I live in Minnesota, where it gets quite cold. I read through a few of these, and I didn’t see where there’s any mention of the temperature range for these outdoor sensors. Is there a temperature below which they will not function?
Hi @Kleeberg,
Thanks for joining and great question!
To answer this question, I took a look at some common sensor operating conditions. It looks like sensors from companies such as Plantower are rated for -20°C to +50°C, while sensors like the S8 from SenseAir are rated to work at 0°C to 50°C. This is quite surprising, because I’ve seen both of these sensors work in AirGradient monitors that are mounted in some extreme places like northern Canada where it reaches -40°C sometimes. Unfortunately, I think this makes it quite tough to make a call as to whether a sensor will work in very cold conditions.
How cold does it get where you live in Minnesota and is there a particular monitor you’re interested in?
AirVisual got me interested in this. I have a very inexpensive indoor monitor from Amazon, but the information that airvisual provides is much more informative. I was also interested in being able to compare inside and outside values however, I understand I can tie mine to an outside monitor in the near vicinity. I have been unable to find documentation on how one would be able to do that so comparative values could be assessed. That would answer questions like “should I open my window windows?“
Ah, I see! It’s awesome to hear about your growing interest in air quality.
I had a look through a few websites (PurpleAir, AirGradient, etc.) and very few of them mention operating temperatures. IQAir mentions it for the AirVisual outdoor monitor, and they say -10 to 40 °C (14 – 104 °F). This doesn’t seem very low, however, so I’m quite surprised and wondering if they’re being conservative to be safe. I have a feeling that many of the manufacturers will probably have similar operating ranges, but from experience, I’ve seen many of these sensors perform in far colder conditions.
You definitely could compare your monitor to another outdoor monitor but it’s worth noting that AirVisual (IQAir) likely does some calculations on their end which would make the readings different even if both sources are accurate. For example, the AirVisual data might be averaged over a longer period of time which would cause the readings to differ even if both are accurate.
If you’re interested in an (accurate) outdoor monitor, IQAir, AirGradient and PurpleAir all have quite decent options!
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