How it works
How the Canairy works
Put it down, plug it in and look at the colour. That's all there is to it. This page explains calmly what you see and what you can do. If you get stuck, feel free to call or email.
Up and running in four steps
You don't need an app, an account or a computer. Just a power socket.
Put it down or hang it up
On a table with the stand, or on the wall at eye level. Choose a spot where you spend a lot of time, such as the living room or the bedroom.
Not next to an open window, not above a radiator and not in the draught by a door. There it measures the air passing by, not the air in the room.
Plug it in
Push the small plug of the cable (micro-USB) into the socket at the bottom left on the back of the Canairy, and the adapter into the wall socket. The screen comes on straight away and after a few seconds you see the first reading.
Just leave it on. It uses very little power and measures day and night.
Setting the time
With wifi (Home Plus) the Canairy sets the time automatically. Without wifi you set the date and time once via Settings. The time is kept, even if you unplug the device for a while.
Home Plus only: Wi-Fi and postcode
If you also want to see what the air outside is like and how much pollen is in the air, connect the Home Plus to your Wi-Fi. Choose your network on the screen, type the password and enter your postcode. Done in a minute.
If you have the Canairy Home, or only want to measure indoors, skip this step. Measuring always works, even without internet.
What the colours mean
The Canairy on the screen changes colour with the air. It watches CO2 and fine dust and shows the worse of the two. Green is good. If it turns yellow, orange or purple, it's time to let in some fresh air.
Green
The air is good
You don't need to do anything.
CO2 up to 800 ppm
Yellow
The air is getting worse
Open a window or a vent.
CO2 800 to 1,200 ppm
Orange
The air is not good
Open windows on opposite sides until it turns green again.
CO2 1,200 to 3,400 ppm
Purple
The air is bad
Open windows and doors and step outside for a while.
CO2 above 3,400 ppmThe thresholds above are set as the Canairy comes out of the box. You can adjust them yourself on the screen. Fine dust has its own thresholds, shown below.
What you see on the screen
Next to the Canairy are the numbers. For each value, here is what it means and when you should do something.
CO2, the air you breathe out
Every person breathes out CO2. In a closed room the figure rises by itself. High CO2 makes you tired and gives you a headache. The figure is in ppm, parts per million.
- Up to 800 good, nothing to do
- 800 to 1,200 open a window or vent
- 1,200 to 3,400 ventilate thoroughly
- Above 3,400 open windows and doors
For comparison: in the Netherlands 1,200 ppm is the limit for new buildings, and about 1,000 ppm is advised for schools.
Temperature
The temperature in the room, in degrees. For the living room 19 to 22 degrees is usually recommended, for the bedroom 16 to 18. You sleep better in a cool room.
- 19 to 22 °C living room
- 16 to 18 °C bedroom, for a good night’s sleep
Temperature and humidity are not colour-coded on the screen; you see the figure. These are guideline values.
Humidity
How much moisture there is in the air, in percent. Air that is too dry causes dry eyes and a dry throat. Air that is too humid causes mould, especially on a cold outside wall.
- 30 to 60 percent good
- Below 30 percent too dry
- Above 60 percent too humid, risk of mould
Temperature and humidity are not colour-coded on the screen; you see the figure. These are guideline values.
Fine dust indoors
Tiny particles of dust you can't see but do breathe in. They come from cooking, candles, the open fire, the wood stove and from outside. The figure is in micrograms per cubic metre.
- Up to 15 good
- 15 to 35 raised, find the source and let in air
- Above 35 bad, switch on the extractor or ventilate at once
These thresholds follow the 2021 guidance of the World Health Organization.
VOC and NOx, Home Plus only
The VOC index is a kind of nose for odours: cleaning products, paint, new furniture, aerosols. The NOx index watches combustion gases, from the gas heater, the gas hob or traffic outside.
- VOC 50 to 100 good
- VOC 100 to 200 let in some air
- VOC above 200 ventilate, find the source
- NOx 1 normal for your home
- NOx above 1 more combustion gases than usual
Both are an index, not a concentration. The sensor learns what is normal in your home and reacts to a deviation. That is why you can't compare the figures with the neighbours'.
Outdoors: fine dust and pollen, Home Plus only
Via Wi-Fi the Home Plus fetches what the air is like outside at your postcode. So you know whether airing the room is a good idea right now, or whether it's better to wait. Handy with hay fever or a wood stove in the neighbourhood.
- Outdoor fine dust up to 15 clean, airing is fine
- 15 to 35 air the room briefly
- Above 35 keep windows closed
- Pollen 1 or 2 low
- Pollen 3 moderate
- Pollen 4 or 5 high, keep windows closed
Outdoor fine dust comes from the national air quality monitoring network, the pollen level from the European pollen forecast by Open-Meteo. Your own readings are not sent anywhere.
How it is set out of the box
You can change all thresholds yourself on the screen. These are the factory settings.
| Value | Good | Let in air | Ventilate more | Take action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO2 | up to 800 ppm | 800 to 1,200 ppm | 1,200 to 3,400 ppm | above 3,400 ppm |
| Temperature | figure only, no colour | |||
| Humidity | figure only, no colour | |||
| Fine dust indoors | up to 15 µg/m³ | 15 to 35 µg/m³ | above 35 µg/m³ | |
| VOC index (Home Plus) | 50 to 100 | 100 to 200 | above 200 | |
| NOx index (Home Plus) | 1 | above 1 | ||
Settings on the device
Everything is done on the touchscreen. Tap it and the menu appears.
Choose another display
At the bottom right is an arrow. Tap it to browse the displays: the Canairy, a large CO2 figure, a calm dark screen for the bedroom, and more.
Open the menu
Tap the screen and choose Settings. There you set the time, the thresholds, the brightness and, on the Home Plus, the Wi-Fi and the postcode.
Screen dimming
A light sensor dims the screen automatically when the room gets dark. So it won't disturb you in the bedroom. You set the brightness in the menu.
Adjust the thresholds
For the colour-coded values you set the figure at which the colour changes. Want to measure more strictly? Set the threshold lower.
Look back
Tap the screen and choose History. You see a graph or a table of the last few days. That is how you see how your bedroom was doing last night.
Memory
The Canairy keeps 10,000 readings on the device itself. They are kept if the plug comes out and they don't go to a server.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need internet?
Not for measuring. The Canairy measures, shows and stores everything on the device itself. Only the Home Plus uses Wi-Fi, and only for the pollen level and the outdoor fine dust figure.
Where does my data go?
It stays on the device. It doesn't go to a server, not ours and not anyone else's. Even with Wi-Fi on, your readings stay on the device. See the privacy statement.
Why does the CO2 figure rise so quickly?
In a closed room with two or three people you are above 1,000 ppm within an hour. That is normal, and exactly why the Canairy exists. Short, thorough airing works better than a window on the latch all day.
Do I need to maintain or replace anything?
No. The CO2 sensor adjusts itself; the manufacturer states a lifetime of more than fifteen years. Wiping the dust off the slots now and then is enough.
Can the screen be less bright at night?
Yes, that happens automatically. A light sensor dims the screen when the room gets dark. You can also set the brightness yourself in the menu.
How far back can I look?
The device keeps 10,000 readings. That applies to both the Home and the Home Plus.
The screen stays black
Check that the adapter is properly in the wall socket and that the plug on the back is firmly in place. If it stays black, call or email us.
What is the warranty?
24 months. On top of that you have your statutory rights as a consumer: a product must be what you could reasonably expect. The warranty does not limit those rights.
I bought it via Bol or Amazon, can I connect it to a computer?
No. The Canairy Home and Home Plus are made for the home and work entirely on their own. If you want to keep an eye on several rooms remotely, see the page For organisations.
Manual and specifications The manual in four languages, the brochure, the certificates and the data of each sensor.
Go to downloadsStuck?
Call or email. We answer the phone Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 17:00 (CET).
+31 (0)345 785 611
support@airteq.eu