The Link Fairy

Thank you to Netatmo for providing me with a sample to review. This article may contain affiliate links.

Being a mother, I’m always watching the environments my family are exposed to.  The CO2 and noise levels in our own homes aren’t something we think about on a daily basis yet, they directly impact our daily well-being. Poor indoor air quality and circulation along with high sound decibel levels can lead to an array of unpleasant symptoms such as, stress, irritability and hypertension.

What if you had the ability to know instantly when CO2 or noise levels reached dangerous increments in or outside your home? What if there was a way your phone or tablet could alert you of poor air circulation or quality within your home; giving you the ability to remedy the situation before it affects your family?  One company has taken these “What If’s” and turned them into a reality. Meet the Netatmo Urban Weather Station. The Netatmo combines sleek, compact and modern design with the ability to monitor both indoor and outdoor atmospheric and weather conditions, allowing you to create the perfect living environment for your family.

We were given a Netatmo Urban Weather Station to test out with our family and I have to say, I am absolutely loving it! The Netatmo system uses a free, convenient app to display all stats and results and works on both apple and Android phones and tablets. Netatmo has also recently released a Web App that allows you to access your device data through your computer on the Netatmo website. The system comes with both an indoor and UV resistant outdoor unit made from durable aluminum, batteries for the outdoor unit, a choice between an adjustable Velcro strap or a secured nail for attaching the outdoor unit and a USB cable and wall outlet plugin for the indoor unit.

When it came to the set up, the directions were easy to read and clear. The outdoor unit requires 4 AAA batteries, which are included. The bottom of the unit comes off and the batteries go inside. You then need to choose a spot outdoors to attach the unit. This must be chosen carefully.  The unit can not be directly in the elements (must be within the shade of a roof or overhang) or too far from the indoor unit so they can communicate/provide info for your app device. We have a detached garage and after attempting to attach the unit to a covered gutter, found it was too far away from the indoor unit to work. Instead I attached it to the screen door on our home and it’s been working perfectly.

I’ll admit, I was a little apprehensive at first about the st up of the indoor unit since set up takes place mainly by plugging in your phone or tablet, however it turned out to be a breeze. I first downloaded the free Netatmo app in my app store and then followed the prompts that were given upon opening the app. I used the USB cord to plug my phone into the indoor unit and the app did everything from connecting it to my internet to setting up to talk to the outdoor unit. It even showed me step by step how to set up alerts, check my settings, add a station, how to read the info the Netatmo was giving me and what each reading meant. You even have the option of adding extra stations, so if you wanted to monitor grandma’s house or your office, you could get all data on one device. There is also a unique sharing feature that allows you to give others access to your Netatmo’s data or share your screen shots via social networks.

In total, set up took about 10 min. This included me having to move my outdoor station twice. After my indoor unit was calibrated and ready to go I instantly started receiving real-time stats on my phone! The set up of the app is clear, precise and allows you to see both outdoor and indoor conditions at once. Upon using the app the first few times, it prompts you with exactly how to interpret your Netatmo readings.

I was able to check out in-depth and real-time stats on both indoor and outdoor weather. You can even push the indoor stats down to see more about what’s going on outside with info such as weekly weather forecasts, temperature statistics and rain levels . You can also push the outdoor conditions up to reveal more about what’s going on indoors. See the current CO2 level and receive alerts when it reaches unhealthy levels, find out the indoor temperature and humidity, as well as check the sound decibel levels in your home. The CO2 readings have come in extremely handy, especially since we’ve been alerted of our indoor CO2 level reaching over 1000 ppm (parts per million) since installing the device. This isn’t extremely dangerous, however anything over 1000 ppm indoors is a sign of poor air circulation, which can lead to possible headaches and irritation. It can easily be fixed by turning on the AC or opening a few windows.

We’ve been using the Netatmo Urban Weather Station for almost 3 weeks now. I can’t describe the sense of safety I’ve come to feel knowing I  have a device watching over the well being of my family.  I’ve relied on the Netatmo for my daily weather, which has proven to be much more accurate than other weather apps I’ve used on my phone and I like that the devices easily blend in with my home. No more bulky, obnoxiously  loud weather alerting systems. With the Netatmo I get all the weather info I need to rely on for the day while being kept up to date on the conditions within my home.

If you have a need to take better control of your living environment and the world around you, I highly suggest adding the Netatmo Urban Weather Station to your home.

The Netatmo Urban Weather Station retails for $179 on Amazon.com.

To find out more about the Netatmo, stop by their website!

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Enter to win a Netatmo Urban Weather Station!

Enter through the widget below. Giveaway ends on May 27th, 2013. Open to US residents 18+.