Breathe Easy with INKBIRD: A Smart Air Quality Monitor Review

Air quality is an important concern for homeowners. When air is unhealthy, you may experience headaches, nasal congestion, or other health concerns. Most of the time, people measure air quality by tracking carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels. However, you don’t want to trust just any air quality monitor and want one that provides accurate readings and notifies you when there’s trouble. As I learned through firsthand testing, the INKBIRD Smart Air Quality Monitor does that and more.

This is a sponsored article made possible by INKBIRD. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author, who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.

Unboxing

The INKBIRD IAM-T1 Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor is a small, lightweight device for home or business use. It monitors carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels inside a room or building, while also tracking indoor temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure.

The device is completely wireless. It ships with everything you need to start monitoring your indoor air quality immediately once you unbox it.

The box contains:

• Indoor air quality meter
• 2x AA batteries
• User manual
• App connectivity directions

When I opened the INKBIRD IAM-T1, I was pleasantly surprised by how minimal the packaging was. Everything fits into a small box, and there was very little waste in terms of packaging. The device was easy to remove, thanks to the finger holes on either side, and the batteries were packaged so that you could easily retrieve them.

Set Up Your Monitor in Minutes

Once you remove the INKBIRD Air Quality Monitor from the box, it’s easy to set up and start tracking your home’s CO₂ levels and more. The back of the device detaches so that you can insert the batteries. The IAM-T1 will instantly turn on and start reading air quality levels once the batteries are in – nothing else is required.

However, you’ll get more controls and options if you use the corresponding smartphone app. Setting the smartphone app is easy, and you can do it in just a few steps.

While you have the back off to put batteries inside the air quality monitor, you will need to slide the Bluetooth option to “on.” Then, download the INKBIRD Smartphone App (Android and iOS) by either scanning the QR code included in the box or by visiting your smartphone’s app store.

After you install the app, hit the + in the top corner to add a device, locate the INKBIRD item you purchased, and follow the prompts on the screen. It took me less than two minutes to connect my device to the app.

Once the INKBIRD Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor is synced with your smartphone, you can set it anywhere in your home, and it will scan the air at the interval you set. The device will stand upright or attach to your wall with a nail or hook. Based on my testing, the readings were the same either way, so it’s mostly your preference.

Measure CO₂ and More

The primary function of the INKBIRD IAM-T1 is to monitor CO₂ levels inside your home. According to most experts, “safe” indoor CO₂ levels range between 400 and 1,000 ppm for the general public. Keeping tabs on the concentration of carbon dioxide in your home (measured in parts per million, or ppm for short) helps you identify areas of your home with poor ventilation. Use this data to make changes to keep the air flowing and avoid illnesses from too much CO₂ inhalation.

The INKBIRD monitor will perform scans in intervals of 1, 2, 5, or 10 minutes, based on your chosen settings. As I tested the device in my home, I found that most locations stayed between 700-950 ppm, with the occasional spike to just over 1,000 ppm. There wasn’t much variation from minute to minute, so I eventually set the monitor to scan every 10 minutes.

When CO₂ levels become dangerous, the INKBIRD Air Quality Monitor will alert you in three ways. First, the bar at the bottom of the screen shows whether the current level is good (green), medium (yellow), or unhealthy (red). Also, if the levels are above your determined threshold, the screen will go from a white background to a black one. If levels become too high, the device has an alarm that will sound.

Although the carbon dioxide monitoring is worth it on its own, the INKBIRD IAM-T1 does more than that. It also provides indoor temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure readings for the location where you place the device. The temperature readings were fairly accurate when I compared them with the thermostat in my home. The humidity readings seemed accurate as well.

Control Your Device and Monitor From the App

Because of the INKBIRD IAM-T1’s small size, no controls appear on the monitor itself. Instead, you must utilize the smartphone app to customize any settings for the device. Luckily, the app provides control over nearly every aspect of the device.

From the app, you can control settings for:

• Device name
• Temperature unit of measure (Fahrenheit or Celsius)
• CO₂ measurement settings for each level (good, medium, unhealthy)
• Scanning interval (1, 2, 5, or 10 minutes)
• When you’ll be notified about readings

Additionally, the app provides graphs for everything the device measures (CO₂, temperature, humidity, and air pressure). This is a great way to compare measurements throughout a single day or over the course of a week.

My only complaint about the app is that you cannot obtain readings from the device if you aren’t within Bluetooth reach. The INKBIRD does not connect to your home Wi-Fi network, so you can’t check your CO₂ levels when you’re away from home. This would be a great feature for pet owners and people who travel.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the INKBIRD IAM-T1 Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor is a great product. It monitors CO₂ levels and other air quality metrics in your home, notifies you when there’s potential danger, and gives you flexibility over everything in the smartphone app. You can purchase the INKBIRD IAM-T1 on Amazon.