Re:Many indoor air quality sensor products are a scam
by rainbowzootsuit on Thursday September 29, 2022 @10:10PM
(#33030045)
I cannot personally attest to the build of this particular product, but we have used a number of omega sensors in the past and they are not a fly-by-night outfit. The cost aligns with your estimates.
https://www.omega.com/en-us/test-inspection/air-soil-liquid-...
Re:Many indoor air quality sensor products are a scam
by deamanto on Thursday September 29, 2022 @08:00PM
(#33029026)
I would if it was built well. There may be a bunch of companies offering something similar but without being in the industry I have to come to places like this to get real world anecdotes on whether it's reliable or not. That inherit distrust makes it hard to buy something like this - to differentiate between marketing and quality.
Re:Many indoor air quality sensor products are a scam
by mrguyorama on Friday September 30, 2022 @03:20PM
(#33039470)
I simply went on ebay and bought the probably fake sensors myself. At least then I get a toy with my inaccurate numbers
That's because it's $$$$. CO2 is hard to measure (it's inert!), and only recently advances in NDIR allow us to measure it directly. Those are still $50, and that's just component cost.
PM2.5 is also around $50 for decent parts.
Another $10 for T/H/P. Another $20 for cheapest LCD you can find.
Ok, so we are up to $130, but now you gotta pay for manufacturing ($$$), PCB, hardware development, calibration, testing, mechanical design... Probably $200-$300 total depending on quantity.
So, let's say you can make the whole device for $250 just in costs. Now you gotta add software (BT\Wifi code is not fun!), shipping, overhead, profits. So, you gotta sell this thing for $350+.
Would you buy one for $350?