Question from Gustavo Alves
Hi Debra,
I know there are devices that can measure Co2 in the air. Do you know any equipment that is able to measure VOCs in the air?
Thanks!
Debra’s Answer
Some years ago Will Spates from Indoor Environmental Technologies, Inc. came and tested my house for VOCs with an instrument that cost something like $10,000. The reading was very very low.
Now I see there are meters on online that measure VOCs in the $200 – $350 range.
I don’t have experience with any of these, but here are some choices.
Supco IAQ50 Wall Mounted Indoor Air Quality Monitor Supco IAQ55 Handheld Indoor Air Quality Monitor, 0 to 2000 ppm, 1 ppm Resolution, +/-75 ppm Accuracy
Honeywell Analytics IAQPoint2 ABS Touchscreen Analog VOC IAQ Monitor, Wall Mount, Relay, Display, 0-100 Measuring Range
You could also search for “VOC meter” and see what else you find.
Here’s another one in the $250 range: Eco Sensor C-21 VOC Detector
Let us know which one you choose.
The monitors that are measuring VOCs are measuring total VOCs which is a huge category of compounds many of which are completely benign. A VOC is simply a class of chemicals that evaporate readily at room temperature. This is a link to the research article “Field evaluation of a low-cost indoor air quality monitor to quantify exposure to pollutants in residential environments” https://www.j-sens-sens-syst.net/7/373/2018/
A number of labs including, LBNL, CETIAT, Ohio State, have been performing studies on consumer indoor air quality monitors. The studies have mainly focused on how well these consumer low cost monitors measure PM2.5 Overall the conclusions are fairly similar: Most devices can detect events, but not quantitatively. They are not good at detecting low concentrations making a couple of them okay for events but not for chronic exposure.
Per chance, do you have any further recommendations or has anyone else successfully used any of these or other meters? I searched Amazon and found some meters and reviews, but some reviews seem a little ambiguous and there are differences in testing coverage’s. Members of this list are usually very thoughtful and discerning, as most of us have issues with MCS and have experimented with products best for our uses. This would be easier and much more versatile than using the home test kits and then mailing them in, which has been my experience in the past. Thanks!
Yes I would actually like to know the answer to this too.
I don’t have any experience with testing equipment, so I’m hoping someone who does will jump in and respond.