Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.If you guess, the odds are high you'll be wrong.
Don't guess. Use these tools. Air Quality Monitors, thermostats, moisture meters, infrared cameras, and more can help you diagnose problems in your home. |
|
Air Quality Monitors
We breathe 3000 gallons of air a day, shouldn't it be clean? The only way to know is by measuring.
|
Foobot Indoor Air Quality Monitor Nate's favorite monitor, read the in depth comparison. Measures the most important stuff (temp, humidity, PM2.5/dust and tVOC/chemicals) at a good price point. Performed well in Lawrence Berkeley Lab testing. We really like installing 3-4 of these to watch comfort in different parts of the house. Check out the "Special Offers" section on the Amazon page for multiple unit discounts. |
AcuRite 00613 Humidity and Temperature Monitor These are useful to set around the house. They don't log data, but they do give you an idea what's going on. I really like that it shows the high/low temperature and humidity over the last 24 hours. Buy 3 or more of these to understand what's going on in your house. |
uHoo Indoor Air Quality Monitor
$319 exclusively at TruTech Tools. This measures the same stuff as Foobot, but adds carbon monoxide, ozone, and atmospheric pressure. Pretty cool unit and nice app. I'm still in review phase, but so far I like it a lot. The price point is an issue though, I'd rather see someone get 2 Foobots for $347 with the discount code. |
|
Corentium Home Radon Detector I have one of these and really like it. My basement had high levels, and this let me know that the first attempt didn't work. (Thankfully the second one did!) I wish it did datalogging to track levels over time. They do have a logging model, but it only uses Bluetooth and has just ok reviews. |
NetAtMo Weather Station Not truly an IAQ monitor, more of a weather station on steroids. It has 2 units, one indoors and one outdoors so you can track temperature and humidity outside. You can buy extra units if you want to track other areas like a bedroom or the attic. |
Dylos DC1100 Air Quality Monitor Only measures particulate matter, but has a laser sensor and can read PM0.5 - PM2.5, which no other device can. The small stuff is really harmful. BUT It does not have wifi, you have to download data every 7 days with a cord, preferably on a PC. If Dylos doesn't change that, they will likely be left behind. Only consider this after you buy Foobot or uHoo. |
Other Diagnostic Tools
Is there a leak? Use an infrared camera and/or a smoke stick. Is it wet? Use a moisture meter. These diagnostic tools will help you find root causes and know if you fixed it.
Flir One Infrared Camera (Gen 3)
TruTech Tools $399 Pro, $199 Std I have a Gen 1 Flir One and absolutely love the thing. I get 90% of what I want for 10% of what I was ready to spend. The Pro version has double the resolution than mine, the standard is comparable to mine. Flir mixes infrared and visual images to make it much easier to figure out what you're looking at. Sadly, they have a fairly small battery. That said, this is the standard bearer for entry level IR cameras. |
Wizard Stick Smoke Tester Yes, it's a toy. There, I said it. The smoke isn't poisonous, they work well for finding leaks, and they're about 20 bucks. On a windy day, look for blowing smoke. Also useful for seeing if your water heater is backdrafting. |
BAFX Non Contact IR Thermometer If you can't swing a FlirOne, this is a backup. The temp readings on FlirOne aren't super reliable, so you might get one of these too. Good for looking for cold spots or getting an idea of how hot a flue is. |
|
Moisture Meter General Tools MMD7NP There are 3 things that kill buildings: water, water, and water. Keep an eye on wet spots. This inexpensive tool will let you check if basement walls are wet in spring. Or if that roof leak got into the wall. Then, once you make a change, you can see if it worked. I use this on every energy audit. |
Sense Home Energy Monitor If you can't figure out why your electric bills are so high, this is the tool to figure it out. I've reviewed a number of energy monitors, this one is my favorite. Easy to install with a nice app to boot. You can also do things like figure out how much less energy new light bulbs use. Not a critical tool for most projects, but one to be aware of. |
Kill a Watt Electricity Monitor While Sense will watch your whole house for $300, this will watch one outlet for $20. If you think your fridge is a pig, find out. More of a toy than a tool, but if your kids want to help out with your Home Performance project, this may be just the thing. |
|
Ecobee 4 Thermostat with Sensor
Don't bother with Nest, they don't share any data about what's going on in your house. Ecobee has a nice chart of how your furnace and air conditioning are running in different weather conditions. A lot can be figured out through it. This is DIYable depending on your ability. It will only run 1 and 2 stage HVAC, if you have modulating HVAC you have to use the manufacturer's proprietary thermostat. |
