Air quality monitor?

[Tropicalevo]

I am looking for recommendations for an accurate air quality monitor.

Whilst the air on our beautiful island is very good compared to most of Thailand, there were a couple of days last week where we were not as clear as usual.

The sites that show air quality are not that accurate at a precise location. Good for an overall quality view, but I want to monitor what I am breathing.

Moderate 67 AQI US on Friday, according to

https://www.iqair.com/thailand/surat-thani/ko-samui

 

Two photos from last week and the last photo is how it usually looks.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

What would you do if you see that the air quality at your home is bad?

Probably you would buy an air purifier.

Air purifiers have an air quality meter build in. So maybe skip the step to buy a meter and buy an air purifier.

I can recommend the MI brand air purifier for about 4000B.

 

[malasa]

I agree, just get a smart air purifier and you can monitor it. I bought a "Mi Air Purifier 4 Lite" which you can monitor and control via phone app and monitor it even via linux and do whatever you want with the data.

 

When it got serious last year I also got another device to monitor the quality, but it is not working at all, even after converting the units. But hey, nice display. Since these are quite expensive and I can get the values from the other device I stopped searching.

 

Right now it might not be the best air quality but compared to last year it is fine for me. And yes, the purifier works great for me.

 

Filter is now at (calculated) 48% and I run the device usually automatically when the AQI is above 15 and down to 5. That is quite low and I changed it recently to 20 to 5. Also I run it one hour in the morning before I usually wake up. So a filter replacement will hot happen that often, I got it nearly exactly a year ago. ... just if you fear the costs.

 

But my bedroom is really small, your mileage may vary ...

 

[ChaiyaTH]

It happens every year to not be able to see Samui clear from Phangan around this time. The air quality usually is 60 levels too. Pointless to measure the air quality anyway, what does this actually help you with? Nothing. What will it change? Nothing. What will it tell you more? Nothing.

 

The suggestion to buy an air purifier is just as senseless lol, these people clearly do not understand island life, where you are mainly in open air.

 

Actually surprises me that people who lived here so long, could not be aware of this. It is nothing new at all, nothing new in decades.

[malasa]

 

3 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

It happens every year to not be able to see Samui clear from Phangan around this time. The air quality usually is 60 levels too. Pointless to measure the air quality anyway, what does this actually help you with? Nothing. What will it change? Nothing. What will it tell you more? Nothing.

 

The suggestion to buy an air purifier is just as senseless lol, these people clearly do not understand island life, where you are mainly in open air.

 

Well, If you have problems with the air quality it is not senseless and not everyone is "mainly in open air". People are different and you spend usually a third of you day inside your bedroom. Waking up without a cloudy head is great.

 

I can't comment on if the view is normal or not, might be. Fact is that the AQI was really bad last year around this time and for sensitive people an air purifier might be a good solution. A decade ago I lived in KL where it was much worse (also from burning trees plus the usual city pollution) and I know the symptoms quite well. Last year I had the same problems - albeit less severe - on Samui and that was when I decided to buy one and I don't regret it, it helped ME a lot. 

 

If you don't have any problems at all you probably don't need one, good for you. 

 

 

 

[ChaiyaTH]

9 minutes ago, malasa said:

 

 

Well, If you have problems with the air quality it is not senseless and not everyone is "mainly in open air". People are different and you spend usually a third of you day inside your bedroom. Waking up without a cloudy head is great.

 

I can't comment on if the view is normal or not, might be. Fact is that the AQI was really bad last year around this time and for sensitive people an air purifier might be a good solution. A decade ago I lived in KL where it was much worse (also from burning trees plus the usual city pollution) and I know the symptoms quite well. Last year I had the same problems - albeit less severe - on Samui and that was when I decided to buy one and I don't regret it, it helped ME a lot. 

 

If you don't have any problems at all you probably don't need one, good for you. 

 

 

 

Maybe you should read before you reply. This topic is about the OP, and the OP mainly lives in open air. He even stated this a few comments back in another topic but it is common sense for anyone on the islands, which the topic is also about. As I also wrote already: the air quality is down in this specific geo of thailand every time around this year up until around april / may. You can often hardly see samui from a beach like srithanu.

 

If people are actually serious about having health issues, but then being so ignorant to keep living in most of Thailand, I would say the south is the only acceptable escape location, not sure what to say of that. Measuring it and putting a few air filters around is not gonna help.

 

What you mention with KL is a joke, that is what most of Thailand and specially the north, gets to endure for weeks if not months a year. Depending on the direction of the wind, the burning from malaysia often also hits the south of Thailand for days or week(s). Not to mention the invisible pollution on phangan and samui from the garbage burning, that due to winds, can be a invisible killer too.

[phetphet]

Xiaomi, which seems to be a good quality Chinese brand has PM2.5  Detector on Lazada. See attached photo. Others too. 

 

I have one of their Mi 4 air purifiers in my bedroom. Don’t know how much of a difference it makes, but the filters is trapping dust. It is a HEPA filter so is probably filtering out the  really small particulates.

 

Smog is probably coming up from Indonesia.

[KhunLA]

53 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

It happens every year to not be able to see Samui clear from Phangan around this time. The air quality usually is 60 levels too. Pointless to measure the air quality anyway, what does this actually help you with? Nothing. What will it change? Nothing. What will it tell you more? Nothing.

 

The suggestion to buy an air purifier is just as senseless lol, these people clearly do not understand island life, where you are mainly in open air.

 

Actually surprises me that people who lived here so long, could not be aware of this. It is nothing new at all, nothing new in decades.

Not actually pointless.  Local reading can vary, and even though air purifier 'may' have meter built in (mine don't), it's nice to know the PM2.5, as that sometimes, most times, does not agree with the 'safe' good/moderate level of AQI readings.  

 

Though good/moderate AQI may be <50/<100, the PM2.5 may be 3-5-10X more than 'WHO' healthy levels.

 

@Tropicalevo Meter doesn't have to be expensive,  Ours, from LAZ or AliExpress was inexpensive.  Was this type, and bought years ago, and 1000 baht mark rings a bell.   Seems inflation has hit.

 

Really liking the Xiaomi meter posted above, and would go with that if buying one 👍  Along with their air purifiers, which we have 2 of.

 

Shows all the #s you need;

PM2.5

AQI

Temp

RH

and more

 

Example of why needed, AQI 'low moderate' but PM2.5 is 6+ X healthy levels, so time to turn things on.

[malasa]

9 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Maybe you should read before you reply. This topic is about the OP, and the OP mainly lives in open air. He even stated this a few comments back in another topic but it is common sense for anyone on the islands, which the topic is also about. As I also wrote already: the air quality is down in this specific geo of thailand every time around this year up until around april / may. You can often hardly see samui from a beach like srithanu.

 

I can't read this at all from the OP and I commented on THIS post. I told on MY experience and that I agree that a dedicated monitor is maybe not what you want. 

 

9 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

 

If people are actually serious about having health issues, but then being so ignorant to keep living in most of Thailand, I would say the south is the only acceptable escape location, not sure what to say of that. Measuring it and putting a few air filters around is not gonna help.

 

What you mention with KL is a joke, that is what most of Thailand and specially the north, gets to endure for weeks if not months a year. Depending on the direction of the wind, the burning from malaysia often also hits the south of Thailand for days or week(s). Not to mention the invisible pollution on phangan and samui from the garbage burning, that due to winds, can be a invisible killer too.

 

When I was in KL the AQI was 322, that was not a joke at all. I had to leave KL because I couldn't breath anymore and felt constantly pepper sprayed. Since I know the feeling I can compare it with Samui last year, which was btw the first time I had problems here - after over 10 years. 

 

 

[KhunLA]

27 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Xiaomi, which seems to be a good quality Chinese brand has PM2.5  Detector on Lazada. See attached photo. Others too. 

 

I have one of their Mi 4 air purifiers in my bedroom. Don’t know how much of a difference it makes, but the filters is trapping dust. It is a HEPA filter so is probably filtering out the  really small particulates.

 

Smog is probably coming up from Indonesia.

MI / Xiaomi Official Store/where to buy:

Shopee

Lazada

[Tropicalevo]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

What would you do if you see that the air quality at your home is bad?

Probably you would buy an air purifier.

Air purifiers have an air quality meter build in. So maybe skip the step to buy a meter and buy an air purifier.

I can recommend the MI brand air purifier for about 4000B.

 

 

2 hours ago, malasa said:

I agree, just get a smart air purifier and you can monitor it. I bought a "Mi Air Purifier 4 Lite" which you can monitor and control via phone app and monitor it even via linux and do whatever you want with the data.

 

When it got serious last year I also got another device to monitor the quality, but it is not working at all, even after converting the units. But hey, nice display. Since these are quite expensive and I can get the values from the other device I stopped searching.

 

Right now it might not be the best air quality but compared to last year it is fine for me. And yes, the purifier works great for me.

 

Filter is now at (calculated) 48% and I run the device usually automatically when the AQI is above 15 and down to 5. That is quite low and I changed it recently to 20 to 5. Also I run it one hour in the morning before I usually wake up. So a filter replacement will hot happen that often, I got it nearly exactly a year ago. ... just if you fear the costs.

 

But my bedroom is really small, your mileage may vary ...

 

 

Thank you both for your suggestion, but I do not think that it will work.

I wanted a meter, to place on the wall below the thermometer/humidity meter. See photo.

With a meter, I can see what the quality is like where I live, and the staff can also see for themselves instead of asking me.

 

I have no problem with the air quality.

I live with all doors and windows open.

Even though I have COPD (chronic bronchitis) I can breath well here. (Unless I try and climb hills.)

 

[Tropicalevo]

Thank you phetphet and KhunLA.

 

I will look into your suggestions

[malasa]

Here is one montior i DON'T recommend, not working at all for me. I have it in my kitchen and even when I cook something there is no change while my air purifier detects the bad air and spins up.

 

lazada.co.th/products/i4155851447-s16316882857.html

 

So it is basically a 1000 baht clock for me ...

 

Be careful, the other one posted @phetphet are sometimes in the same listing and you might end up with a <deleted>ty one.

[Presnock]

12 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I am looking for recommendations for an accurate air quality monitor.

Whilst the air on our beautiful island is very good compared to most of Thailand, there were a couple of days last week where we were not as clear as usual.

The sites that show air quality are not that accurate at a precise location. Good for an overall quality view, but I want to monitor what I am breathing.

Moderate 67 AQI US on Friday, according to

https://www.iqair.com/thailand/surat-thani/ko-samui

 

Two photos from last week and the last photo is how it usually looks.

 

lazada and I'm sure shoppee too have many monitors for sale.  Some are large, some have multigases readings, some are small enough to carry with one when jogging or walking outside.  some only measure the 2.5 microns.  check them out and see if any meet your needs/requirements.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just bought a new one for home, after my old one of 4-5 years finally gave up the ghost... These are the two models I've used and endorse (just endorsing the models, not where to buy them).

 

The SW model I bought a pair of probably 4-5 years ago from Aliexpress and have used continuously ever since... One still running fine. The other's built-in battery finally just recently stopped charging. So I bought the Dienmern model below from a Thai Shopee seller. So far, the Dienmern works great and also is very accurate in its readings.

 

Both charge built-in lithium batteries via an included USB cable. You can unplug the cable and they'll run for several days on battery power. Or, do as I do, which is just leave them continuously plugged in and fully charged.

 

When they're plugged in, the display remains on continuously. But at least with the SW model, when on battery power, the display turns off after a set period of time until you press an activate button again. Which is another reason I leave mine plugged in.

 

Sndway SW-825

 

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832640444351.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

 

AND

 

Dienmern DM103

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/pm25-dienmern-3-in-1-i4545601219-s18494901078.html

[Presnock]

3 hours ago, malasa said:

I agree, just get a smart air purifier and you can monitor it. I bought a "Mi Air Purifier 4 Lite" which you can monitor and control via phone app and monitor it even via linux and do whatever you want with the data.

 

When it got serious last year I also got another device to monitor the quality, but it is not working at all, even after converting the units. But hey, nice display. Since these are quite expensive and I can get the values from the other device I stopped searching.

 

Right now it might not be the best air quality but compared to last year it is fine for me. And yes, the purifier works great for me.

 

Filter is now at (calculated) 48% and I run the device usually automatically when the AQI is above 15 and down to 5. That is quite low and I changed it recently to 20 to 5. Also I run it one hour in the morning before I usually wake up. So a filter replacement will hot happen that often, I got it nearly exactly a year ago. ... just if you fear the costs.

 

But my bedroom is really small, your mileage may vary ...

 

One can also check "accuweather (your location) for air quality at the central office (your location)  I check each day and to date, the readings are fairly close to what my personal monitor says.  Though in the past, I heard that one central reading area had a local fire truck come and spray the area near the monitor for half an hour.  Their readings were always a lot lower than that of my monitor.

[Tropicalevo]

41 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Just bought a new one for home, after my old one of 4-5 years finally gave up the ghost... These are the two models I've used and endorse (just endorsing the models, not where to buy them).

 

The SW model I bought a pair of probably 4-5 years ago from Aliexpress and have used continuously ever since... One still running fine. The other's built-in battery finally just recently stopped charging. So I bought the Dienmern model below from a Thai Shopee seller. So far, the Dienmern works great and also is very accurate in its readings.

 

Both charge built-in lithium batteries via an included USB cable. You can unplug the cable and they'll run for several days on battery power. Or, do as I do, which is just leave them continuously plugged in and fully charged.

 

When they're plugged in, the display remains on continuously. But at least with the SW model, when on battery power, the display turns off after a set period of time until you press an activate button again. Which is another reason I leave mine plugged in.

 

Sndway SW-825

 

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832640444351.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

 

AND

 

Dienmern DM103

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/pm25-dienmern-3-in-1-i4545601219-s18494901078.html

Thanks for that response TGJIB.

I had not thought about the power supply. There is one near the place that I had planned to use, but I do not want cables trailing there.

I need to find one that runs of AA or AA batteries - similar to the thermometer.

[Tropicalevo]

41 minutes ago, Presnock said:

One can also check "accuweather (your location) for air quality at the central office (your location)  I check each day and to date, the readings are fairly close to what my personal monitor says.  Though in the past, I heard that one central reading area had a local fire truck come and spray the area near the monitor for half an hour.  Their readings were always a lot lower than that of my monitor.

That is exactly why I want the monitor.

The online sites tell me that on Samui, it is in the 60's or lower but south KPN lately has been 120 plus.

Where I live on Samui, I am probably closer to KPN than to where the readings are taken here.

I am not concerned for me, but if the readings are higher then I will probably buy an air purifier for the old Thai lady that lives next door. She shuts the house up tight at night.

[KhunLA]

2 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Thanks for that response TGJIB.

I had not thought about the power supply. There is one near the place that I had planned to use, but I do not want cables trailing there.

I need to find one that runs of AA or AA batteries - similar to the thermometer.

With that, mine uses external USB / NO battery power:

 

 

[khunPer]

14 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I am looking for recommendations for an accurate air quality monitor.

This HERE (AirQuality.com) is the normally used for Thailand...

 

[malasa]

1 hour ago, khunPer said:

This HERE (AirQuality.com) is the normally used for Thailand...

 

 

 

Please stop posting this link, it is not working at all. 

 

 

It shows always the same values. 51/50 since weeks, nice. Or is it me and I'm doing something wrong?

 

I don't think so, just tried another browser.

 

Compare this with other pages, it is a no-brainer that this page is broken or the sensor is hidden in a compartment with always the same air quality.

 

Maybe it works for other cities, but not for Samui.

 

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, malasa said:

 

 

Please stop posting this link, it is not working at all. 

 

 

It shows always the same values. 51/50 since weeks, nice. Or is it me and I'm doing something wrong?

 

I don't think so, just tried another browser.

 

Compare this with other pages, it is a no-brainer that this page is broken or the sensor is hidden in a compartment with always the same air quality.

 

Maybe it works for other cities, but not for Samui.

 

Is 'air quality' the govt mentoring system ?  If so, it's been criticized before for 'inaccurate' to be kind, readings.  If i'm think of the same site.

[malasa]

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Is 'air quality' the govt mentoring system ?  If so, it's been criticized before for 'inaccurate' to be kind, readings.  If i'm think of the same site.

 

The point is: look at the link and the daily or even hourly values. Do you really think that the AQI is nearly all the time the same? Of course it isn't. 

 

Who ever operates the page or provides the data for Samui is doing something wrong. It is not the first time this site was posted here and again it is not usable.

 

Compare to other sites and you will find pretty quick that the values are changing most of the time depending on many factors. Being stable at one value is nearly impossible for Samui.

 

[khunPer]

20 hours ago, malasa said:

 

 

Please stop posting this link, it is not working at all. 

 

 

It shows always the same values. 51/50 since weeks, nice. Or is it me and I'm doing something wrong?

 

I don't think so, just tried another browser.

 

Compare this with other pages, it is a no-brainer that this page is broken or the sensor is hidden in a compartment with always the same air quality.

 

Maybe it works for other cities, but not for Samui.

 

It's an international air quality site and it's working – you can check the historical hourly readings (time is UTC/GMT) or monthly readings day by day – there is normally not that much difference on the air quality in Samui. It's mainly when wind carries haze from Malaysian fires up to here that the air quality get's bad...

 

 

The ASEAN-site HERE is however, not working.

[khunPer]

Different sites have different measuring stations, which will gives different results depending on placement and wind...

 

Source link HERE.

 

Source link HERE.

 

You can search on Google for a site that reports from a station nearby where you live.

[Captor]

On 1/22/2024 at 7:39 AM, Tropicalevo said:

Thanks for that response TGJIB.

I had not thought about the power supply. There is one near the place that I had planned to use, but I do not want cables trailing there.

I need to find one that runs of AA or AA batteries - similar to the thermometer.

The meters are having a fan that sucks in the air into the sensor. I think you need to have a rechargeable battery. Or power on all the time. AA batteries wont last long.

[Tropicalevo]

2 hours ago, Captor said:

The meters are having a fan that sucks in the air into the sensor. I think you need to have a rechargeable battery. Or power on all the time. AA batteries wont last long.

Thank you for that. I have come to the same conclusion.

I will need to rethink as it was only a 'nice to know' thing. Not worth a major hassle or expense.

The main benefit was for all to see what was going on.

Oh well - back to the drawing board.

[metisdead]

Topic is closed as per the OP's request as his questions have been answered.