The Atmotube PRO is a seriously impressive little air-quality monitor for the price and the only one of its kind capable of giving the everyday citizen a look into the quality of invisible air around them.
In this review, we’ll be going over its capabilities, accuracy, and my personal experience with using it.
Hopefully, by the end, you’ll know if this is worth buying for yourself!
The Atmotube PRO
The Atmotube PRO is really the only personal consumer air quality monitor on the market.
Luckily for you and me, it works great!
Build and Use
The Atmotube PRO is a simple, small, lightweight device and can be hung from a belt loop or backpack with its included carabiner.
It only has one physical button which when pressed reveals the air quality score via a small LED.
You’ll see one of five colors:
Simple right? There’s a lot more to the Atmotube in the app though, including the ability to export its data, which we go over later.
Battery Life and Charging
The Atmotube PRO can last for up to 10 days before needing a charge, although this can vary depending on how often it samples the air.
Air sampling frequency can be adjusted in the app to anywhere from constant, to 5, 10, or 15-minute intervals.
How Does It Work? And How Well…
So what technology does the Atmotube use to measure the air and how well can it be trusted?
The Particle Sensor
The bread and butter of the Atmotube PRO is its particle sensor.
It utilizes a laser-based particle sensor in addition to a tiny internal fan to accurately measure particles in the air.
Unlike most air quality monitors that only measure PM2.5, the Atmotube measures:
- PM1
- PM2.5
- PM10
That’s right all 3 major groups! While PM1 and PM2.5 are far more dangerous to us since particles of this size can pass through the lungs and directly into our bloodstream, it’s still nice that they’ve given us more data than we really need.
Thanks, Atmotube.
Accuracy and Certification
You can rest assured that the Atmotube PRO is quite reliable and accurate.
We know this because they have been third-party tested by some of the best air quality sensor testing labs in the world.
South Coast AQMD’s AQ-SPEC
The South Coast AQMD’s AQ-SPEC purchased 3 Atmotube PRO units and compared them to air quality monitoring equipment worth well over $10,000 to determine how accurate this little unit was.
The results of this testing can be seen here.
The R-values for both PM1 and PM2.5 were quite good, meaning the Atmotube PRO was pretty on par with the professional equipment.
It doesn’t do so hot with PM10 but then again most consumer-level air quality monitoring equipment does. Lucky for us, PM1 and 2.5 are far more dangerous, and thus more important to accurately measure.
The Atmotube PRO has also passed the MCERTS certification, making it the first consumer particle sensor to get this certification!
So know that you can depend on its results.
The VOC Sensor
In addition to measuring normal particles, the Atmotube PRO is able to detect a wide range of volatile organic compounds, which are gaseous in nature and much much smaller than even the smallest of particles.
To do this the Atmotube PRO uses a standard broad-spectrum metal-oxide-based TVOC sensor.
As the oxygen particles in the heated metal oxide compound react with gases in the air, the resistance of the layer changes, this is then expressed as a value in ppm.
The VOC sensor is able to pick up on various dangerous compounds a normal PM sensor cannot, such as:
- Acetone
- Benzene
- Ethanol
- Formaldehyde
- Methanol
- Toluene
- Xylene
- and more!
So this bad boy will help notify you when you’re around unhealthy levels of many harmful compounds.
These general-purpose VOC sensors aren’t perfect however, you can check out Atmotube’s article on TVOC sensors here if you’d like to learn a bit more.
Now onto the app and all of its great features!
The Atmotube App
The app is where the Atmotube really shines!
On the main screen, you’re treated with a nice air quality scorecard displaying the number of particles and VOCs in the air currently.
Here you can easily set the air quality alert by clicking on the bell icon. It defaults to 40 but can be set to whatever tolerance level you’d like.
Below the air quality score on the main screen, you can also view the temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure.
Scrolling back up, by clicking on the air quality score dial, you can access more details about particles and VOCs
Here you can see history by minute all the way up to monthly! Pretty cool.
Exporting Data
In the setting under Data Synchronization, you also have the ability to export a CSV file of the data you’ve collected if you want to dig into it or display it any other way.
I think it’s pretty neat that they give you access to all of that information to do with as you please!
Conclusion
Even though I usually know when I’m in an area with poor air quality, somehow the objective nature of the Atmotube’s reporting makes it that much more tangible and real. So I’ve found that when I have it with me, I’m far more likely to take action and leave an area because I can’t just brush it off anymore.
The ability to set up custom alerts, and see the actual particle count become dangerously high is a very useful feature in today’s toxic world.
This is the kind of device that could help you to create better habits and become more informed about your living environment, and in doing so it could help you live a much longer and healthier life.
Atmotube PRO Portable Air Monitor
