Awair Air Quality Monitor Review

Being healthy isn’t always easy, but working out and eating well are pretty straightforward. Knowing what’s in the air you breathe in your home and how to make it the healthiest it can be is a little more complicated.

That is until the Awair Air Quality Monitor came onto the market. It tracks numerous variables in the air and, while it doesn’t fix or purify the air, it does give you tips on how to improve the quality depending on what it finds.

If you’re looking for a way to figure out what kind of chemicals, toxins, or dust are in your air, then the Awair might just be the product for you.

Awair Air Quality Monitor: The Details

Specs

• Weight: 1lb
• Dimensions: 2 x 6.3 x 3.5 inches
• Product Type: Air Quality Monitor
• Compatible with Alexa?: Yes, along with Next and IFTTT
• Compatible with Apple and Android phones/tablets: Yes
• Warranty: 30-day return policy and a limited 1-year warranty against manufacturing defects

How Does It Work

We always hear news stories and see articles about how our air is becoming more and more polluted, but we never really know how much.

There are lots of air purifiers on the market, but we can’t be sure to what degree they’re improving the situation. Awair is one of the first air monitors to bring you into the loop.

The Awair has five sensors that detect the air as it naturally flows through an area and these sensors track toxins, chemicals, dust, CO2, humidity, and the temperature of the air.

If any of these metrics changes drastically, you get a notification on your phone and a message is shown on the Awair screen. Once the levels return to their “normal” state, another message comes up to alert you.

For set up, you simply plug in the Awair unit, pick the room the device is going to be placed in (there will be a list), and choose a setting: general, allergy, sleep, productivity, or baby. Each setting interprets the result differently.

Then, you sync the Awair with your phone or another Wi-Fi-connected device by downloading the app and letting it do its work. It takes about two minutes to set-up and configure.

Afterward, all that’s required is looking out for the notifications and numbers on your phone and the AWAIR.

The sensors measure the air every 15 seconds and provide a score of 0 to 100, 100 being the best. The light on the display will appear as green, yellow, or red (good, fair, or poor).

The display can also switch between showing you the time or the score, and you can knock twice on the wooden frame to switch between the different displays.

The messages will appear on your smartphone, and will either be telling you something has changed or lets you know what can be done to improve your air quality.

Awair Readings

Awair has a wide range in terms of what it can read. It reads the temperature from-40 to 125°C or -40 to 257° F.

It measures humidity from 0 to 95%, CO2 levels from 0 to 4000 ppm (parts per million), and dust volumes from 0 to 5000 micrograms per cubic meter. It also detects a number of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).

In terms of space, it is recommended to have one monitor per closed room, as it covers up to 1000 square feet

Connectivity

AWAIR can connect to your smartphone or tablet and is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled. The Awair app runs on both Apple and Android phones/tablets, and the Wi-Fi connection allows the monitor to record and send the results to your phone.

The Awair can also connect to Nest, Alexa (Amazon Echo), and IFTTT. When you’re connected to your favorite virtual assistant, you can have your fan or heat turn on or off depending on the temperature of the air.

Just make sure that the thermostat, fan, or whatever device you want controlled by your Awair is a smart device.

Warranty

Overall, the Awair Monitor is built to last at least seven to ten years.

It comes with a 30-day return policy and a limited one-year warranty against any manufacturing defects.

Bitfinder: The Brand

Bitfinder Inc. was founded in 2013 by Ronald Ro and Kevin Cho. Their stated mission is to “empower” the consumer by giving them the knowledge they need to be healthier in their environment.

They are devoted to designing products that are more than just technology; technology that helps the user take control of the environment around them.

The company really didn’t start to become better-known until they came out with the first models of the Awair in 2015.

Awair Air Quality Monitor Review

Positives

The Design

To state it simply, the Awair looks really cool. A lot of air sensors or air purifiers don’t look that appealing to the eye.

It has a wooden exterior made of 100% North American Walnut timber and the rest is made from natural materials.

It can fit in with pretty much any décor (and elevate it), and if you have the display set to show the time, it just looks like a futuristic digital clock.

Made with Quality 

Given its beautiful design, it would be a shame if the Awair Air Monitor fell short on quality. Fortunately, that’s not the case.

Not only is it made with all-natural walnut wood, fitting it’s green intentions,  but it’s also constructed with high-quality materials so you know it’s made to last.

Readings and Notifications

Learning what is in your air and receiving some tips for what you can do to fix it is an invaluable service.

If you have allergies, you now have another way to control them by using the tips provided by the Awair monitor.

Bitfinder also partnered with Mayo Clinic to make sure the Awair was providing the most helpful suggestions.

Easy to Install and Use

Awair doesn’t make buying and using their air monitor any more complicated than it needs to be. Setup and installation are easy, and once it’s up and running, it’s just as easy to use.

Follow the instructions given with the device and you should be ready to monitor your air in less than ten minutes.

Connecting to your devices and using the app is simple and intuitive meaning there’s really no learning curve when using the Awair Air Quality Monitor.

Here’s what the Awair Air Quality Monitor looks like out of the box and setup.

Great Money-Saver and Learning Tool 

This tool is especially useful if you’re an allergy sufferer, or a new parent, where creating the best air quality and environment is super important.

You’ll quickly learn what lowers and increases your air quality letting you learn what triggers your allergies or causes your baby to get stuffy.

The initial cost of the air monitor isn’t a large investment, and this could be the gateway to saving you money on purifiers, humidifiers, or other products that you think you need to better your air quality. Awair takes away the trial and error that you could go through otherwise.

Some customers have even found out that their air quality is actually great, contrary to what they thought before purchasing the device.

Why invest in other devices when sometimes all it takes is a little rearranging to get a better living environment?

This is where the Awair air monitor really shines.

Top Notch Customer Service

Should any issues or problems arise, rest assured the Awair customer service department has your back.

In the event that you need to contact the company, customers have raved about their service department being attentive, friendly and efficient.

This is great in showing that a company stands behind their product and cares about the experience their customers are getting.

Whether it’s a concern about insurance, or you simply just need help setting up your device, they’re there to help.

Negatives

Connectivity Issues

Unfortunately, if you don’t have a constant Wi-Fi signal, the readings you receive from the monitor do become inaccurate.

Wi-Fi signals drop sometimes for a number of reasons, and since the Awair relies so heavily on Wi-Fi, that is a major issue for some consumers.

Notifications and Tips

There is also a problem with the frequency of the notifications which can be annoying when they are popping up often.

From our testers’ experience, it seems the product is very sensitive to changes in the air. One user noted that they used spray-on deodorant and it affected the readings for days.

Additionally, some of the tips the AWAIR provides seem to be common sense to some users; opening a window and buying a plant are a couple of examples.

Finally, some of the tips offered are advertisements for other AWAIR products, and while that may be helpful, it appears a little self-serving of the company to put ads in a product a user already spent a fair amount of money on.

What Do the Numbers Mean?

A number of testers wondered what goes into the score the monitor gives you. What makes a 40 versus a 65?

More information and more specificity of what’s in the air would help the users understand what is going on in their environment.

Does a low score mean they need to just buy some more plants and keep their windows open longer, or is there a bigger issue in their house?

Overall Verdict

Based on all the factors, we would cautiously recommend the Awair Air Quality Monitor.

If you are looking for a basic test, this is a good product that also acts as an interesting (and informative) decor piece in your home.

But, if you are looking for more specific information and in-depth tips on why your air is the way it is and what you can do to change it, this may not be the right choice for you.

Where to Buy the Awair Air Quality Monitor

The Awair Air Quality Monitor caters to those who are aiming to live a greener lifestyle, starting with their home.

This product is not only innovative but beautifully designed causing it to gain attention from modern techies. Despite that, it can also be considered a niche product, making it a little tricky to find in-store and online.

To help you start your search, check out the Awair website.

• Awair (from $165)

But as usual, you can also find the Awair Air Quality Monitor on Amazon.

That’s it for our review on the Awair air quality monitor. Curious to give it a try?