4 ms·

JFYI: a (hopefully much) cheaper stripped down version of the device would be useful. Air quality is the worst in poorer regions of the world, and as someone wh

JFYI: a (hopefully much) cheaper stripped down version of the device would be useful. Air quality is the worst in poorer regions of the world, and as someone who suffers from horrible air pollution, but who's also living a relatively cushy life (by our standards), I can assure you that $200+ for an air quality sensor puts it into the "unobtainable" bucket. Add shipping and it probably gets closer to $300, which is roughly equal to the median monthly salary over here. Your NO₂ measurements make it a really interesting device compared to most alternatives that only measure particulate matter. All gas sensors that are theoretically possible for me to obtain cost hundreds of dollars by themselves.

crtified 1y ago
I'll preface this by saying that product design and manufacturing and public-proofing is long, hard work, and the retail price of this product is likely to be well justified for all kinds of reasons. That said, looking at the main active components that are listed, we have - ESP32S3 IC : $4 retail, SCD41 Sensor : $21 retail, SGP41 Sensor : $8 retail, LPS22 Sensor : $4 retail Which is very hopeful, in the sense that some key functionality of this kind of device could potentially be open sourced and pared back to a minimal cost where hobbyists could build versions suitable for the economics of developing countries.
- iamflimflam1 1y ago
  Tariffs are having a big impact on people outside the US using CrowdSupply. CrowdSupply ships everything via Mouser US - so if you are outside of the US you need to export your products to Mouser. That hits you with tariffs and the tariffs are charged on what CrowdSupply are paying you for the products. If the majority of your product is manufactured in China (e.g. PCBA) then it's very likely that the COO for your product will be China. So, you will get stung with whatever crazy tariffs are currently in place.
  - 256dpi 1y ago
    This has been very tricky to navigate for us. We almost launched the campaign right before the Tariffs got announced. Luckily, we had the opportunity to wait it out. While CrowdSupply is an awesome platform, and I would use it again, the requirement to export everything to the US is a problem in such situations.
    - iamflimflam1 1y ago
      Yep, it's bitten me - just about to ship my boxes off. I'll still probably break even fortunately (or at least not lose a massive amount of money).
      - 256dpi 1y ago
        Uff, that's hard! I'm sorry to hear that. What projects is yours?
        iamflimflam1 1y ago
        ESP32 Rainbow - https://www.crowdsupply.com/atomic14/esp32-rainbow https://www.crowdsupply.com/atomic14/esp32-rainbow I'm seeing if I can argue for a UK country of origin. But also, I want to get the boxes shipped and out to people - so think I'll just swallow it.
- FlyingSnake 1y ago
  > ESP32S3 IC : $4 retail, SCD41 Sensor : $21 retail, SGP41 Sensor : $8 retail, LPS22 Sensor : $4 retail I am not an expert but if I get these components, how easy would it be to build a hacked version out of these? I’m not in the US and unaffected by the tarrifs.
  - DoingIsLearning 1y ago
    Hardware companies design breakout boards for most semi popular sensors (including the SCD41 and the SGP41) so arguably if you can put things together on a breadboard and can setup I²C comms (for example with an Arduino library) then it is certainly accessible to a hobbyist.
  - nerdsniper 1y ago
    Pretty simple. You can find lots of examples of getting each sensor working by googling "site:github.com ESP32 SCD41" etc. There are libraries which make it extra-easy: SCD41: SparkFun_SCD4x_Arduino_Library.h SGP41: SensirionI2CSgp41.h LPS22: Adafruit_LPS2X.h Take a look through the past HN discussions of this and similar air quality monitors. Can also search HN for chip names themselves (like 'SCD41'). Many people note that the sensors drift over time, and buying "calibration bottles" of low-concentration CO2 is a slight hurdle for many - they're not that crazy expensive, but they're expensive enough to be a bit of a block for some.
    - FlyingSnake 1y ago
      Sounds great! I’ll give it a try and see how far I go. Do you know any discord channels where such folks hang out? P.S. Apt username BTW.
      - ajolly 1y ago
        Super easy, use esphome. There's a few vendors out there that sell pre built devices, and they usually make their configs available if you want to DIY it. For example Apollo automation.
  - crtified 1y ago
256dpi 1y ago
Thanks for the feedback that I can totally understand! We hoped to offer the product at a lower price, but as I mentioned in other replies, it's hard to be competitive when planning for small quantities. That said, I can totally see us offering a simplified and cheaper version in the future that is affordable to more people.
scottlamb 1y ago
I'm a big fan of the AirGradient. They used to have really cheap DIY kits available: either $19 for the PCB + enclosure alone (with the assumption you already have the other parts or will buy them off aliexpress) or $96 for everything. Looks like the current kit is $138. If that's too much, you might be able to make it cheaper by downloading the KiCad and STL files off their website [1], getting PCBs printed elsewhere, 3D printing the case, and sourcing the rest of the parts from aliexpress. When you do it that way, you can also omit any sensors that are not of interest to save money, and perhaps add them in later. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/documentation/overview/ https://www.airgradient.com/documentation/overview/
- jadbox 1y ago
  Ya, my AirGradient ONE is $200 and has been one of the best investments in my home. Using it, I discovered how the drying polyester clothes wrecks the indoor air quality and how not to burn baking oils by controlling temps better.
  - sizzle 1y ago
    Drying polyester clothes releases CO2 to unhealthy levels?
    - eddyfromtheblok 1y ago
      Probably referring to particulate matter. The AirGradient measures PM2.5. I happen to have an air purifier near my W/D and it catches a lot of lint in the prefilter.
- cyberax 1y ago
  I've been having problems with my devices, though. The reliability sucks, they lock up all the time. Additionally, the OLED screen needs to shut down in the dark. I added a VEML lithgt sensor to my devices for that.
  - Aeolun 1y ago

crtified 1y ago

I'll preface this by saying that product design and manufacturing and public-proofing is long, hard work, and the retail price of this product is likely to be well justified for all kinds of reasons. That said, looking at the main active components that are listed, we have - ESP32S3 IC : $4 retail, SCD41 Sensor : $21 retail, SGP41 Sensor : $8 retail, LPS22 Sensor : $4 retail Which is very hopeful, in the sense that some key functionality of this kind of device could potentially be open sourced and pared back to a minimal cost where hobbyists could build versions suitable for the economics of developing countries.

iamflimflam1 1y ago
Tariffs are having a big impact on people outside the US using CrowdSupply. CrowdSupply ships everything via Mouser US - so if you are outside of the US you need to export your products to Mouser. That hits you with tariffs and the tariffs are charged on what CrowdSupply are paying you for the products. If the majority of your product is manufactured in China (e.g. PCBA) then it's very likely that the COO for your product will be China. So, you will get stung with whatever crazy tariffs are currently in place.
- 256dpi 1y ago
  This has been very tricky to navigate for us. We almost launched the campaign right before the Tariffs got announced. Luckily, we had the opportunity to wait it out. While CrowdSupply is an awesome platform, and I would use it again, the requirement to export everything to the US is a problem in such situations.
  - iamflimflam1 1y ago
    Yep, it's bitten me - just about to ship my boxes off. I'll still probably break even fortunately (or at least not lose a massive amount of money).
    - 256dpi 1y ago
      Uff, that's hard! I'm sorry to hear that. What projects is yours?
      - iamflimflam1 1y ago
        ESP32 Rainbow - https://www.crowdsupply.com/atomic14/esp32-rainbow https://www.crowdsupply.com/atomic14/esp32-rainbow I'm seeing if I can argue for a UK country of origin. But also, I want to get the boxes shipped and out to people - so think I'll just swallow it.
FlyingSnake 1y ago
> ESP32S3 IC : $4 retail, SCD41 Sensor : $21 retail, SGP41 Sensor : $8 retail, LPS22 Sensor : $4 retail I am not an expert but if I get these components, how easy would it be to build a hacked version out of these? I’m not in the US and unaffected by the tarrifs.
- DoingIsLearning 1y ago
  Hardware companies design breakout boards for most semi popular sensors (including the SCD41 and the SGP41) so arguably if you can put things together on a breadboard and can setup I²C comms (for example with an Arduino library) then it is certainly accessible to a hobbyist.
- nerdsniper 1y ago
  Pretty simple. You can find lots of examples of getting each sensor working by googling "site:github.com ESP32 SCD41" etc. There are libraries which make it extra-easy: SCD41: SparkFun_SCD4x_Arduino_Library.h SGP41: SensirionI2CSgp41.h LPS22: Adafruit_LPS2X.h Take a look through the past HN discussions of this and similar air quality monitors. Can also search HN for chip names themselves (like 'SCD41'). Many people note that the sensors drift over time, and buying "calibration bottles" of low-concentration CO2 is a slight hurdle for many - they're not that crazy expensive, but they're expensive enough to be a bit of a block for some.
  - FlyingSnake 1y ago
    Sounds great! I’ll give it a try and see how far I go. Do you know any discord channels where such folks hang out? P.S. Apt username BTW.
    - ajolly 1y ago
      Super easy, use esphome. There's a few vendors out there that sell pre built devices, and they usually make their configs available if you want to DIY it. For example Apollo automation.
- crtified 1y ago

256dpi 1y ago

Thanks for the feedback that I can totally understand! We hoped to offer the product at a lower price, but as I mentioned in other replies, it's hard to be competitive when planning for small quantities. That said, I can totally see us offering a simplified and cheaper version in the future that is affordable to more people.

scottlamb 1y ago

I'm a big fan of the AirGradient. They used to have really cheap DIY kits available: either $19 for the PCB + enclosure alone (with the assumption you already have the other parts or will buy them off aliexpress) or $96 for everything. Looks like the current kit is $138. If that's too much, you might be able to make it cheaper by downloading the KiCad and STL files off their website [1], getting PCBs printed elsewhere, 3D printing the case, and sourcing the rest of the parts from aliexpress. When you do it that way, you can also omit any sensors that are not of interest to save money, and perhaps add them in later. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/documentation/overview/ https://www.airgradient.com/documentation/overview/

jadbox 1y ago
Ya, my AirGradient ONE is $200 and has been one of the best investments in my home. Using it, I discovered how the drying polyester clothes wrecks the indoor air quality and how not to burn baking oils by controlling temps better.
- sizzle 1y ago
  Drying polyester clothes releases CO2 to unhealthy levels?
  - eddyfromtheblok 1y ago
    Probably referring to particulate matter. The AirGradient measures PM2.5. I happen to have an air purifier near my W/D and it catches a lot of lint in the prefilter.
cyberax 1y ago
I've been having problems with my devices, though. The reliability sucks, they lock up all the time. Additionally, the OLED screen needs to shut down in the dark. I added a VEML lithgt sensor to my devices for that.
- Aeolun 1y ago