Sensirion Inside: Awair’s Glow C air quality monitor

Awareness of the importance of good air quality in our living and working environments is becoming increasingly important to individuals and governments. People spend 90% of their time indoors, where concentrations of gaseous pollutants are significantly higher than they are outdoors. The widespread use of new products and building materials that result in better insulation, and thus energy efficiency, has resulted in even further increases in concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Furthermore, in airtight buildings it’s essential to control humidity levels to avoid the risk of mold build-up. VOCs originate mainly from paints and solvents, carpets and furniture, and cleaning agents. Elevated VOC levels can have a negative impact on well- being, comfort, and cognitive abilities, whereas mold inherits significant health risks. Exposure to high levels of VOCs and mold can be avoided or significantly reduced by air monitoring and subsequent air purification or ventilation to remove strong VOC sources and excess humidity. This is where Awair’s "Glow C" comes in. Glow C is an air quality monitor, smart plug and smart nightlight all in one. It monitors indoor temperature, humidity, and airborne toxic chemicals (VOCs) and provides users with real-time insight into their air quality via the Awair app. In addition to monitoring air quality, Glow C’s smart plug can automatically trigger an attached device (such as a humidifier, air purifier or fan) to resolve air quality issues the moment they arise. At night, Glow C doubles as a smart nightlight with customizable color settings and motion triggers. In choosing the components to use in Awair’s products, reliability and accuracy are paramount. Sensirion's sensors consistently deliver on both fronts: "Sensirion is clearly an industry leader when it comes to digital sensors and their VOC sensors are perfect for our devices owing to their small size, stability, and accuracy. We’re thrilled by the sensors’ quality and the ease with which we have been able to integrate them into our products," says Kevin Cho, CTO & Co-Founder at Awair. The humidity sensor SHTC3 has been designed to overcome conventional limits on size, power consumption and price-performance ratio in order to fulfill the requirements of the consumer electronics market and products like Awair’s Glow C. By using Sensirion’s CMOSens® Technology, the SHTC3 offers a complete sensor system on a single chip. The SGP30 VOC sensor is based on Sensirion’s multi-pixel platform, which integrates four gas sensor elements into a very small 2.45 x 2.45 x 0.9 mm³ DFN package featuring a fully calibrated air quality output signal. The unique combination of long-term stability and multi-pixel technology opens up new possibilities for the environmental monitoring of smart homes, appliances and Internet of Things applications. "Awair’s air quality device is the perfect application for our environmental sensors, offering a low power mode in addition to reliable and accurate air quality measurements," says Ace Perez, Key Account Manager at Sensirion Inc.