Airthings offers a great, but pricy, line-up of air quality monitors that previously could only be integrated with Home Assistant through ESPHome. For most experienced users, this wasn't and still isn't much of a challenge. However, there is a growing number of newcomers to Home Assistant that want things to work out of the box. The recently launched Home Assistant Core Version 2022.11 does just that with three of Airthings' most interesting multi-sensors.
Making use of the revamped Bluetooth integration, the Airthings BLE integration will automatically discover any Airthings sensors in its vicinity. All you need is the device's ten-digit serial number, which can be found under the magnetic plate or in the mobile app, and you are ready to go; currently supported are the Airthings Wave, Wave Plus, and Wave Mini.
What the Airthings Wave, Wave Plus, and Wave Mini offer
Once integrated with Home Assistant, you will have access to several informative sensors, depending on which model you own. The Wave Plus, Wave Mini, and Wave all share the temperature and humidity sensors, however the Mini lacks the Radon sensor included in its siblings. What it does have, and this is what makes it unique, is a mould risk indicator. The vanilla Wave ditches the CO2, VOC, and pressure sensors, which are available in the Plus.
| Wave Plus | Wave Mini | Wave | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| CO2 | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Relative humidity | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Temperature | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Airborn chemicals (VOCs) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Pressure | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Mould risk indicator | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Batteries | 2×AA | 2×AA | 3×AAA |
What they do all have in common is exceptional battery life. Similarly to Zigbee and Z-Wave sensors, Bluetooth Low Energy sips power. The vanilla Wave is rated to last up to 18 months, the Plus up to 16 months, and the Mini for a staggering two years. For those wanting to be informed whenever the batteries need to be replaced, Home Assistant will also gather and track their state.
Thanks for the article. Do you know if the Airthings Hub is required to use the Home Assistant integration? If I’m reading this correctly, it is not required but I wanted to be sure before I made my purchase.
Hi Dan! Good news, the hub is not required!