The VOC sensor is extremely sensitive and reacts to substances such as ethanol (the air-Q is calibrated for this), alcohol, formaldehyde, octane, toluene, acetone, acetaldehyde and cleaning agents in general, but also harmless substances such as decomposition substances from plants or combustible gases such as methane.
In a well-ventilated room, values between 100 and 500 ppb (parts per billion) should occur. In frequented rooms or rooms with basic pollution, the measured value quickly rises to 1,000 to 5,000 ppb. In extreme cases, the VOC reading can rise far above this – for example, if an alcohol-based disinfectant has been used or if methane is in the air – the VOC sensor reacts extremely strongly to this.
In winter, the values can often be higher, as the temperature means that ventilation is not as frequent. If the high VOC value is disturbing, the LED theme on the air-Q can be changed. Via Dashboard->Settings->Advanced Settings->Indices->”Exclude VOC from index calculation”, you can have the VOC value no longer included in the air-Q health index and air-Q performance index, but still output.
The VOC sensor has its own algorithm that ensures continuous calibration. Therefore, an own calibration is only necessary in a few exceptional cases. This can be the case if the output VOC value permanently shows very high or low values, e.g. 50,000 ppb or 0 ppb. Even if the sensor does not drop to 100-500 ppb in a ventilated room, a manual calibration may be useful.
Procedure for manual calibration: Use the calibration function in the smartphone app and settings [gear on the dashboard] –> calibration.
Your air-Q must be in a very well ventilated room for at least 5-10 minutes. Please do not start the procedure until you have ventilated and then returned to normal room temperature. Then set the calibration value to 300 ppb. Attention: The calibration cannot be undone!
In general, we do not recommend performing your own calibration unless there is an urgent reason and a second reference is available.
