Radon is the number 1 cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and kills more than 6 times the number of people than home fires and carbon monoxide poisoning combined. Every home needs a radon detector! Airthings wave smart radon detector (review) is very popular among users. It also measures temperature and humidity using built-in sensors, thus increasing the accuracy of radon readings. Protect your family’s health with this Airthings Wave radon detector. It activates with a simple wave of your hand, visually displaying radon levels via color-coded, lighted rings or sending the results to your mobile app. This wireless Airthings Wave radon detector attaches via a single screw, providing numerous placement opportunities.
What are the radon side effects?
According to the National Radon Defense site:
Signs and symptoms of lung cancer from radon exposure can include:
- Persistent cough.
- Hoarseness.
- Wheezing.
- Shortness of breath.
- Coughing up blood.
- Chest pain.
- Frequent infections like bronchitis and pneumonia.
- Loss of appetite.
Scary right? You may have used a charcoal radon detector kit before. It comes in a small box that you leave in your house for several days before mailing it to a lab for the results. Unlike the charcoal tests, the Airthings Wave smart radon detector will let you see the level immediately anytime you want to check it and it will also tell you the humidity, and temperature level. It even supports hand gestures.
What is Airthings wave smart radon detector?
The Airthings Wave smart radon detector looks like a smoke detector, but it will let you know what level of the deadly radon gas is in your home or building. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. What exactly is radon gas? According to the EPA:
Radon is a radioactive gas that has been found in homes all over the United States. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water and gets into the air you breathe. Radon typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation.
Hardware specs of Airthings wave smart radon detector
- Power supply: 2x AA alkaline (LR6) or Energizer L91 batteries
- Dimensions: Radius: 120 mm (4.72 in)
- Height: 36 mm (1.42 in)
- Weight: 219 g (incl. 2x E91 batteries)
- Radon sampling: Passive diffusion chamber
- Detection method: Alpha spectrometry
- Operational and storage environment:
- Temperature: +4 °C (39 °F) to +40 °C (104 °F)
- Relative humidity: < 85 %
- Initial Accuracy/Precision at 100 Bq/m3 (2.7 pCi/L):
- 7 days < 20 %
- 1 month < 10 %
- Measurement range: 0 Bq/m3 to 50000 Bq/m3 (0 pCi/L to 1350 pCi/L)
What is good in Airthings wave smart radon detector?
Simple Accuracy
Easy to install on a wall or ceiling with a single screw, Wave uses magnets to stay connected to the base. Two included standard AA batteries are all that is needed for operation so you don’t have to worry about complicated wiring or confusing instructions.
Wave gives you first results in only 1 hour and unlike a test kit, its detectors are unaffected by humidity and other radiation. After 7 days, 1 standard deviation is within 20% of the actual radon level and at 1 month it is within 10%. Radon levels are measured at 100 Bq/m3 (2.7pCi/L).
App for Smartphone or Tablet
Wave’s free app for iOS (9.0 or later) or Android (5.0 or later) is easy to download from the AppStore or Google Play. Create an account and follow instructions for quick set-up. Airthings provides online support should any problem or questions arise.
With your Bluetooth enabled, every time you move within 30-50 feet of Wave, the latest data will be downloaded automatically and you’ll be notified if you need to take action either through your app or via email. The central image is the risk indicator, shown as a colored ring on your phone or tablet, with the numeric radon level average over the pre-selected time interval.
An extensive menu allows you to see graphs for radon, temperature, and humidity or see historical and average value graphs over a range of time intervals. Wave will use the national recommended level for your exact location as a basis for warning notifications and tracks data for 1 full year.
Instant Assessment
Even if you don’t use a smartphone, Wave lets you know your radon level with a simple wave of your hand in front of the unit. One of 3 universal color codes will appear as a light ring on this device, making it easy to see, even in the dark.
- Green: Good—Air quality is good, radon is low.
- Yellow: Warning—Air quality could be better, open a window.
- Red: Danger—Air quality is not good, radon levels are high.
You can also receive an audio alert from your detector when radon levels are above those recommended for your location or by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Key features – Airthings wave smart radon detector review
- Brings light to dark places – Simply wave in front of the device to get a visual indication of your radon levels.
- Three built-in sensors – For providing higher accuracy, the radon sensor is equipped with temperature and humidity sensors.
- Bluetooth connectivity – For all additional smart features and setup.
- Free mobile app for iOS or Android – Lets you stay informed about the status of your Wave detector.
- Two standard AA batteries – Batteries offer up to 1.5 years of continuous operation and ensure that there is no complicated wiring.
- Wall- or ceiling-mountable – For optimal positioning in your room. A single screw attaches the base to a wall or ceiling, and magnets keep the device connected to the base.
Airthings wave smart radon detector video review
Airthings wave smart radon detector full review
Design
The Wave looks like a typical smoke detector, a 4.6-inch-wide, 1.4-inch-tall white puck distinguished only by a silver-colored ring around the edge. A circle of pinholes on the top panel indicate its speaker, while two larger holes near the edge mark the sensors. A colored LED ring sits hidden in the center of the panel, indicating the air quality by glowing green, yellow, or red when you wave your hand over the device.
The back panel of the Wave is protected by a magnetic cover you can attach to the wall or ceiling with a single screw. Slots for two AA batteries sit behind it. According to Airthings, the Wave can last up to 1.5 years on a pair of AA batteries.
Airthings Wave app
You can track your air quality using the free Airthings Wave app for Android and iOS. The app connects to the Wave over Bluetooth, providing a constant reading of radon levels, temperature, and humidity. The results are color-coded, so you can tell at a glance if radon levels are dangerously high. A chart view displays measured radon levels over different periods of time, which is actually the best way to monitor radon due to how it’s measured. The Wave is Bluetooth-only, and doesn’t connect to the internet or your home network in any way; you can only track it using your mobile device when you’re in Bluetooth range.
Can I use it in garage?
If you want to test the living room, the kitchen, the garage, the attic, the basement, and every bedroom in the house, however, you can do it all with a single Wave. Just move it between rooms on a weekly basis and track the numbers for that week to get a fairly accurate reading. It’ll be slower than using multiple test kits simultaneously, but it’ll save money much more quickly. And again, the risks of radon come with cumulative exposure, so the wait isn’t exactly the same as going without smoke or CO2 detectors.
How to use Airthings radon detector?
Airthings Wave is very easy to install. After downloading the free iOS or Android Airthings app to your smartphone, just follow the directions in the app to prepare and pair your Wave. Next, you’re going to want to mount your device in your home. For our testing, we secured the Wave on our basement ceiling. Airthings recommends installing the Wave smart radon detector in your basement since this is where radon is most often detected.
Using the Airthings app, you can monitor the temperature and humidity as well as radon through the Wave device. We are lucky to report our air quality was good, averaging 11 BQ over 48 hours. Any number below 100 BW is considered safe.
In the Airthings app, you can set your Wave to monitor radon detection over a 40 hours, one week, one month or for a year. You can also monitor humidity and temperature over the same time period.
Its easy to setup your Airthings Wave via Airthings app for iOS and Android devices.GearBrain
We found Airthings Wave device to be one of those gadgets you would get if you live in an area known for having high levels of radon. There are other ways for consumers to measure radon in their home, including using a charcoal test kit. Airthings, understandably, discouraged these kits saying they’re vulnerable to environmental elements and user error, while also not giving any visibility to fluctuations of the elements in your air.
Radon is measured in becquerel per cubic meter or Bq/m3 — exactly how they measure radioactive material. Fun fact: becquerel is named after Henri Becquerel who worked with Pierre and Marie Curie to discover radioactivity. Depending on the reading level, certain precautions should be taken:
- 0-49 Bq/m3: you don’t have to take any action
- 49-99 Bq/m3: It is recommended you experiment with ventilation and sealing cracks in your exterior walls to reduce levels.
- 100-299 Bq/m3: Continuously measure your levels and after 3 months, if nothing changes, you need to contact a professional
- Over 300 Bq/m3: If your levels are above 300 for at least a month, you need to contact a professional radon mitigator.
Does Airthings radon detector integrate with smart home devices?
Airthings integrates with Amazon Alexa and IFTTT. We test the Alexa skill and it was easy to use. Just make sure you first ask Alexa to open Airthings — and then ask her to check your room where the Airthings Wave is located. Then she’ll give the reading. For IFTTT, there are 12 applets that you can use. If you own Philips Hue lights, you can have them flash on, or change different colors when high levels of radon are detected.
You can also have them flash if your room reaches a certain humidity or temperature level. If you own a WeMo smart plug and a fan is plugged into them, you can program so your fan will go on when radon levels rise and go off when radon is lowered.
Beyond IFTTT and Amazon Alexa, the option to connect to other smart home devices is limited to gadgets in the Airthings ecosystem only — and these devices just monitor air quality.
The cost of Airthings Wave is $199, and it’s available to buy on the company website and Amazon. Airthings also sells additional radon and air monitoring devices, designed for both consumers and businesses, including mobile radon detectors used by home inspectors and building managers.