Whether you are looking to monitor air quality levels in your home, office, or workplace - understanding the carbon dioxide levels in the air you breathe is critical. This year alone, over 6000 cities in 117 countries are now actively monitoring air quality in order to create a healthier lifestyle.
One main technology they are using to better understand air quality and mitigate potential air-borne germs and viruses is with the use of CO2 monitoring devices like the Aranet4.
What does an Aranet4 do?
The Aranet4 monitor is an innovative wireless CO2 sensor that monitors indoor air quality by measuring the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), relative humidity, temperature, and atmospheric pressure in the ambient air.
Additional benefits of using the Aranet4:
- Increased productivity levels
- Increased ventilation
- Increased immune system
- Increased mental concentration
What does the Aranet4 measure?
While the Aranet4 can measure temperature and % relative humidity for indoor air comfort, its most important use is for measuring indoor carbon dioxide levels.
Note that the Aranet4 does not measure carbon monoxide, which is a different gas.
Learn more about the difference between CO and CO2.
Is the Aranet4 accurate?
The Aranet4 is most sought after due to its performance and accuracy in carbon dioxide monitoring for indoor air quality. The Aranet4 also uses a high-performing non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor at its core from Senseair, a global leader in manufacturing NDIR sensors.
NDIR sensors are recognized as being more accurate and having a longer lifespan than electrochemical sensors.
The Senseair S8 CO2 sensor has an accuracy ±70 ppm or ±3% of reading. This allows users to set the normal expectation for indoor CO2 levels as stated by standards such as the ASHRAE or USGBC.
What are the recommended indoor CO2 levels?
The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
ASHRAE currently recommends that CO2 levels be maintained below 1,000ppm for adequate indoor air quality levels. They also state that the air quality within and around buildings and structures, directly relates to the health and comfort of building occupants.
This alone will aid in better understanding and controlling common pollutants and can help reduce your risk of indoor health concerns.
ASHRAE states, "For any CO2 concentration higher than 1,000 ppm can lead to adverse health effects such as fatigue, dizziness, headaches, lack of focus, decreased cognitive skills and flu-like symptoms."
Click here to gain a CO2 levels chart print out for reference.
The U.S. Green Building Council
The USGBC is responsible for providing capacity for indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring to help sustain long-term occupant comfort and well-being. They set the standard in place to install CO2 monitoring systems that provide feedback on space ventilation performance in a form that allows operational adjustments dependent upon your environment and type of occupancy.
For additional reference, please find the CO2 recommendations chart.
How often does Aranet4 take a reading?
The Aranet4 uses its nondispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor to measure the CO2 concentration. This sensor has a default measurement interval that is set to 5 minutes.
The NDIR CO2 sensor measures the co2 gas in the chamber absorbed by infrared light and this absorption is measured by the sensor to provide an accurate reading.
Currently, since the device is using a nondispersive infrared sensor this type of reading is at a much higher precision than regular electrochemical sensors.
Where should I place the Aranet4 in a room?
Any Aranet4 sensor can be used to measure air quality in areas such as bedrooms, living rooms, kid's rooms, office spaces, gymnasiums, assisted living facilities and more. The opportunities are endless in gaining precise knowledge of your indoor air.
The Aranet4 can also be placed anywhere in the room where occupants spend a lot of time in - on a flat surface or even mounted to the wall where it can be visually seen. Since occupants and animals exhale CO2 the readings and concentrations can be higher if you are breathing directly in the device itself.
Placing the Aranet4 sensor near a window or entry door can also alter the reading substantially because these areas are consistently gaining airflow.
It is important to note, that the Aranet4 should not be placed in direct sunlight or in areas where there could be a risk of splashdown or high-humidity.
What's the difference between Aranet4 HOME and Aranet4 PRO?
Dependent upon your use case and application, the Aranet4 comes in two distinct versions called Aranet4 HOME and Aranet4 PRO.
Below we have shown an illustrative summary on the key differences to help you choose the right device for your application.
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Aranet4 HOME Added Benefits:
- Understand if you have proper ventilation in your home or small space
- Get notified when you need to open a window to let the fresh air in
- Bring it with you everywhere you go to ensure that you are always spending time in a healthier environment.
Additionally, the Aranet4 HOME is particularly useful in order to monitor and measure CO2 levels in a room and reduce personally negative health effects that can come from poor indoor air quality spaces.
The Aranet4 HOME will show the current Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Temperature (TEMP), Relative Humidity (HUM), and Barometric Pressure (BARO) via the Large E-ink display and provides 3-color code indication to indicate when air ventilation is needed.
The user can also download the Aranet4 Application to their phone and view the readings as well as seeing graphing of all readings directly on their personal devices.
Overall, the Aranet4 HOME can be used to provide a clear distinction of air quality levels and also help eliminate the potential transfer of airborne illnesses like COVID-19 and other viruses like the common cold or flu. This device will become a very important tool to monitor air quality for families, colleagues, and businesses to protect individuals and establishments providing additional peace of mind.
Aranet4 HOME feature sets include:
- Large E-ink display
- Wireless connectivity via Aranet4 smartphone app (iOS or Android)
- NDIR CO2 Sensor for fast, accurate, and precise readings
- Configurable alarms and 3-color code indication (Green: <1000ppm, Yellow: 1000-1400ppm, and Red: >1400ppm)
- Built-in Data Logging capability
- 2-year battery life (2xAA - included)
- Fresh Air or AUTO/MANUAL Quick Calibration
Aranet4 PRO and Aranet4 PRO Base Station
Customers looking for a solution for larger education facilities, professional office locations, businesses, or commercial buildings should consider the Aranet4 PRO Indoor Air Quality Monitor.
This device is ideal for those businesses or facilities that plan on using more than one Aranet4 and are looking for a fully networked solution or centralized monitoring system.
Aranet4 PRO Added Benefits:
- Create a networked solution - up to 100 Aranet4 devices in a single long-range wireless network via the Aranet PRO base station
- Gain centralized data monitoring for a complete overview of the situation
- Possible upgrade option to the Aranet Cloud - network a virtually limitless number of Aranet4 devices from different locations with advanced analytics, visualizations and much more
- Integrate into existing solutions - making the Aranet4 ecosystem part of your own solution or just automate data export to your own data bases
- Access to professional technical support
Particularly, customers lean more towards the Aranet4 PRO when they need to gather readings from multiple locations and understand or log data from an entire building or campus to find out which potential location could be more dangerous or have poorer CO2 levels with lack of fresh air circulation.
Combined with the Aranet PRO base station, the Aranet4 PRO can wirelessly gather readings from multiple Aranet4 PRO monitors and provide configurable air quality alarms, while easily integrating into large systems or databases.
Aranet4 PRO feature sets include:
- Maximum sensor amount: 100 / 50 / 12 base units
- Software included: responsive design for PC, tablet, or smartphone
- Alarm type: email, SMS (optional)
- Memory saves data: 10 years
- Data stored: locally
- Protection class: IP40
- Receiver sensitivity: -127 dBm
- Dimensions: 107x170x26 mm/ 4.2×6.7×1.02 in
- Ports: 12VDC power port, 1 Ethernet, 1 USB A
- Supported GSM modems:
- HUAWEI E3131i
- HUAWEI E3531i – 2 (requires PIN)
- MEDIA-TECH MT4219
- VODAFONE K4305
How can I use the Aranet4 App?
Using the Aranet4 to its fullest potential means understanding how to use the FREE Aranet4 App. This app is currently available on both the app store and google play.
With the Aranet4 App it allows the user to view 7-day measurement history, track atmospheric pressure, set a buzzer/alarm, change measurement frequency, alter color indicators, and much more.
The Aranet4 app is available on both the Apple app store and Google Play.
How can I integrate Aranet4 with third party systems?
Currently the Aranet4 CO2 monitors have 2 options for third party integrations - via Aranet Cloud open SenML push-type API or with the help of MQTT protocol from the Aranet Pro base station.
For more information and a step-by-step guide to integration, click here.
Is the Aranet4 the best CO2 monitor?
CO2Meter offers a variety of resources to assist customers in furthering their understanding of the importance of improved indoor air quality and CO2 monitoring.
We recommend the Aranet4 device as a means to understanding your indoor air quality and gaining key data to promote a healthier living style. However, the Aranet4 is not always best for every application.
Currently, businesses, universities, and now, even restaurants have begun setting specific requirements in place to ensure that establishments have the proper CO2 monitors in place to provide adequate data on set indoor air quality standards - the Aranet4 meets this criteria.
CO2 Safety vs. CO2 Indoor Air Monitoring
Its important to understand the difference between a CO2 safety monitor vs. a standard CO2 Indoor Air Quality monitor. In that, a CO2 Indoor Air Quality monitor will NOT meet requirements for CO2 safety monitoring which requires a Fixed/Wall mounted, hard-wired alarm per the NBIC, NFPA, or IFC regulations. In addition, CO2 safety monitors also need to include sensing capabilities of measuring 3% CO2 over a 15-minute period.
For more information on CO2 safety vs. monitoring devices, watch our latest YouTube video here.
And, if you are still unsure about the proper CO2 monitor or indoor air quality (IAQ) solution to be integrated in your application, our team would be more than happy to walk you through the devices and ensure you are selecting the right device to fit your environmental needs or requirements.
For more information speak to an expert today - Sales@CO2Meter.com