for itself in that sense.
colechristensen 5y ago
You would be surprised how much particulate certain cooking methods produce, your home can go from 0 AQI to forest fire levels for a few hours without a filter. With the right filter and sensor, you can keep your AQI in the single digits consistently and react appropriately to particle buildup. If you have a CO2 sensor as well you can react to CO2 buildup which is something I have experienced plenty of times in a modern apartment (not necessarily dangerous levels but levels high enough that cognitive effects should be expected). It is hard to keep indoor CO2 levels anywhere near outdoor levels without forced ventilation with the outside or living in a large house.
- dsizzle 5y ago
  Do you have any recs for the right filter and sensor?
  - colechristensen 5y ago
    HEPA filters which include a claim for 99.97% filtration (HEPA is put on a lot of things that are much less useful) Honeywell makes good ones. MPR 2800 furnace filters for the box fan contraption. 3M makes good ones. Your furnace might not appreciate how much they slow down flow. IQAir monitors are unreasonably expensive and IOT nonsense, but still good.

ortusdux 5y ago

Does anyone know how amazon's new unit fares? It monitors PM 2.5, CO, VOCs, temp, & humidity for 70$. I wouldn't buy one considering the source, but I am interested in how effective it is. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W8KS8D3?&linkCode=ll1&tag=androidpolice-20&linkId=94100b6ff8788125941f574f1290c259&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W8KS8D3?&linkCode=ll1&tag=andro...

stdbrouw 5y ago

The choice to display anything under 35 μg/m³ as "good" does not seem unreasonable at first glance. Indoor PM2.5 can often be higher than outdoor so that the yearly average will be pushed down by time spent outside and there is no need to have <5 μg/m³ inside too. Also, by the author's admission the unit also measures particles larger than PM2.5 which are less harmful. There's no point in having a unit that will flash orange or red for almost everyone almost all of the time.

ahaucnx 5y ago
As I mentioned in the article it really depends on the length of the exposure and how you use the sensor. Yes in many places in Europe or North America, the outdoor air quality is most of the time good. However -unfortunately- there are also many places where the outdoor air quality is very unhealthy most year round and then an annual exposure to 35 μg/m³ vs 5 μg/m³ makes a big difference.
- aaron695 5y ago
  > the outdoor air quality is most of the time good. This is the point, knowing when it's bad so you can change behaviour? When does it spike in a forest? You'd guess when it's windy? But is it seasonal? Does dust matter more the pollen, I think pollen is more PM 10. Salt from the sea breeze is bad (PM2.5), how does that mix with leaf matter in Fall? > Indoor PM2.5 can often be higher than outdoor so that the yearly average will be pushed down by time spent outside and there is no need to have <5 μg/m³ inside too. This line form OP is totally incorrect. Indoors should be less than outdoors, unless you have a fire or smoke indoors. And why does "yearly average" matter? Smoking cigarettes (which is exactly the same as what we are talking about) is not about a "yearly average".
srg0 5y ago
I think it was a conscious design decision to reduce false alarm rate. Assuming that this low cost device can be/become very inaccurate, then the designers had two choices: 1) Report all alarms as detected. Eventually, the device becomes a red LED which users learn to ignore. 2) Report a problem when the device is reasonably sure there is a problem. Green light does not necessarily mean that the air quality is good, but when the LED becomes red, it should be taken seriously.

punnerud 5y ago

Archived version (from today): https://web.archive.org/web/20211206144732/https://www.airgradient.com/resources/ikea-vindriktning-accuracy/ https://web.archive.org/web/20211206144732/https://www.airgr...

prashnts 5y ago

I have a question since the author is around: My sensor was working fine for a few months. It’s located near the area I smoke, so whenever I’m smoking it changes to red quickly. And after a few minutes (10 or so) it’d go back to green. But for past few weeks it’s stuck at red. I disassembled it and cleaned the intake hole (which is covered with a fabric) and it worked after. However it went back to displaying red again all the time. So my question is whether this sensor needs frequent cleaning? If so what are the alternatives?

ahaucnx 5y ago
I don't really have much experience with the PM1006K in the Ikea sensor but it is not untypical that PM sensors can get "stuck" and showing high concentrations. Sometimes it helps to blow compressed air inside to push out any dust that might cover the optics but that also often does not help too much or only temporary.
- prashnts 5y ago
  Thank you! I’ll try that. Building an airgradient sensor is next in my list of projects!
- skybrian 5y ago
  I've seen this and rebooting my Temtop sensor seems to help, sometimes.
renewiltord 5y ago
Out of curiosity, and with no judgment intended, what is the purpose of the air quality sensor if you are actively smoking? Is it a mechanism for you to determine whether the smoking is exposing other members of the household to second-hand smoke, etc.? I only ask because it seems to me (with no concrete research) that the smoking risk is much greater than generalized air quality risk.

DannyBee 5y ago

I would be very careful with this kind of evaluation. There are lots of sensors that perform well vs reference instruments but not in the field. If you want real evaluations, SCAQMD (the folks in charge of air quality for southern california) do evaluations of commercially available, low cost sensors, both against reference instruments and the lab. See http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations You can see what i said is true from the table - lots of sensors that are very well correlated with reference instruments in the lab, but suck horribly in the field. I would think you would be better off submitting the sensor in question to them, and letting them put it through its paces. (They publish within a month of finishing testing, and testing takes ~8 weeks)

dognotdog 5y ago
IMO, the single biggest problem is that even five-figure reference instruments disagree considerably in the 0-20 ug/m3 range, and if you look at the figures of the SCAQMD tests, you won't see much more than noise in the scatter plots in that range, with increasing consistency at larger concentrations. Some of this is due to mismatches in response times and synchronization, but a lot of it is due to different disturbances, noise processes, and varying sensitivities to different particle size distributions in different sensor types. With inexpensive optical scattering sensors, the situation is even worse. While it is easy enough enough to "count" individual 2.5um particles, the scattering equations work out to an order of 10^6 reduction in scattering amplitude, per particle, going down to 0.3um (when measured with red or infra-red light), and different particle compositions will scatter differently. On top of that, the number of particles increases significantly per unit mass concentration, making the signal processing a lot harder once one can't just threshold individual "blips" in the signal. Whether the sensors are particle counting or nephelometric in principle, the basic trade-off is that to see smaller particles, they need higher amplification factors, which in turn increases thermal noise, also amplifies stray light, and makes the device more sensitive to EM interference. Many signal processing pipelines do simplistic noise filtering, throwing out much of the baby with the bathwater. On top of these principal difficulties, the optical scattering type sensors are quite sensitive to temperature variation, and aging of the photoelectronic components, which is why field tests under varied conditions often depress their accuracy even further. Long story short, it is very easy to build a sensor with qualitatively good correlations to actual PM concentration, as long as the PM concentration is sufficiently high, but the health effects have no threshold, and every added bit of pollution counts, starting at zero. Unfortunately, commodity PM sensors are quite bad at quantifying these low, yet meaningful, ambient pollutant levels, which is probably why IKEA chose their traffic light thresholds the way the did: not because of how it relates to health, but because this is what they could do with a $12 device.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

intrasight 5y ago

http://energysmartohio.com/indoor-air-quality/which-indoor-air-quality-monitors-are-best-and-why/ http://energysmartohio.com/indoor-air-quality/which-indoor-a... I've always returned to the Dylos sensor as the gold standard Another good review of sensors: http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations/summary-pm http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations/summary-pm

simonebrunozzi 5y ago

It's almost incredible that for something as "simple" as an air quality sensor, particularly in relation to PM2.5 (the most important metric for most buyers, IMHO), there's no simple answer as: product X costs $50 and provides 99.X% accuracy; product Y costs $200 and provides 99.9X% accuracy. Two years ago, during one of the most intense fire seasons in California, I spent a few hours studying different solutions, and ended up buying a refurbished PurpleAir sensor. It seemed to work great, but I felt it was a bit too expensive for what it was doing, too bulky, and in general not as easy to use for the ordinary person as it should be. Same problem with home air filters - if you want to purify the air in your house, there's too many snake-oil solutions out there, and few that are worth the spending.

ortusdux 5y ago
Finding myself in a similar situation with last years fires, I have had great luck with the WINIX air filters sold at costco. I bought 2 on sale for $100/ea. They are 5 staged with HEPA and charcoal filters, have a built-in air quality monitor of unknown quality (I should open one up one of these days), and they have an ok app that allows you to check air quality and adjust their settings. Each unit includes 2 years of filters, and they look to be about $30/year/unit to replace after that.
hedora 5y ago
Air filtration and monitoring are a classic market for lemons. Wirecutter has decent-ish tests of air filters, though they assume tiny New York apartments, so you have to dig around a lot to find results for larger units. (From reading their review, you’d think >1000 sq ft homes are unheard of in the US, but the average is closer to 2000 sq ft)
s0rce 5y ago
If you have some electronics experience you can buy the Plantower sensors that PurpleAir uses and connect it to a microcontroller, there are guides mentioned in the comments here.

GatorD42 5y ago

The color guides seem similar to the IQAir AirVisual Pro and Apple’s weather app. Like the article mentions this is likely to be inside and most useful for alerting when cooking has caused significant particle emissions, that’s what I use my AirVisual for.

maltalex 5y ago

Say I'm convinced enough to order an AirGradient kit. Is this accurate? Does it take up to 5 weeks for most destinations? > We currently ship approximately 1-2 weeks after receipt of payments. Delivery takes 2-3 weeks to most destinations (North America, Europe, Australia).

ahaucnx 5y ago
The shipping times mentioned on the website are a bit conservative and often it is faster. We currently have kits in stock and ship within a few days of orders received. Shipping times really vary depending on destination and are hard to predict but 2-3 weeks is a good estimation.

jve 5y ago

Really glad this was published. I was looking at airgradient solution for PM2.5 monitoring, but while thinking - saw this @ IKEA and bought it. And it is in my short term plan to wire it with Wemos D1 so I plot values and make sense on whether IKEA air purifier helps anything or not. Because if I follow the LEDs, it's chaos - it can be RED for hours with purifier nearby. And the same without purifier - colors just like to change in my house. I have a question about precision: If the precision ±20μg/m³ - isn't it actually normal that they "extend" the green led up to 35μg/m³ then? Because that 12μg/m³ is maybe 32? Uh, looks like not even PMS5003 can reliably show you that green line with a high confidence, doesn't it? Btw here is a nice thread that shows you how to wire it up with Wemos D1 and connect to Home Assistant. People compare their readings with other meters, too. But someone says he bought multiple of those and even those show different numbers. Someone sees IEKA values 10x higher (for lower values, but within specified accuracy) than other sensor https://community.home-assistant.io/t/ikea-vindriktning-air-quality-sensor/324599/168 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/ikea-vindriktning-air-... But at least they FOLLOW the plot of more accurate sensors. I see value in that. I want to know if air purifier helps something or how much it helps.

genewitch 5y ago
As a quick aside, both the air quality things I bought say not to rely on instantaneous readings but instead to use the aggregator average reading. One has the ability to show averages and the other is more like "if the value is consistently higher than normal it's probably correctly 'high'" - so unless there's some weirdness in the Ikea one it shouldn't be switching colors unless you are very close to the threshold. It is possible that your air filter shakes or vibrates enough that it's kicking dust up, or you have poor indoor air quality. How often do you have to replace filters and how dirty are they? For reference I live in a forest, with pollen and dirt dust and people and pet dust, poor seals on windows, and open doors/screens, as well as high humidity year round; I buy the 3M 1000-1500 filters which are pretty beefy, and they last about two months before becoming uniformly dark grey on front and back. Ideally I'd replace them monthly but they're about $15 each and that adds up across three filters. I ask because I don't think my system does anything for VOC, I don't use carbon filters for the three, so I'm mostly filtering dust, pollen, clay, etc.

dahart 5y ago

I don’t think using the brand new WHO guidelines is very fair. Not sure when it was released, but regardless this product was likely completely designed and manufactured before the WHO guidelines were published, just a few months ago. Also, Airnow.gov still has a published scale that is worse than the IKEA product. https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/ https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/. Green is 0-50, Yellow is 51-100, Orange 101-150, and Red 151-200.

ahaucnx 5y ago
Airnow is using US AQI and not μg/m. US AQI 50 corresponds to approx. 12 μg/m.
- dahart 5y ago
  Oh thank you, pre-coffee units fail on my part. So I’d guess most air sensors on the market aren’t necessarily classifying their readings into green-good / red-bad, or at least come with a now-outdated chart. Are there sensors that have been released and/or updated to match the new guidelines already?

flybrand 5y ago

I work at H&V - we’re one of the biggest makers of air filter media (the rolled goods / fabrics - not the actual filters). We love seeing the innovation going on in this space - any suggestions on how we could better support this growing awareness of the value of IAQ?

dribblecup 5y ago
Sponsor open source code and open source hardware solutions that DIY folks can put together at $300 or below price point. Gold star if you sponsor an independent test of this solution to verify its effectiveness. Bonus points for explaining what matters in terms of testing. Self-serving (which is OK in this context) points for explaining how your product mitigates the problem by demonstrating the DIY metered results.
- jve 5y ago
  I mean... first of all I would like to hear what are the consequences of good/bad IAQ (Indoor Air Quality?) I'm actually more driven/interested in data/compare it to other folks, but I don't have a clue what does it mean for my health. What's the difference between PM2.5, PM10, PM1, PM0.1. What is TVOC (as in sensor description: benzene,etc Volatile organic compounds), HCHO (is for formaldehyde). How do I measure them (parent expands on these questions), what are the "norms" and, most importantly: WHY should I care about those values? Then ofcourse tips on HOW to decrease those particles. That's where filter comes in, yeah. First time someone said he just slaps filter on an air ventilator, I was like: "Wow, it's SO simple? Yeah, sounds logical"
  - flybrand 5y ago
    That’s one of the reasons I’m asking - the supply chain is really split up. 1/ lots of medical studies cover benefits of better iaq 2/ filter design is well described in academia and by filter makers (grade of media chosen, pleat type, system specs) For both, we could do some education modules if we did this.
- flybrand 5y ago

liversage 5y ago

Some trivia: ‘Vindriktning‘ is ‘wind direction' in Swedish.

djanogo 5y ago

Playing devil's advocate, this device is obviously made for mass market($11.99), what if the WHO/AQI "Good" numbers are too hard to achieve for general consumers?, the buyers of this device might be venturing into clean air for the first time and the last thing they want to see is "orange/red" ALL the time.

blacksmith_tb 5y ago
I bought three Vindriktnings when they came out, and on a day when we had some wildfire smoke making outdoor air quality around 150 put all three outside. Two went yellow then red, while the third stayed green... I guess I'd prefer a false positive to a false negative personally. It's true, they only cost me $13 each, so not a huge loss but it does suggest there are quality control problems with either the sensor or the whole device.
NamTaf 5y ago
I think it's folly to try to cater for the type of person who buys a product, has it identify an issue, then blames the product for identifying the issue.

pnathan 5y ago

When I was looking into air quality a year or two ago, I realized that the color-coded "AQI" so popular are not precisely a scientific analysis, as they are a blend of different measurements, with cutoffs specified by committee. Different countries have different formulas for AQI. That doesn't make them wrong, but it makes them not a "gospel truth". I have a Dylos rigged up inside my apartment, feeding particle measurement data to a serial port, which stores the data on my own cloud. I don't bother with AQI.

Animats 5y ago

That's just particles. No CO2 sensor.

mpalczewski 5y ago
Just to add to this: CO2 is important because it is a proxy for how much air you are rebreathing. This is especially important because of Covid. If you have a few people in a poorly ventilated room co2 will climb. Whereas in a well ventilated room, it might be nearly as good as being outside. Even for just being at home this is important because if the air is poorly ventilated it will feel "stuffy". It can affect how well you are able to think and work. Most air quality meter's only measure pollution, and you have to get an expensive one to measure co2 which is why it is frequently omitted despite importance.
- eb0la 5y ago
  Not just Covid. In an office environment or a school, you need to be under 1000ppm: Effects of low-level inhalation exposure to carbon dioxide in indoor environments: A short review on human health and psychomotor performance https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018312807 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041201...
- knownjorbist 5y ago
  What are good CO2 monitoring options near this price point?
  - mpalczewski 5y ago
    I don't believe there are any.

AdrianoKF 5y ago

I have a Vindriktning with the ESP8266 makeover sitting on the desk behind me, feeding its data into my Home Assistant instance. So far it's working great, except for one annoying detail: I'd much prefer the forced airflow fan to be on at all times, since the constant on-off cycling (around every ~10s) is quite audible and distracting in a quiet environment.

solomonb 5y ago
How do you know it is working great? Have you compared it against other known sensors?
- AdrianoKF 5y ago
  "Working great" in the sense that the modification and integration was pretty painless. In terms of output quality, I've only done a few smoke tests (pun intended) - cooking, blowing smoke over the sensor - with decent results.
gedy 5y ago
You can move the fan power to the 3.3v pin on the ESP8266, runs much quieter

zahma 5y ago

I think I’ve plugged this here before. Sensor is an open community trying to track pollution. You can build your own sensor by ordering a dozen or so parts for 50-100 USD off AliExpress or Amazon (or wherever else you’d prefer because there’s really nothing extraordinary here). Some sensors even go down to 1 micrometer. The firmware is built to distinguish between 1, 2.5, and 10 micrometers. I believe AQI is the standard metric that is used for the map’s visualization. It requires minimal technical expertise, no 3D printing, no soldering, and minimal configuration. It’s a noble mission, and I find the granularity of data for both pollution and temperature far more telling than the estimates of more centralized systems. Check out the map and guide here: https://sensor.community/ https://sensor.community/ https://sensor.community/en/sensors/ https://sensor.community/en/sensors/

dheera 5y ago
I've been using a Adafruit Plantower PMSA003I and it always reads 0 even if the AQI is 90 at my place. It basically always reads 0 if the AQI is anywhere under 200, and pretty useless. I wonder if there is a better I2C sensor that I could use?
- zahma 5y ago
  Sounds like it’s not working. There is always particulate matter to be detected, so even if you are fortunate enough to live in a low-pollution area, there should be some PM readings. The AQI is just an estimation of how healthy it is to breathe particulate matter per 8hours or ozone per 24 hours. So if the AQI is reported to be 90, it means you should definitely see some PM readings. My sensor was not very expensive but worked very well for a couple years until it broke a couple weeks ago, likely from moisture. Go to the guides section of the sensor community site and see which sensors they recommend. I think they’re largely interoperable.
  - dheera 5y ago
    What sensor are you using?
rplnt 5y ago

dheera 5y ago

I've been using a Adafruit Plantower PMSA003I and it always reads 0 even if the AQI is 90 at my place. It basically always reads 0 if the AQI is anywhere under 200, and pretty useless.

FPGAhacker 5y ago

> Green: 0-35 /Good + Low > Amber: 36-85/OK + Medium > Red: 86- /Not good + High I absolutely despise this pattern. You could not pick a worse set of colors for the most common form of color blindness.

Spivak 5y ago
It's not so bad because it operates on the same philosophy as street lights. Even if you were completely color blind you would still be able to tell. This is how it appears in real life. +---+ +---+ +---+ | | Good | | Fair | * | Poor | * | <-- | * | <-- | * | <-- | * | | | | | +---+ +---+ +---+

giantg2 5y ago

I wish I could find a home executable mold spore test procedure that will give me spore counts by types. Most of the consumer tests are next to worthless. I think all I need is a fan with known volume of flow through some .3 micron filter paper, then I can check it under a microscope (guess the filter paper could use a grid, unless my hemocytomer will cast shadow through the paper.