Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Source: Amazon\u2019s $69.99 Smart Air Quality Monitor is the company\u2019s first foray into the increasingly popular category of indoor air quality monitors (IAQs). And, based on my experience with the product, it\u2019s a bandwagon-jumping move. While relatively inexpensive and helpful thanks to voice control, the Smart Monitor doesn\u2019t add anything particularly innovative or useful to […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\",\"name\":\"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/\",\"name\":\"Science and Nerds\",\"description\":\"My WordPress Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds","og_description":"Source: Amazon\u2019s $69.99 Smart Air Quality Monitor is the company\u2019s first foray into the increasingly popular category of indoor air quality monitors (IAQs). And, based on my experience with the product, it\u2019s a bandwagon-jumping move. While relatively inexpensive and helpful thanks to voice control, the Smart Monitor doesn\u2019t add anything particularly innovative or useful to […]","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","og_site_name":"Science and Nerds","article_published_time":"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","name":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","datePublished":"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":628},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/","name":"Science and Nerds","description":"My WordPress Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1782,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780\/revisions\/1782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

\n

Amazon\u2019s $69.99 Smart Air Quality Monitor<\/a> is the company\u2019s first foray into the increasingly popular category of indoor air quality monitors (IAQs). And, based on my experience with the product, it\u2019s a bandwagon-jumping move. While relatively inexpensive and helpful thanks to voice control, the Smart Monitor doesn\u2019t add anything particularly innovative or useful to the concept of a consumer air quality monitor.<\/p>\n
An indoor air quality monitor purports to tell you all about nasties you can\u2019t see floating around in your home (the EPA says indoor air may be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air<\/a>). You may have heard about volatile organic compounds<\/a> and other airborne pollutants that are common in modern homes, many of which can aggravate or contribute to respiratory diseases such as asthma. Common activities in our homes, such as cleaning and cooking (especially with gas<\/a>), add minuscule particulates to the air that can cause harm and also exacerbate existing health conditions. And of course, the outdoor air can creep in, which, if you live near a busy road or in an area affected by wildfire smoke, can make life miserable. <\/p>\n
\n\n\n      <\/p><\/div>\n\n\nGood Stuff<\/h3>\n\nInexpensive<\/li>\n
Voice alerts for poor air quality<\/li>\n
Nice, compact design<\/li>\n
Can trigger Routines based on temperature<\/li>\nStores historical data<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\nBad Stuff<\/h3>\n\nCan\u2019t trigger a smart air purifier based on air quality<\/li>\n
Needs an Echo smart display or speaker<\/li>\n
No carbon dioxide monitoring<\/li>\n
Limited notifications<\/li>\n
Poor app experience<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\nA smart air quality monitor can not only give you a heads up when the air quality is going down so you can do something about it (open a window, turn on a fan, fire up an air purifier), but it should also do something about it without you needing to interfere, thanks to its connected nature. <\/p>\n
\n\u201cAlexa, what is the indoor air quality?\u201d<\/q><\/aside>\n<\/div>\nFor example, when particulate matter rises, a connected air quality monitor can tell a smart plug to turn on the fan connected to it or direct a smart thermostat to kick on the HVAC system to get the air moving or even trigger a smart air purifier to start cleaning the air.<\/p>\n
Herein lies the problem with Amazon\u2019s cute little $70 smart air quality monitor: it can\u2019t do any of that. <\/p>\n
What it can do is send an alert to your phone, announce over an Echo speaker, and indicate with its LED light when your air quality inside is poor. It can also turn on your heating or AC based on temperature, which could help move some air.<\/p>\n
\n  <\/p>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/picture>\n
    <\/span><\/p>\n
  <\/span><\/p>\n
    
The Smart Monitor has a nice, compact design and is powered by a micro-USB cable.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nThere\u2019s no on-device screen to show you exactly what\u2019s wrong (a feature on almost all the competition); instead, you need to have a nearby Echo Show to see your readings (or look in the app). The alert it sends just says the air quality is poor \u2014 no other info. Other monitors I\u2019ve tested will send specific alerts \u2014 such as \u201cCO2 levels are high, time to air this place out\u201d or \u201cHumidity is a bit high, consider running a dehumidifier.\u201d While Amazon\u2019s device does give you an early warning, that\u2019s about it. But for people who don\u2019t want to shell out a small fortune to monitor their air, this is a decent option.<\/p>\n
Price is the biggest selling point for the Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor. It\u2019s a much less expensive way to monitor your indoor air, with most competing products costing between $100 and $300. <\/p>\n
The $300 Awair Element<\/a> and Airthings View Plus<\/a> are the leaders here for those who want to get serious about their air. On the less expensive side of things are the $99.99 Eve Room<\/a>, which is HomeKit only, the Netatmo Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor for $119.99<\/a>, and the $45 Aqara\u2019s TVOC Air Quality Monitor<\/a> (which requires a hub starting at $30<\/a>), both of these also work with Alexa and can connect to HomeKit. <\/p>\n
\n  <\/p>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/picture>\n
    <\/span><\/p>\n
  <\/span><\/p>\n
    You can see your air quality score dashboard on an Echo Show smart display, as well as in the Alexa app on a smartphone.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nThe Amazon Smart AQ Monitor measures PM 2.5<\/a> (particulate matter small enough to penetrate the lungs), VOCs<\/a>, carbon monoxide, humidity, and temperature. It\u2019s missing a carbon dioxide monitor, which some competitors offer. This can help identify poor airflow in a room and potentially alert you to the risk of indoor COVID transmission. (High levels of CO2 can indicate that more of the air in a room is made up of other people\u2019s breath<\/a> \u2014 and whatever germs that breath carries.) But the Smart Monitor does offer more sensors than the similarly priced Aqara sensor, which doesn\u2019t measure PM 2.5 or carbon monoxide.<\/p>\n
\nThis is a smart air quality monitor that\u2019s just not very smart<\/q><\/aside>\n<\/div>\nAs with most consumer IAQs, the Smart Monitor offers up an easy-to-read score of your air quality. Its onboard indicator light also turns green for good, yellow for moderate, red for poor. The score appears in the app on a scale of 100, with 0 to 35 being bad and 65 to 100 good. It\u2019s likely based on the air quality index, developed by the EPA to help average users understand air quality<\/a> (I\u2019ve reached out to Amazon for confirmation of this). In my testing, my score hovered around 89, unless I was cooking on my gas stove when it nosedived to around 23. <\/p>\n
You can see the score in the device\u2019s dashboard in the Alexa app or on an Echo Show. Here you also get a breakdown of what\u2019s contributing to it and what, if anything, is making it worse. Each of the five sensors has its own line, highlighted in green, yellow, or red, indicating its status. <\/p>\n
In the dashboard, you can dive into a sensor\u2019s readings in separate tabs, where you can see historical readings for the last hour, day or week. I was able to review a month\u2019s worth of data.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n  <\/p>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/picture>\n
    <\/span><\/p>\n
  <\/span><\/p>\n
    The cable plugs in underneath.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/p>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/picture>\n
    <\/span><\/p>\n
  <\/span><\/p>\n
    A reset button is on the rear.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Smart Monitor is a nice-looking device. It has a rectangular puck-like design, with rounded corners, matte white plastic, and a small grille for the air to move through. It\u2019s also significantly smaller than most of the competition and won\u2019t look out of place in a living room or kitchen. It does have to be plugged in via a micro-USB cable and wall plug (included); there\u2019s no battery backup. <\/p>\n
The monitor is easy to set up \u2014 plug it in, open the Alexa app, and, if you are not prompted to pair the monitor, tap \u201cAdd Device.\u201d You need to grant access to Bluetooth and your device\u2019s camera (to scan the setup code), agree to the Alexa and Alexa Devices Terms of Use, and then scan the QR code on the back of the device. Alexa will then find the device and connect it to your Alexa account. Next, add it to a room or group. <\/p>\n
The monitor takes seven minutes to calibrate before it shows an IAQ score, and Amazon says it can take about two days to adjust to your air. Because of the calibration time, it\u2019s not really suited to moving around your home, as you have to unplug it, which resets the calibration. Interestingly, all the competitors have the option to just use battery power, which helps with portability, but most also need time to adjust to properly read your air. <\/p>\n\n  <\/p>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/picture>\n
    <\/span><\/p>\n
  <\/span><\/p>\n
    
I tested the Smart Monitor in the kitchen next to a gas-powered stove. The LED light gives a visual indicator when air quality changes.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nI set up the test unit in my kitchen, and glancing at the red light was a handy reminder to turn my stove hood on when I was cooking on my gas stove. But it would be even better if the Smart Monitor could just turn on the fan automatically if I had a connected range. <\/p>\n
The device performed comparably to other smart IAQ monitors during testing, with only minor discrepancies in readings. The main feature it offers that others don\u2019t are voice alerts through a compatible speaker. While not on by default, you can go into the Smart Monitor\u2019s settings in the app and enable push notifications and \/ or Echo announcements when the air quality drops to poor. These are limited, however, only telling you when it\u2019s poor. I would have liked a follow-up telling me when everything was back to normal. <\/p>\n
\nYou need a smart display to get the most out of this device.<\/q><\/aside>\n<\/div>\nYou can also ask Alexa for an update on your air by saying \u201cAlexa, what is the indoor air quality?\u201d Responses include poor, fair, and good, along with your air quality score. (Note: if you say \u201cAlexa, what is the air quality,\u201d you\u2019ll get a report from AirNow.gov<\/a> of the outdoor <\/em>air quality index score in your location, no monitor required.) You can also ask what the indoor temperature or humidity is, but you can\u2019t get CO, PM, or VOC readings by voice. <\/p>\n
Another option is to ask for the readings in a specific room if you add the device to a Group in the app, which is useful if you had a couple of these around your house. For example, if you are in the living room and want to know what the air quality is in the nursery you can say \u201cAlexa, what is the indoor air quality in the nursery,\u201d and hear the air quality score and rating. After some initial problems with this (due to Alexa being unable to tell the difference between a group and a device if it has the same name), I was able to get it working and found it helpful for keeping tabs on a sensitive space.<\/p>\n
While I\u2019m not a proponent of multiple apps, this device deserves a standalone app. It takes four taps through multiple menus and with much scrolling just to get to the monitor\u2019s dashboard, which is not a user-friendly experience.<\/p>\n
\n  <\/p>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/picture>\n
    <\/span><\/p>\n
  <\/span><\/p>\n
    The Alexa app shows your air quality dashboard plus has settings for using the Alexa voice features.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nAs alluded to earlier, my other complaint is the lack of home automation. This is a smart air quality monitor that\u2019s just not very smart. It works with Alexa Routines<\/a> (automated shortcuts that help your connected devices work together), but the only trigger it offers is temperature \u2014 there are five sensors here, but only one can tell other devices in your home to turn on or off. (This is also true of all the other air quality monitors that can connect to Alexa, which indicates Amazon has some platform work to do to enable it). <\/p>\n
If the Smart Monitor could also act on humidity, VOCs, CO, and particulate matter, it would be much easier to recommend. Amazon has said it is working on adding this functionality, but until it arrives, this device is limited as a smart air quality monitor.<\/p>\n
I set up a Routine that activated my HVAC system\u2019s fan if the temperature in the kitchen rose above 75 degrees between 5PM and 8PM, when I am usually cooking. I had the Routine wait 20 minutes and then revert the fan to auto, which worked well. <\/p>\n
\n  <\/p>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/picture>\n
    <\/span><\/p>\n
  <\/span><\/p>\n
    The Smart Monitor comes with a long cable and power adaptor.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nAnother use case for the temperature trigger is as a room sensor for a smart thermostat that works with Alexa, such as the Amazon Smart Thermostat.<\/a> But compared to other room sensors for smart thermostats (such as Ecobee<\/a> and Nest<\/a>), functionality is limited. You can\u2019t set conditions outside of time, such as only having the Routine run if motion is detected in the room or the lights are on, which means you could end up heating or cooling an empty room.<\/p>\n
The Smart Monitor is essentially a companion device for an Alexa \/ Echo home rather than a standalone air quality monitor. Amazon designed this to use primarily with voice and visual indicators rather than the app. This approach is okay if you have an Echo Show but less helpful if not. (Amazon offers value bundles that include the Smart Monitor and an Echo Dot or Echo Show 5). <\/p>\n
If you have an Amazon Smart Thermostat or similar, an Echo Show, and an interest in how high your particulate matter is, you may get some use out of the Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor. Otherwise, there is no compelling reason to pick this up as it doesn\u2019t do much \u2014 yet. <\/p>\n
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy \/ The Verge<\/em><\/p>\n
Update: Friday, March 18, 10:40 AM<\/strong><\/em>: Added more details on the ability to ask Alexa for the air quality in specific rooms. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/br><\/code><\/p>\n
Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/22971411\/amazon-smart-air-quality-monitor-iaq-review<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Source: Amazon\u2019s $69.99 Smart Air Quality Monitor is the company\u2019s first foray into the increasingly popular category of indoor air quality monitors (IAQs). And, based on my experience with the product, it\u2019s a bandwagon-jumping move. While relatively inexpensive and helpful thanks to voice control, the Smart Monitor doesn\u2019t add anything particularly innovative or useful to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,8],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-1780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smart-home","category-technology","tag-smart-home"],"yoast_head":"\nAmazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Source: Amazon\u2019s $69.99 Smart Air Quality Monitor is the company\u2019s first foray into the increasingly popular category of indoor air quality monitors (IAQs). And, based on my experience with the product, it\u2019s a bandwagon-jumping move. While relatively inexpensive and helpful thanks to voice control, the Smart Monitor doesn\u2019t add anything particularly innovative or useful to […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\",\"name\":\"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/\",\"name\":\"Science and Nerds\",\"description\":\"My WordPress Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds","og_description":"Source: Amazon\u2019s $69.99 Smart Air Quality Monitor is the company\u2019s first foray into the increasingly popular category of indoor air quality monitors (IAQs). And, based on my experience with the product, it\u2019s a bandwagon-jumping move. While relatively inexpensive and helpful thanks to voice control, the Smart Monitor doesn\u2019t add anything particularly innovative or useful to […]","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","og_site_name":"Science and Nerds","article_published_time":"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/","name":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter - Science and Nerds","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","datePublished":"2022-03-18T15:10:16+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-18T15:10:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":628},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/18\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Amazon\u2019s Smart Air Quality Monitor could be a lot smarter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/","name":"Science and Nerds","description":"My WordPress Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea2991abeb2b9ab04b32790dff28360e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e6e14fc6691445ef2b2c0a3a6c43882?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/amazons-smart-air-quality-monitor-could-be-a-lot-smarter_6234a0d99276b.jpeg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1782,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780\/revisions\/1782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}