Many individuals overlook the significance of air quality until issues arise. If you’ve ever felt fatigued in your home office or observed your allergies flaring up indoors, it’s likely no coincidence. Levels of CO2, humidity, and temperature all play a crucial role in determining your home’s comfort and health. A recent incident involving a car fire at my neighbor’s house highlighted this fact for me. The SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Monitor is designed to simplify air quality tracking and seamlessly integrates with HomeKit via Matter.
HomeKit Weekly is a series dedicated to smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and all things related to Apple’s smart home framework.
What can it do?
At its essence, the SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Monitor functions as a 5-in-1 sensor that tracks:
- CO2 concentrations
- Temperature readings
- Humidity levels
- Date and time
- Comfort index based on air quality
With its large, easy-to-read display, the device boasts a built-in battery that can last for up to a year. Notably, it can send alerts when CO2 levels become excessive, prompting you to open a window or activate an air purifier. Naturally, you can automate the latter using HomeKit.
What’s needed for HomeKit support?
A critical point to note before purchasing: this device does not natively support HomeKit. It connects via the SwitchBot app, but to enable HomeKit functionality, you will need a SwitchBot Hub 2 to activate Matter support, which functions as a bridge. The Hub 2 is Matter-compatible, providing access to HomeKit. After setup, HomeKit will identify the SwitchBot Meter Pro as a temperature and humidity sensor (but not as a CO2 monitor). While this limitation exists, it still allows for valuable automation potentials within HomeKit.
What can it do within HomeKit?
Integrating this device through Matter and the SwitchBot Hub into HomeKit opens up several automation options:
- Activate a smart plug to turn on an air purifier when humidity increases.
- Power on a HomeKit-enabled air purifier based on its readings.
- Modify a HomeKit-compatible thermostat according to temperature changes.
- Request Siri for real-time updates on the current temperature or humidity in any room.
- Set automations to make a HomeKit-compatible light flash red when air quality declines.
The major limitation is that CO2 readings will not appear in HomeKit. If you desire CO2 notifications, you will need to continue using the SwitchBot app alongside HomeKit. While it may not be ideal, it’s still better than having no solution at all. Overall, the SwitchBot app is fairly useful.
Wrap up
In conclusion, the SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Monitor is both practical and aesthetically pleasing. If you are in search of a completely HomeKit-native CO2 monitor, this may not meet your needs. However, if you’re comfortable using the SwitchBot Hub 2 as a bridge, the monitor can still serve as a valuable addition to your HomeKit setup. While it may not unlock every feature within HomeKit, it can still facilitate some appealing use cases concerning temperature and humidity automation.
You can purchase the SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Monitor from Amazon or directly from SwitchBot.
