I’ve spent a few weeks trying The Netatmo Meteorological Station In my office, a ten -square -meter cubicle where the workday passed. August in Valencia is brutal: 35 degrees and 75% moisture at noon are normal values. But what I really wanted to verify was not the temperature or moisture.
It was the CO2 concentration.
The first Monday I started curious. At 8:05 a.m., with an open window and door since Friday, the sensor marked 438 ppm, atmospheric level. I started working. At 9:30 a.m., 455 ppm, minimum increase. Then I closed door and window to simulate winter conditions.
Effects of CO2 concentration on the environment. Image: Vobu.
At thirty minutes: 802 ppm. An hour later: almost 1,400 ppm. A little later: more than 1,600 ppm. Had already begun to notice That characteristic mental fatigue, that heaviness That a few days blame for fatigue. That inability to do well what you usually do well, mixed with apathy. It is not placebo, there are plenty of studies that support it. As Este de Harvard and Syracuse of 2015: The levels between 1,000 and 2,500 ppm – manner in offices – reduce up to 15% the yield in complex cognitive tasks. In decision -making, Hasdta 23%.
I opened the window but not the door. The CO2 dropped from 1,600 to 800 ppm in 25 minutes. The next day, with cross current: same descent in 12 minutes. Half. A difference that did not expect so marked. In a short time, the level returned to 450 ppm.
Graph of the Netatmo application during one of the tests: all night with the empty office, beginning of the morning working with everything open. I closed door and window. And when I reached the peak of almost 1,600 ppm, I opened back and window. And the fall was even faster than the climb. Image: Xataka.
This shows the Netatmo app interface the CO2 concentration, visually indicating its condition, along with other values. Image: Xataka.
Another test. Only opening door or window, the fall is slower than if we open both to create a current. Something we know always, but now we can quantify and assume with greater awareness. Image: Xataka.
Netatmo has an error margin of ± 100 ppm up to 1,000 ppm, ± 10% above. It is not laboratory precision, but to understand your home it serves. The important thing is not the exact number but the evolution and its correlation with how you feel.
With the passing of the days, varying openings and closures, I began to detect patterns. Ventilating more frequently than usual, sporadic apathy and mental mist. They are directly correlated with air renewal.
Which takes me to the next point: The air conditioning. I sensed that I would not improve the concentration of CO2. Indeed: the air moves and cools, but does not renew it. Purifiers would not help except that they have outdoor entrance. They filter particles, do not eliminate gases such as carbon dioxide.
When looking at the graph in more detail it is easy to see that by a lot of ventilation and current that there is, a human breathing inevitably increases the concentration of CO2 in the stay, and in a cumulative way. Although within the appropriate values. Around 6:00 h entered a few minutes (climb), I left shortly (low) and then returned to spend the whole morning (go up) until I went to eat (low). As if he had a presence detector. Image: Xataka.
Image: Xataka.
I brought the netatm to bedroom. Two people sleeping with a closed window and open door: CO2 rose from 450 to 1,100 ppm. Heavy awakening, feeling of not having rested. Next night with open window: maximum 640 ppm. I woke up remarkably clearer. He has convinced me to sleep with open window even in winter.
The station measures more: interior/exterior temperature (with the separate module), humidity, barometric pressure, noise. It is expandable with pluviometer and anemometer. Elegant app, indefinite historical, integration Homekit flawless. But living vertically and without garden, for me the real value is in CO2.
On the integration with homekit: when CO2 went from 1,100 ppm, this notification reached me in Mac (image) and iPhone. Image: Xataka.
And notification on the iPhone. Image: Xataka.
I have learned that working with more than 1,000 ppm is to function at 70% cognitive. The problem: do not notice immediately. Like that second cup that you think harmless until you try to add the head account. Now a lot more. Permanently open windows or, when time prevents it, more frequent openings than before.
Do you justify 110 euros This learning? If you work in closed spaces, yes. Not for the apparatus, but for the consciousness it generates. He used to ventilate when “noticed the loaded atmosphere.” Now I know that when I notice, I’ve been working badly for an hour. It is the difference between driving with velocimeter or eye.
The paradoxical thing is that after three weeks, Netatmo has taught me not to need it. My body has internalized the times and signs. I recognize that very slight ocular heaviness, that subtle friction in words flow. But Without the sensor’s objective data, I would never have developed this sensitivity.
It’s like learning to refine an instrument: you first need the fingerboard, then your ear learn to recognize dissonance on its own.
Netatmo Wifi Interior Wireless Meteorological Station, with wall, thermometer, hygrometer, soundometer, air quality, compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple and Google, NWS-AMZ
Outstanding image | Xataka
In Xataka Science | Can you run out of oxygen if you get into a small room with many people?
This device has been assigned to test by Netatmo. You can consult How do we do the reviews in Xataka and Our business relations policy.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings