Since some of us are still working from home as the norm now taking an interest in our indoor air quality has been more important than ever. In this review, we were approached by Airthings to review the Airthings View Radon which was part of a series of products they have released such as:
View Plus – £259
View Radon- £169
Wave Mini – £69
In this review, we will be focusing on the View Radon which helps reduce your exposure to one of the leading silent killers in the home radon which can cause lung cancer and is found in most homes. Radon is 10x times more dangerous to children and 1 in 30 people are sensitive to radon. The View Radon is a very simple looking device that once placed in my living room you are most likely to forget it’s even in the room as it blends in nicely.
The use of the Airthings app, allows you to see graphs and receive notifications for radon but it also monitors the humidity and room temperature. The View Radon and Airthings app work together to prevent mould, and skin irritations and also help with your level of productivity as the warmer the room the less likely you will be productive.
Key Features
The key features available on the View Radon include:
- The Newest radon detection technology
- A calm tech display,
- Hub Connectivity
- Wi-Fi Connected
- Customizable Display
- Wave function
- Air quality check
Design/Set up
The View Radon is a very simple looking device it has a white plastic body and a small digital display in the centre.
The display uses an e-ink (Electronic ink) and displays a very limited amount of data I expect the reason for this is to not drain the battery. I did find the information generated a little limited and at points, I would like more information to be displayed or notification on how to reduce the humility or what to do if the level of radon increases.
In addition to the simple display, you will have 2x sensors and a LED indicator. The reason for this is that you can wave in front of the display and it will tell you the following message: Your Air is Good
This is paired with the LED light indicating a traffic light system:
Green – Good
Yellow- Fair
Red- Poor
If you do not want to be concerned with doing a daily wave you can set up the app to give you notifications which I expect more users will go for.
Moving to the rear of the device you have a battery cover that protects the 6x AA batteries this device runs on. Airthings indicates the battery life is 3 years but this could be less depending on the Wi-Fi router and sensor interval. I was surprised by the inclusion of the AA batteries and why this did not go for a rechargeable battery considering the device also has a USB-C port.
Set up was very simple you just simply download the Airthings App, sign up as a user, pull out the plastic battery tab and then pair it with your Wi-Fi router. The View radon also comes with 3 sticky wall mount stickers if you want it placed on the wall. I chose against that idea considering I have just had the house wallpapered and we had a shelf in the living room for it to sit on without being interrupted.
The Airthings App
The Airthings app is vital for the set-up of the device and when you go through the initial set-up Airthings drops small hints you should buy more devices for the home and have a family of devices that monitor your air quality. I was only sent the one to review but have since invested in a second device the wave Mini to monitor my air quality upstairs. The app allows you to review multiple devices at any one time which is really useful.
In the set-up, it explains what radon is and how you can come into contact with it with a handy little image like what I have displayed below.
When you use the app it will take a second to pick up your connection to your device but then will give you your air quality readings and an overall rating. If you then click on the 3 indicators at the top of the app it will show you readings with historical data.
However, please note you will need to leave the device for at least 7 days to fully adjust to the environment as this is the only way to get accurate monitoring. In testing, we live in the countryside with medium traffic for the area and have had no concerns with radon and the humidity and temperature seem to both follow the trend for the time of year.
In addition to viewing the stats on the app, you can also connect the View Radon via the USB cable to your computer to view the dashboard online you will then find more useful data and see per hour when the air quality has decreased this allows you to view when and work out why the change has happened. You can view data for up to 1 year at a time allowing plenty of opportunities to see how the air quality changes over seasons for example summer compared to winter. I will update the review later in the year to compare my findings.
Smart Home Compatibility
The View Radon can be added to your smart home set-up regardless of if you use Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa and IFTTT. This can help you create smart home automation that can proactively help you tackle issues of poor air quality or at least warn of possible issues. If an issue was to arise your smart home set-up could automatically switch on an air purifier if you have one at home just make sure it’s IFTTT compatible.
Verdict
The Airthings View Radon is a very advanced air monitor as it reviews the amount of radon in the air not something overly available on the market especially when you consider other IAQ devices on the market. Price-wise at £169 it’s not the most expensive option on the market. It’s worth the money if you feel monitoring the air quality in your home is important.
It’s a useful device to include in your smart home infrastructure to improve your indoor air quality and most importantly help you understand how to improve it. The only negative is this device is not compatible with Apple home assistant if they changed this it would open up to a whole new audience.
My final thought is if you are someone who is serious about the quality of the air in your home and wants to go about improving it then the View Radon is an excellent choice but it’s limited to just giving you readings on radon, humidity and temperature. If you want more extensive monitoring that will cover Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), CO2 & air pressure then you need to spend more and buy the View Plus.
Product Rating:
Design: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Airthings App: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Smarthome compatablity: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value For Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Overall Rating: 4.7 out of 5.0 stars – 4.75 Stars
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