Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings • Hacker News Board

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#41

Post by ahaucnx » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 1:52 PM UTC

haswell wrote: post #37

I appreciate that AirGradient has open source products, but the company repeatedly posting its own content here is starting to feel increasingly spammy. Air quality is a hot topic here so the posts often succeed, but why does this product hold so much sway with this community? Genuine question. Most companies self-promoting their own “we’re better than X competitor” content are not so well received. Am I missing some…

Achim Founder of AirGradient here. Yes, I'm curious about this too.

Could you clarify what exactly in this post you think is spammy?

We do try to write interesting and informative blog posts and also highlight important aspects that are not that generally known. Like in this article the data ownership issue of the AirThings.

In fact as part of our open-source philosophy we also see our responsibility creating awareness and informing about these things.

Why shouldn't we then try and distribute these posts to for example hacker news?

The posts only get traction if people like the content and upvote it. What's wrong with that?

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#42

Post by ahaucnx » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 1:55 PM UTC

bhouston wrote: post #30

I bought this no-name CO2 monitor (can be found on Amazon and AliExpress and probably elsewhere): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006483766478.html It is ~ $50. It actually works really well. I tested it in a number of situations and it appeared to be relatively accurate. It led me to make some ventilation changes in the house. I didn't need it on all the time, I just do spot checks if I think there is an issue n…

I had a look but it's unclear that it is an NDIR CO2 sensor. There are cheap Chinese CO2 sensors that actually do not measure CO2 but estimate it from VOCs. You can test this easily. Spray some Ethanol around your sensor and see if the CO2 rises a lot. If so then it's not a real CO2 sensor.

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#43

Post by haswell » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 2:51 PM UTC

ahaucnx wrote: post #41

haswell wrote: post #37

I appreciate that AirGradient has open source products, but the company repeatedly posting its own content here is starting to feel increasingly spammy. Air quality is a hot topic here so the posts often succeed, but why does this product hold so much sway with this community? Genuine question. Most companies self-promoting their own “we’re better than X competitor” content are not so well received. Am I missing some…

Achim Founder of AirGradient here. Yes, I'm curious about this too. Could you clarify what exactly in this post you think is spammy? We do try to write interesting and informative blog posts and also highlight important aspects that are not that generally known. Like in this article the data ownership issue of the AirThings. In fact as part of our open-source philosophy we also see our responsibility creating awarene…

> Could you clarify what exactly in this post you think is spammy?

In just the last 12 months, you’ve submitted your own domain 26 times. When you’re not submitting your own domain, you’re almost universally submitting content about your product.

Self promotion is directly addressed in the site guidelines.

> Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff part of the time, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity.

While I think some of the content is actually good, my reaction is to the fact that it has increasingly felt like pure self promotion, and the data backs that up.

> The posts only get traction if people like the content and upvote it. What's wrong with that?

See above. But for me, I’m just sharing how I feel after seeing these posts repeatedly. I’m tired of them to a degree that I felt compelled to comment about guidelines, which is something I generally try to avoid.

If it was an organically hot topic getting submitted by dozens of different people, I’d accept it as the current buzz in the zeitgeist and move on. Because it’s all coming from one account, it feels engineered, and yes, spammy. The quality of your content isn’t enough to excuse the behavior, and the behavior is now one of the lenses through which I’m seeing your product.

Too much of a good thing perhaps.

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#44

Post by Urgo » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 2:51 PM UTC

strogonoff wrote: post #23

Urgo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It cost more than $400, and it lasted less than half a year. I have four of IQAir's indoor ones and one of their outdoor ones. I got the first one probably 8 or 9 years ago but the others maybe 3 or 4 years ago. The original one was made before iqair bought airvisual. They all are working fine currently. Also, for the indoor ones, you can set DND mode (I forget the exact name they use) and it'll turn off the displa…

I am sure the sensor is fine and the weird USB port can be fixed (though it looked like they do not make it easy to disassemble the body). However, the device is just so janky and unpleasant to use I am not sure I want to go through the trouble. I started looking at Airthings, though I was recommended AirGradient as well. > until this year I always just used their website to view the data or the app Never used their…

> Of course, but it means it should be within reach to turn on and it will blast blue light in my face should I want to check it at night. An e-ink screen would work best, considering low refresh rate is not an issue in this scenario.

You can set a schedule. Mine automatically go into DND mode a little before bedtime and turn off after the sun is up.

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#45

Post by rssoconnor » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 2:51 PM UTC

emmanuel_1234 wrote: post #36

I unplugged my AirGradient a couple days ago. It's quite the useless piece. The CO2 sensor does not read CO2 levels, and recalibrates automagically. I have completely wacky readings from it, from 200ppm to 2000ppm. The VOC sensor also apparently does not read VOC levels, see discussion here: https://forum.airgradient.com/t/measurement-values-for-the-a... . All in all, I'm frustrated I fell for the regular free advert…

I bought a pair of sensors based on the HN mentions, and so far I'm pretty happy. I was mainly interested in their PM sensor, which isn't on your list of complaints, and works quite well.

I discovered my rangehood, which doesn't have an outdoor exhaust, is even more useless than I had imagined. I bought a HEPA filter for my kitchen to run while I'm cooking (a Blueair based on other HN comments) and based on the PM sensor readings of the AirGradient the HEPA filter is quite effective.

I did have to configure the CO₂ sensor recalibration period to keep the numbers sensible. It wasn't so easy to set different recalibration periods for the indoor and outdoor sensors, but with some curl commands, I was able to get things configured to my liking. I do appreciate that, in principle, I can edit the firmware to my liking in the future.

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#46

Post by ahaucnx » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 3:10 PM UTC

haswell wrote: post #43

ahaucnx wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Achim Founder of AirGradient here. Yes, I'm curious about this too. Could you clarify what exactly in this post you think is spammy? We do try to write interesting and informative blog posts and also highlight important aspects that are not that generally known. Like in this article the data ownership issue of the AirThings. In fact as part of our open-source philosophy we also see our responsibility creating awarene…

> Could you clarify what exactly in this post you think is spammy? In just the last 12 months, you’ve submitted your own domain 26 times. When you’re not submitting your own domain, you’re almost universally submitting content about your product. Self promotion is directly addressed in the site guidelines. > Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff part of the time, but the primary…

You raise some good points. I will reflect on them. Thanks!

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#47

Post by ahaucnx » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 3:20 PM UTC

oloapiu wrote: post #26

chomp wrote: post #9

I just got a pi zero w and a adafruit spg30. Not perfect, but good enough, I own the data, and I send it to grafana for alerting.

Yeah all these consumer-grade air quality sensors are nothing more than a Sensirion SPS30 or a Plantower PMS5003 and a Wi-Fi module in a box. To get more than just that you need to look at professional-grade indicative AQ sensors such as https://clarity.io/ and https://www.aeroqual.com/ These are what government agencies and municipalities use for dense sensor networks. E.g. https://www.breathelondon.org/

The clarity also uses the Plantower sensor. A high price does not necessarily mean better sensor modules.

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#48

Post by ploxiln » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 3:59 PM UTC

ahaucnx wrote: post #28

ploxiln wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sad to hear that the DIY Basic is "discontinued for now", rather than just "out of stock". I built mine about a year ago and I'm quite happy with it. (I later got the "ONE indoor kit" for my parents, since it has a nicer case included.) But I understand if the customer support (and PR ...) were too difficult to deal with for this particular offering. It is rather open hardware... I notice now there are "gerbers"…

The DIY basic will be back in stock soon. What we discontinued is the DIY pro that was the larger unit but to be soldered.

Oh ok, sounds great. (... I did solder the pin headers and PM-sensor cable connector on my DIY basic, which was fun, but I still think it's a great option even if only available pre-soldered.)

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#49

Post by ziml77 » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 4:26 PM UTC

illiac786 wrote: post #29

ziml77 wrote: post #10

I just got my AirGradient Ones a couple weeks ago. It was quite nice that I was able to set them up local-only with absolutely no fuss. Works wonderfully with Home Assistant. Also it was definitely worth saving money going with the DIY version. All that they leave for you is final assembly: plugging in 3 modules and wrenching down 4 self-tapping screws.

You’re forgetting the lab testing. The pre-assembled one has been tested to meet specific standards, something I will never be able to do at home.

True, though I have to believe that the line the sensors themselves are coming off of has QC to ensure they the batches seem to be operating within spec.

And I knew I wasn't getting the full factory testing, but for a home installation I am not worried about that. If the values happen to be a bit off, it's no big deal.

Re: Air Quality Monitors Compared: AirGradient One vs. Airthings

#50

Post by Xen9 » Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 8:07 PM UTC

I've recently realized that one can effectively cross-ventilate studio apartment by adding to their mail slots a PC-fan filtered by small HEPA-filter (to remover outdoor odors) combined with a window-attached ventilator pulling air to outdoors, possibly with a normal fan in the middle of the studio. Feel free to Kickstart this.