About a month ago, I finally got the chance to purchase IKEA’s two air quality monitors. The more pricey Vindstyrka came in at $49.99, and I finished reviewing it just last week. However, while the Vindstyrka is inexpensive for an air quality monitor, its sibling is even cheaper.
The Vindriktning is a highly affordable air quality monitor coming in at only $15 or your local equivalent. It’s sold at all IKEA stores worldwide, and if it works, this monitor can significantly lower the barrier to entry for improving indoor air quality.
At such a low price, the device is bound to be limited in features. However, even if it’s just accurate, it will be the first air quality monitor to have achieved this at such a low price. Considering how great of an offer the $49.99 Vindstyrka is, I have high hopes for this monitor, too!
If you’ve been considering getting an IKEA Vindriktning or wondering how well it performs, you’ve come to the right place. In this review, I will discuss everything you need to know about the device, from its accuracy to its design and competition. With that said, let’s get started!
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Accuracy & Sensor
As always, the most important part of any air quality monitor is its sensor, which will determine how accurate the device is. Unfortunately, for the IKEA Vindriktning, accuracy is its biggest downfall – but not directly because of the sensor, as you might expect.
The Vindriktning uses a Cubic PM1006K particle sensor. These sensors are very low cost, which explains how IKEA can fit them within such a cheap product. Unlike more expensive particle sensors, this Cubic model uses an LED instead of a Laser to measure the particles passing by.
This sensor has a stated accuracy of ±20μg/m³ or ±20% of the reading (whichever is larger), which is quite a large deviation compared to more expensive sensors. Of course, we expect this in a cheaper device, but with a deviation of ±20μg/m³, we should expect to see a large variability in the readings compared to other devices.
Interestingly, IKEA has added a fan to the sensor. Since the CUBIC PM1006K doesn’t come with installed by default, the decision was made to add a fan to the module to constantly push air through the sensor. This should improve accuracy and it shows IKEA has put effort into trying to improve the accuracy of the device.
While the stated accuracy is not great, it’s important never to take manufacturers at their word. Often, we see better or worse accuracy in real-life situations, so it’s important to perform more testing to see how the device actually stacks up when in use.
Since I am not currently able to test the accuracy of the device myself, I recommend reading this fantastic report from AirGradient. I will be referencing this a lot for this section, so please make sure to head over there and check out their good work!
AirGradient points out that although IKEA lists the Vindriktning as a PM2.5 sensor, the Cubic PM1006K is designed to measure 0.3μm~10μm – a far larger range, including much larger, less harmful particles. With this in mind, we would expect the Vindriktning to overreport ‘PM2.5’ concentrations. Instead, the contrary seems to be true, but more on that in a second.
IKEA Vindriktning (red) compared to two other low-cost but accurate sensors. Graph from AirGradient.
As per AirGradient’s report, the Cubic sensor consistently underreports PM2.5 concentrations. This is the opposite of what I would have expected, and it’s particularly interesting because the graphs show that the Vindriktning can identify trends – it just massively underreports them.
Unfortunately, combined with the terrible air quality scale used on the IKEA monitor (which I will discuss in the design section), this makes the device useless. Not only does it underreport, but the levels used for the traffic light LED system are very badly thought out.
While this current iteration of the IKEA air quality monitor is not something I can recommend due to this poor accuracy, I can see the potential here. The sensor can clearly pick up trends and correlates very well with better sensors – it just underreports significantly. It seems that if a software update was made and the zero value changed, the sensor could instantly become far more accurate. Unfortunately, without the ability to receive updates, we will need to wait for a second version for this issue to be solved.
Design
Like its more expensive counterpart, the Vindriktning is a very simple monitor that focuses on being a minimalist device that can blend into any environment. The simple white cuboid design isn’t eye-catching, but this means it can easily blend into any environment or any room.
On the front of the device, you will find a transparent plastic bar which looks akin to a glass thermometer. Behind this bar are three LEDs which illuminate the bottom of the bar green when the air quality is good, the centre orange when it’s moderate, and the top red when it’s bad. This simple traffic light system is the only way you will be able to identify the current air quality.
There is nothing between these three colours – no yellow between green and orange and no dark orange between light orange and red. This means the device is very easy to interpret at a glance, but it also means there are only three levels of air quality that the device can differentiate between, which is not particularly useful.
While I understand the need to keep costs low, a couple of extra LEDs would cost IKEA almost nothing. Even better, a few RGB LEDs would also cost a negligible amount, yet they would significantly improve the usefulness of the monitor. I can’t understand why they made the decision to keep this device so simple other than to encourage users to purchase the more expensive monitor.
With that said, the traffic light system could be somewhat helpful in that it gives users insight into whether their air quality is good, acceptable or poor. While it’s not specific at all, this information alone is enough for some people, and if that’s the case, the design of the Vindriktning may not be an issue for you.
Of course, there is the obvious issue of the lack of accuracy of the device. While this isn’t an issue with the design itself, the fact that the Vindriktning underreports PM2.5 concentrations is exacerbated by the lack of specificity at which it communicates indoor air quality. If the PM2.5 concentration was shown on even a very simple screen, and I know the device underreports by (for example) 20µg/m3, I could easily remove that number from any reading I get to get a more accurate picture of my air quality.
However, with the colours, I can’t do this because each light represents such a large range of concentrations. Here are the brackets for each colour:
Green: 0-35 µg/m3
Orange: 36-85µg/m3
Red: 86+ µg/m3
This means that when the light is green, the PM2.5 concentration could range anywhere from 0-35µg/m3, removing my ability to account for the sensor, which appears to pick up trends, but just significantly underreports them.
These thresholds for each light lead me to another issue. The brackets are simply terrible – an issue which is shared by the more expensive Vindstyrka. The WHO lists 25µg/m3 as the PM2.5 guideline for average 24-hour exposure, and the average annual exposure as only 5µg/m3. The Vindriktning, on the other hand, considers both of these (maximum) values as green or ‘good’!
U.S EPA Guidelines. Image from IQAir.
I could give the thermometer-like design of the Vindriktning a pass if two changes were made: firstly, the thresholds were significantly lowered. For example, green might stop at 20µg/m3 (or even lower), and orange would cover 21-50µg/m3. Secondly, the sensor would actually need to be accurate. If both of these were changed, it would be possible to glean some insight from the device at least.
Although I feel like there’s not much more to say about the design since I’ve warned users away from purchasing it, I will continue with the bottom of the device to ensure this review is complete. You will find four rubber feet and an inlaid USB Type C port on the bottom of the device. I appreciate the move to Type C, and the fact that it is inlaid makes it easy to hide the device’s power cable.
Also, on the back of the device, you will find air vents, which are there to allow particles to enter the device. Interestingly, there are no buttons to be found anywhere on the device, meaning you can’t change settings anywhere – again, showing how simple this device is.
It is also important to note that since this device has an added fan, it does have a faintly audible buzz. While it’s not a big deal, and I couldn’t notice it in anything but the most silent room, it is worth noting as you might not want to place it right next to your bed.
Overall, I’m not a fan of the current design of the Vindriktning. The LED design could work, but there needs to be changes made. For example, how much more can it possibly cost to use RGB LEDs which can display multiple colours similar to the AQI scale? Perhaps more importantly, the sensor actually needs to be accurate and the thresholds changed for the current traffic-light system to be useful.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the Vindriktning. While I love the device’s concept, it’s crippled by its inaccurate sensor and basic LED display, which isn’t very informative. Don’t get me wrong – I love the idea of this device, but in its current version, it simply isn’t worth it, not even for $15.
What frustrates me about the Vindriktning IKEA air quality monitor is that it clearly could be accurate. The AirGradient report shows that if the baseline value for the sensor was changed, it could report far more accurately. This wouldn’t require any hardware changes, and this update could be made without increasing the price of the monitor.
There’s a great foundation here – a very inexpensive air quality monitor that is readily available and accurate (if updated). However, in its current form, it simply isn’t something I can recommend, and since there is no connectivity on this device, there’s no chance of it ever receiving an update. Instead, we will need to wait for the version 2… If there ever is one.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for another inexpensive air quality monitor, I recommend checking out the much more capable (but also significantly more expensive) Vindstyrka air quality monitor from IKEA. It is the opposite of the Vindriktning in many ways, and one of these ways is that it has a very accurate sensor.
Have you used the Vindriktning before? If you have, I would love to hear your thoughts. If you believe there is something I overlooked in this review, or if you have some thoughts to share, please feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Where Can I Buy the Vindriktning Air Quality Monitor?
You can purchase the Vindriktning either from IKEA’s website or from any physical store.
What Does the Vindriktning Monitor?
The Vindriktning monitors only PM2.5 and nothing else.
What Sensor Does the Vindriktning Use?
The Vindriktning uses a Cubic PM1006K PM2.5 sensor.
Does the Vindriktning Have Connectivity?
No, the Vindriktning has no connectivity.
Does IKEA Sell Air Quality Monitors?
Yes, they sell two. The more expensive monitor is the Vindstyrka, and the cheaper monitor is called the Vindriktning.
What Alternatives Are There to the Vindriktning?
At this price point, there really aren’t many options. Any other options will likely suffer from the same inaccuracy issues of the Vindriktning. Instead, I recommend spending $50 to get the more expensive but much better Vindstryka air quality monitor.
Does IKEA Sell Any Other Air Quality Monitors?
They only sell one other monitor, a more expensive version called the Vindriktning.
Is the Vindriktning Indoor Air Quality Monitor Accurate?
No. The Vindriktning underreports PM2.5 concentrations and can’t accurately convey them through its traffic light LED system.
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Vindriktning Air Quality Monitor
The Vindriktning is a highly affordable air quality monitor coming in at only $15 or your local equivalent. It’s sold at all IKEA stores worldwide, and if it works, this monitor can significantly lower the barrier to entry for improving indoor air quality.
Product Brand: IKEA
1
Pros
- Great concept for a low-cost air quality monitor
Cons
- Underreports PM2.5 concentrations
- Traffic-light LED system lacks information
- Brackets for the traffic light aren't based on any scale and seem to have been made up by IKEA on the spot.
- Can mislead users into thinking they have good indoor air quality when they don't