What makes an air quality monitor commercial grade?
A commercial air quality monitor reports CO2, PM2.5, VOCs, temperature and humidity against the outdoor air year-round, sized per room, with months of history.
Blog
Notes on the air indoors.
What PM2.5, CO₂, VOC, humidity and radon readings mean, and what to change when they run high.
Do you need a dedicated CO₂ monitor for the office?
Not always. A dedicated CO2 monitor for the office only answers the ventilation question; this post covers what it misses and exactly where to put one.
IAQ certification: is it worth it for your team?
An IAQ certification trains your team to test air quality and explain results to homeowners. It does not replace the readings an ongoing monitor provides.
What an office air quality monitor should track
Office air quality monitoring tracks CO2, PM2.5, VOCs, temperature and humidity room by room, checked against the air outside, so a complaint gets a number.
How to start a building air quality program
A building air quality program starts with a monitor in every occupied room, a CO2 baseline against the outside air, and a plan for when a reading moves.
What the WELL Building Standard requires for air data
The WELL Building Standard sets fixed limits on PM2.5, CO2 and radon, plus rules for how often air data must be collected and how long records are kept.
Air quality monitor for mold: what it can and can't detect
An air quality monitor for mold doesn't detect spores. It tracks the humidity and VOC changes that signal a mold risk and confirm whether a fix worked.
What causes a stuffy room, and how to fix it
A stuffy room usually means CO₂ near or above 1,000 ppm, humidity out of range, or air that has stopped moving. Here is how to find the cause and clear it today.
HVAC air quality: where it fits in a service call
HVAC air quality fits into a service call at the plug-in, not the diagnosis: a kit reports PM2.5, CO2 and humidity while the tech is already there that day.
Outdoor air quality monitor: do you need one too?
Most homes don't need a standalone outdoor air quality monitor. Here's what it adds, when a free app like AirNow is enough, and what it still can't tell you.
Demand controlled ventilation: what it does with CO₂ data
Demand controlled ventilation raises or lowers outdoor air from a room's CO2 reading. How the reset works, and where sensor drift makes it stop working.
Do you need a radon mitigation system?
You need a radon mitigation system once a reading averages 4 pCi/L or higher, the EPA's action level. Here's how to know, and how to confirm the fix worked.
A dedicated humidity monitor, or the whole kit?
A dedicated humidity monitor tracks one room's relative humidity. A kit that reports humidity next to CO2, PM2.5 and VOCs answers the bigger question.
How to choose the best indoor air quality monitor
The best indoor air quality monitor reports PM2.5, CO2, VOCs, radon and humidity room by room, measured against the outdoor air, with history to check later.
What an app to check air quality in your home shows you
An app to check air quality in your home shows live PM2.5, CO2, and humidity readings by room, with trends over time against the outdoor air near your address.
Air quality dashboard: what a white-label one should show
A white-label air quality dashboard should show live readings by room, a history view, and threshold alerts under your brand. What it leaves out matters too.
What an air quality monitoring service actually includes
An air quality monitoring service puts continuous monitors in each room, compares every reading to the outdoor air, and prices per space with no minimum term.
Is one PM2.5 monitor enough, or do you need a kit?
A single PM2.5 monitor only answers one room. A kit adds the air outside and every other room, which is what settles whether the house actually improved.
Does your home need a standalone VOC monitor?
A standalone VOC monitor reports only one number, with no context. Here is what it misses, when it is enough, and what a full air quality monitor adds.
Do you need a dedicated CO2 monitor for your home?
You don't always need a dedicated CO2 monitor for home. A single CO2 reading misses PM2.5, VOCs and humidity, and this guide covers exactly where to put one.
How to sell indoor air quality monitoring
How to sell indoor air quality monitoring: open with a reading from the visit you are already on, price it as a line item, and let the data make the next call.
Professional air quality testing: what one test misses
Professional air quality testing gives one reading on one day. A monitor left in place indoors shows what changes hour to hour, which a single test misses.
OSHA indoor air quality standards: what's required
OSHA has no general indoor air quality standard. It relies on the general duty clause, a 5,000 ppm CO2 limit for industry, and ASHRAE ventilation guidance.
Workplace air quality testing: how it works
Workplace air quality testing tracks CO2, PM2.5, VOCs and humidity against the air outside, room by room, so a complaint gets a number instead of a guess.
What an indoor air quality monitor actually measures
An indoor air quality monitor measures PM2.5, CO₂, humidity, VOCs and often radon, room by room. Here is what each reading tells you, and what it leaves out.
Does an air purifier work? How to tell with a reading
An air purifier works if the room's PM2.5 reading falls within 30 minutes of running it. Here is how to test yours and what a clean reading looks like.
How a radon test kit works
A radon test kit uses a charcoal canister, an alpha track detector, or a continuous monitor to measure radon gas in pCi/L over days, weeks, or months.
Add air quality monitoring to HVAC maintenance agreements
Add air quality monitoring to your HVAC maintenance agreement so customers see a reading between visits, under your own brand, not just a yearly tune-up.
IAQ testing for HVAC contractors: what a tech can measure
IAQ testing for HVAC contractors means more than a one-time reading. See what a monitor reports, how it installs, and how to sell it as a service line.
Where VOCs in your home come from
VOCs in your home come mostly from paint, new furniture, flooring and cleaning products, and can run several times higher indoors than outside, per EPA testing.
Radon levels in your home: how high is too high
The EPA sets 4 pCi/L as the point to fix a home for radon, with a fix worth considering from 2 pCi/L. Here is what a high reading means and what to try next.
Indoor humidity levels: what counts as good
Indoor humidity levels between 30 and 50 percent relative humidity keep mold and dust mites down without drying out your skin, throat or wood furniture.
Indoor air quality in schools: what to measure and why
Indoor air quality in schools comes down to CO₂, PM2.5 and humidity tracked room by room. What each reading means and what to do when one crosses a threshold.
CO₂ levels in a bedroom: when the number is too high
Bedroom CO₂ above 1,000 ppm is where most people start calling a room stuffy. What CO₂ levels in a bedroom mean, and what to try when the line keeps climbing.
PM2.5 indoor levels: what counts as a good number
A good indoor PM2.5 level is under 9.0 µg/m³ as a daily average. What PM2.5 indoor levels mean, where the particles come from, and what brings them down.
How to test indoor air quality in your home
To test indoor air quality, measure PM2.5, CO₂, humidity, VOCs and radon in the rooms you use. Here is how to test indoor air quality at home, room by room.
White-label air quality monitors for home service companies
A white-label air quality monitor carries your logo, your domain and your price. What the partner program brands, what it doesn't, and what to ask first.
How to add an indoor air quality business line
An indoor air quality business starts with monitoring: preconfigured kits under your own brand, readings homeowners can see, and a reason to call back.
Does a MERV 13 filter change your PM2.5 reading?
A MERV 13 filter only lowers your indoor PM2.5 reading while the HVAC fan is running, and the EPA puts that at under 25% of the time. How to test yours.
Wildfire smoke and indoor air: how to keep it out
With the windows shut, indoor PM2.5 still runs about 55% to 60% of the outdoor level. How wildfire smoke reaches indoor air, and four fixes that keep it out.