Over the years, I’ve reviewed a lot of air quality monitors on BreatheSafeAir. While I’ve been slowly ‘closing gaps’, there are still a few notable brands that I am missing in my air quality monitor reviews. Those that come to mind are Awair and Temtop, both of which make popular monitors, but I’ve so far not had a chance to review them.
Luckily, that will soon be changed as I have a Temtop M10+ on the way. While the complete review is a long way out, as I haven’t even received the monitor yet, I’ve been doing some background research in preparation for the review. While nothing more than initial thoughts, I thought I would share some of my findings/thoughts so far.
The Temtop ‘10’ series contains four devices - M10, P10, M10i, and M100. The table below from Temtop’s website shows the differences between the monitors.
While Temtop does have many more particle counters (as well as other air quality monitors), these four monitors are consumer-grade air quality monitors at affordable prices that monitor particulate matter alongside other pollutants. Aside from these devices, Temtop also sells a range of other air quality monitors, such as portable monitors and professional particle counters.
Interestingly, the table above doesn’t show the M10+ and the P100 (which appears to have replaced the M100, as I can’t see that on the website anymore). The P10 is the cheapest of these monitors, with the M10, M10i and M10+ being predictably more expensive. The P100 is about the same price as the M10+. All of Temtop’s indoor air quality monitor (with particulate sensor) range is covered between these five monitors. There are a few CO2-focused monitors, but I won’t discuss those here.
The P10 is by far the simplest of these monitors as it measures only PM2.5 (AQI is an index, and in this case, it will be based entirely on PM2.5 measurements). The device has an LCD screen but no connectivity.
The M10 adds an HCHO (Formaldehyde) and VOC sensor, but it still lacks the connectivity. While I can’t find the exact models of sensors used for these two parameters, I would hesitate to get this monitor just because it has an additional VOC sensor, as VOC sensors have limited usefulness. Please read the post below for more information.
Above this, the M10i is the first monitor to use WiFi to send data to an accompanying app. Since this data is shared over WiFi, it is clearly intended to be an indoor air quality monitor, not a portable air quality monitor (despite having an internal battery). This is because the app will not receive data unless you are connected to a WiFi network. On the other hand, Bluetooth monitors can relay data even when you are out and about.
The M10+ appears to replace the M10i as the base price is the same for both, but the M10i is currently discounted to 20% off. I don’t know if Temtop will keep the M10i around at this discounted price or replace it with the M10+, but the M10+ is a big upgrade, in my opinion, as it also houses a CO2 sensor. It also has a few other nice improvements, such as an E-ink display. Still, I personally appreciate the addition of a CO2 sensor the most, as I think all indoor air quality monitors should measure CO2. It’s also stated on the website that this CO2 sensor is from Sensirion, so it’s likely very accurate.
What I find very interesting is how only the M100 (a larger monitor intended to sit on a desk or wall) and the new M10+ measure temperature and relative humidity. I’ve become so used to these sensors being included on all monitors (often because they’re integrated into other sensors) that it’s weird to see monitors without them. With that said, the M10+ and M100 do have such a sensor, so I appreciate that.
All of Temptop’s monitors use a Temtop-made PM sensor, which intrigues me greatly. While I can’t comment much on how these perform without testing them (that will come soon!), I am very curious in any company that makes its own sensors as so far I’ve only seen IQAir’s AirVisual do this.
While I will be reviewing the M10+, I feel like the P10 and M10 may be the more interesting monitors simply because they are so much more affordable and perhaps good alternatives to monitors such as the Amazon Smart AQ Monitor and Qingping Air Monitor Lite.
Have you used one of these monitors, or are you curious about them? If so, I would love to hear more! If you have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them once I get my hands on the monitors.
