CO2 Meter: Your Ultimate Guide to Monitoring Indoor Air Pollution
CO2 Meter products are important to have nowadays as they help keep indoor air clean and healthy. Prolonged (or even brief) exposure to poor indoor air quality can cause a range of health problems, including respiratory illnesses, dizziness, headaches, and poor concentration. Fortunately, there’s an easy and effective way to keep your indoor air quality good—by using the SwitchBot Meter Pro co2 monitor.
Overview
CO2 Monitoring: Why It Is Important
Many of us spend 80 to 90 percent of our time indoors, according to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). With this in mind, if you’re constantly exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide while staying indoors, expect to suffer from several negative effects. That’s why it’s important to keep track of the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels inside your home.
Top 3 Reasons for Monitoring Indoor CO2 Levels
1. Health Promotion
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends keeping the carbon dioxide concentration indoors below 1,000 ppm. This will help you avoid the health issues that are often caused by high levels of carbon dioxide.
At 1,000 to 5,000 ppm, you may already complain of drowsiness, headaches, fatigue, and poor concentration. And at 40,000 ppm, you could already suffer from a coma or permanent brain damage—or worse, possible death.
2. Efficiency and Productivity
Your productivity and performance can also suffer if there’s not enough healthy air in your home or workplace. Too much carbon dioxide in the air can lead to tiredness, poor concentration, slow reaction times, and poor decision-making.
A study on UK office spaces has shown that workers perform worse when carbon dioxide levels are high and temperatures are either too hot or too cold. In addition, the workers were able to work 60 percent faster in lower carbon dioxide concentrations.
3. Comfortable Environment
A stuffy room happens because there’s not enough fresh air coming in from outside. This causes the air to feel heavy and stale, making your home uncomfortable to live in. Not only that, increased levels of carbon dioxide can lead to mold and mildew growth, decreased productivity, and poor health.
3 Benefits of Using a CO2 Meter
Using a CO2 Meter also greatly helps in tracking indoor air quality by giving real-time readings of carbon dioxide levels. Here are other advantages of using a co2 monitor:
1. Improves Air Quality
A CO2 Meter doesn’t directly improve the quality of air inside your home. Instead, it provides useful information about the concentration of carbon dioxide (measured in parts per million or ppm) in the air. This helps you identify areas with poor ventilation, which in turn allows you to make the necessary steps to ensure the air in your home is clean and healthy.
2. Reduces Health Risks
Little is known about the exact number of people who get sick due to high carbon dioxide levels in homes. However, according to the World Health Organization, household air pollution caused around 3.2 million deaths in 2020. Some sources of household air pollution that produce carbon dioxide include fumes from gas stoves and smoke from tobacco or fireplaces.
3. Creates a Comfortable Indoor Space
By using a CO2 monitor to track carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, you can avoid stale air in your home. Any indoor space with a low concentration of CO2 and other harmful air pollutants usually creates a comfortable and refreshing environment. Not only that, but it also improves your mood, energy, and productivity.
Features of the SwitchBot CO2 Monitor
The SwitchBot Meter Pro is an affordable and simple way to monitor carbon dioxide levels in any area of your home or office. It offers a wide range of advanced and practical features, which we’ll discuss in greater detail below.
Key Features of the SwitchBot CO2 Monitor
5-in-1 Multi-Functional Display Screen
The large and bright display screen of this CO2 Meter allows you to easily read the latest carbon dioxide levels at a glance. You can also instantly view other important information, such as temperature, humidity, and date and time, making it simple to keep your interior environment just right.
Customizable Smart Alerts
The SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Meter tracks carbon dioxide levels in real-time. To ensure you’re constantly updated on the air quality inside your home, it offers three alarm methods:
- Sound alerts (put on silent mode using the app or device button).
- Screen notifications.
- App alerts (requires the SwitchBot Hub).
Advanced Sensors for Accuracy
There’s a good reason why NDIR (non-dispersive infrared) technology and Swiss industrial-grade sensors are preferred options for many CO2 Meter products. They’re highly valued for their accuracy, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.
You’ll find these efficient technologies in SwitchBot’s CO2 monitor. In addition, it implements a color scheme to make interpretation easy. For example, yellow (1,000-1,400 ppm) might indicate high levels of carbon dioxide in a specific area of your home, while green (400-1,000 ppm) usually indicates safe levels of this gas.
When plugged in with a Type-C cable, it keeps you updated every second. If it gets its power from batteries, it updates you every 5 seconds.
Flexible Power Options
The SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Meter uses two double A alkaline batteries to power it. Under ideal conditions, the batteries can last for around 12 months. If you prefer, you could also power it using a 5V/1A adapter (sold separately) and a Type-C charging cable to keep it running without depending solely on batteries.
Important: SwitchBot doesn’t recommend using rechargeable batteries. If you decide to use them, make sure that their maximum combined voltage doesn’t exceed 3 volts to avoid damaging the co2 monitor.
Durable and Flexible Design
With its discreet and minimalist design, this CO2 Meter blends perfectly with most modern interiors. You can hang it or position it upright at a 42-degree or 90-degree angle, allowing you to easily place it anywhere in your home that needs monitoring—on tables, walls, or near your gas stove.
Data Storage and Smart Integration
When connected to the SwitchBot Hub, the SwitchBot Meter Pro co2 monitor can work with most popular voice assistants, such as Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri Shortcuts. This offers added convenience by allowing you to adjust the settings or check for updates hands-free.
In addition, the CO2 Meter can store your air quality data locally for up to 38 days. You can also store the device’s data for a longer period—up to 2 years—by using the cloud storage option.
4 Important Benefits of the SwitchBot CO2 Monitor
Why should you use the SwitchBot Meter Pro? Here are some of the great benefits of this co2 monitor that you could consider:
Convenient Air Quality Monitoring
Monitoring the carbon dioxide levels in your home doesn’t need to be difficult. SwitchBot made sure of that. The Meter Pro co2 monitor doesn’t just measure indoor carbon dioxide concentration, but also outdoor temperature and humidity. It even provides a 12-hour forecast, so you can plan your trips in advance.
In addition, you can control the device remotely by using voice commands or the SwitchBot app. The top buttons make it easy to adjust common functions, such as muting alerts, refreshing values, and changing measurement units, without using the app.
Triple Alert System
This SwitchBot CO2 Meter has three ways to keep you informed about your indoor air quality: The on-screen notifications (coupled with a large display screen) make it easy to see data directly on the device. The sound alarms are loud enough to grab attention immediately. Lastly, the app alerts keep you updated even when you’re far from the co2 monitor.
Smart Home Integration Capability
Smart home appliances offer many great benefits, from convenience by automating chores to peace of mind through enhancing safety. You can enjoy the same benefits by using the SwitchBot Meter Pro, which can integrate with your smart home system through the SwitchBot Hub 2. It’s easy and quick to set up by just connecting to the SwitchBot app.
Accurate and Reliable
As mentioned earlier, the SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Meter is equipped with advanced, industrial-grade sensors to ensure accurate readings. It can detect carbon dioxide levels in the air between 400 and 9,000 ppm (parts per million).
The reading can vary by up to 50 ppm higher or lower than the actual carbon dioxide (CO2) level. For instance, if the actual CO2 level is 400 ppm, the Meter Pro might display a reading between 350 ppm and 450 ppm.
SwitchBot CO2 Meter: Installation and Setup
Another upside of the SwitchBot co2 monitor is that it’s relatively easy to install and set up. Here’s a general guide on how to do this:
- Update the SwitchBot app. If you already have the latest version, you can skip this step.
- Remove the back cover and pull out the strip insulating the battery.
- Set up your Meter Pro using the steps outlined below:
- Log in to the SwitchBot app.
- Look for the plus symbol (“+”) in the upper right corner, and then tap it.
- Select “Add Device.”
- Under “Sensor,” select “Meter Pro.”
- Hold the button on the top of the CO2 Meter for around 2 seconds. Wait for the Bluetooth icon to show up on the screen.
- Tap “Connect device.”
- Give your co2 monitor a name and choose your preferred room.
- Tap “Next,” then “Done.”
That’s how easy and quick the installation process is. If you have more questions, you can contact SwitchBot’s customer service team through the app.
The SwitchBot CO2 Meter: Interpreting CO2 Level Readings
Fortunately, the SwitchBot Meter Pro readings are easy to interpret by most users. The co2 monitor uses three colors to represent the air quality levels:
- Green (Safe): This level represents an indoor carbon dioxide concentration ranging from 400 to 1,000 ppm.
- Yellow (Cause for Concern): This level represents an indoor carbon dioxide concentration ranging from 1,000 to 1,400 ppm. At this range, the room might already feel stuffy, causing you to feel discomfort or fatigue.
- Red (Dangerous): This level represents an indoor carbon dioxide concentration ranging from 1,400 ppm and above. If the air quality in your home reaches dangerous levels, you could experience drowsiness, lack of focus, headaches, tremors, unconsciousness, brain damage, or even possible death.
Always check your CO2 Meter to ensure your indoor air quality is still within safe levels. If the readings are already at a moderate level or dangerous level, take immediate steps to improve ventilation and identify sources of harmful gases inside your home.
Conclusion
The majority of your time is likely spent indoors, such as at home. Make it a safe space by using smart devices to ensure you and your loved ones are inhaling clean and healthy air at all times. If you’re concerned about the carbon dioxide levels in your home or office, invest in a reliable CO2 monitor, like the SwitchBot Meter Pro, today.
