A Performance Evaluation of Seven Consumer-grade Indoor Air Quality Monitors in a Low-cost Laboratory Test Setting and in a Residential Environment

Abstract

There are a number of new low cost, air quality devices marketed to consumers that monitor realtime, indoor air pollutants. Questions remain about the accuracy, responsiveness, and smartphone visualization capabilities of these devices. This MRP identified and tested 14 devices (seven types, two ofeach product): AirBird, Airthings View Plus, Aranet4 Home, Awair Omni, Eve Home, Laser Egg + CO 2, and Purple Air PA-1. The study used three methods: 1. a low-cost laboratory setting to test accuracy for CO 2;2) Comparison to a calibrated, research grade meter (Lighthouse Handheld-3016-IAQ) for particulate matter PM2.5, temperature,and relative humidity; 3. Short-term field testing in a residential environment. The main results were that all devices were within acceptable ranges for temperature, relative humidity, and CO 2, with some variation in the response time and data visualization. Only Purple Air PA-1 had accurate correlations with the research grade monitor when testing PM 2.. Field study testing demonstrated each device's reaction time and data visualization. Future work could focus on how to interpret the results from the IAQ monitors in housing design and human activities.