I feel like I’m a pretty diligent parent who wants to know what’s going on in my house. I monitor my kids’ tech. I watch their after-school snacking. But one area that I don’t think to check much is the air quality in my home. It’s one of those things that flies under my radar, but lately I’ve been trying out the Eve Room sensor from Elgato, so I’m getting a good read on the air my family is breathing.
In terms of “smart” home devices, the Eve Room is pretty basic, just monitoring air quality, temperature, and humidity. And though it doesn’t send you any push notifications when levels are too high, it is part of the Apple HomeKit, which means you can ask Siri what the air quality is in your home and you’ll get an answer easily.
And when you know when your air quality is bad, then you can do something about it. And that’s a good thing.
Related: Duux: The ultimate air purifier for a baby’s room
When Eve Room monitors your air quality, it measures the volatile organic compounds in your air –which come from your carpet, paints, and cleaning products. It even measures pollutants from smoke or cooking. The app will show you what your levels are, and where they fall in the range of healthy to dangerous. If you add other smart devices from the Elgato — like power consumption monitor and security devices — you can track them all through the same app screen, which streamlines all your home monitoring to one place. So handy for busy parents.
Although monitoring air quality isn’t part of most people’s essential day-to-day household chores, I could see where this device would be helpful if someone in your house has asthma or other conditions that can be triggered by poor air quality. It might also be nice for parents with premature babies, who want to make sure their kids aren’t exposed to polluted air while their lungs are still growing strong. If you did get a poor reading on your air quality, it might be a good reminder to change your air filters or invest in a good air purifier for your room.
As for the temperature and humidity readings, if you have a thermostat in your house — especially a smart thermostat like Nest or Ecobee — you’re probably already this info. But for apartment dwellers, this could be a helpful way to monitor how hot it’s getting — especially in a new baby’s room, where you want that temperature regulated well.
You can order the Eve Room monitor — along with the rest of their smart home devices — at Elgato’s website or our affiliate Amazon. It’s compatible with iOS devices only right now, but we’re hoping they’ll add Android devices soon.
