Ever wonder what’s floating around in your home? Air quality monitors like the Airthings Wave Enhance and Eve Room aim to tell you. Both are packed with features that can help you stay on top of temperature, humidity, and other air quality factors, but which is better for your needs?
I recently got my hands on the Wave Enhance to check out, and I’ve spent some time comparing it with the Eve Room, a device I’ve used for a while now. From app performance to ease of use, I’ll break down the differences and help you determine which device will keep your air in check.
Bottom Line:
If you prefer a detailed app that tracks long-term trends and delivers insights, Airthings Wave Enhance is the better choice, especially if you want more sensors like CO2, which I found very valuable. But if you want something simple with a screen to check your air quality at a glance, Eve Room might be more your style.
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Table of Contents
- Airthings Wave Enhance vs. Eve Room: Overview
- Design Details: Blending In or Standing Out?
- Ease of Use: Setup, Apps, and Everyday Interaction
- Accuracy & Performance: More Than Just Numbers
- CO2: My Experience
- Customer Support: Who Has Your Back?
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Final Thoughts
Airthings Wave Enhance vs. Eve Room: Overview
Before we dig into the details, let’s get familiar with the basics of each device.
Airthings Wave Enhance
Airthings, a company dedicated to air quality monitoring since its founding in 2008, in a nutshell offers customers detailed data on indoor air through a variety of different devices. The most recent offering is the Wave Enhance, launched in September 2024. It essentially measures volatile organic compounds (VOCs), temperature, humidity, CO2, light, and sound. While it doesn’t have a radon sensor like some of Airthings’ other products, it does feature a “sleep disruptors” report, which helps you identify factors that could be affecting your sleep quality.
Main features:
- Tracks VOCs, CO2, temperature, and humidity, light, sound
- “Sleep disruptors” report to analyze sleep-impacting factors
- Alexa compatibility (no HomeKit or Google Assistant)
- Requires app for data viewing (no built-in screen)
Price: $149.99 on Amazon or on Airthings, with a 10% discount using the code smarthomeexplained-10OFF.
Eve Room
Eve Systems, a company first established back in 1999, is known for its high-quality smart home devices, with a focus on seamless HomeKit integration. The Eve Room, though dating back to 2017, continues to be a solid choice for monitoring indoor air quality. It measures VOCs, temperature, and humidity, much like the Wave Enhance, but stands out with its built-in display. This allows users to easily check air quality without reaching for their phones. But Eve Room is strictly for Apple users, as it only supports HomeKit, with no Alexa or Google Assistant integration.
Main features:
- Tracks VOCs, temperature, and humidity (No CO2, light, or sound)
- Built-in screen for on-device air quality viewing
- HomeKit compatibility (no Alexa or Google Assistant)
- Long battery life with USB charging
- No sleep disruptors report or radon sensor
Price: $89.95 on Amazon
Design Details: Blending In or Standing Out?
Airthings Wave Enhance
The Airthings Wave Enhance keeps things simple with a clean, round design that blends easily into most home environments. It’s designed to be wall-mounted or placed on the ceiling, similar to a smoke detector. This helps it blend in without being an eyesore. It even comes with adhesive strips for easy placement.
However, its use of AA batteries is a bit annoying. You’ll have to access your device occasionally to swap them out, which isn’t the most convenient for a wall- or ceiling-mounted device. That said, the batteries should last around 16 months before needing to be replaced.
Eve Room
Eve Room is designed to be seen. It features a sleek aluminum frame with a sharp e-ink display, perfect for showing off on a shelf or table. The screen displays air quality, temperature, and humidity, so you don’t have to pull out your phone to check the data.
One area where Eve Room shines is its rechargeable battery. While you’ll need to plug in the Eve Room to recharge every 3 or 4 months, it’s still more convenient than fishing out AA batteries. Just be aware that it has a shorter battery life than the Wave Enhance.
Ease of Use: Setup, Apps, and Everyday Interaction
Airthings Wave Enhance
The Airthings Wave Enhance is easy to set up initially. The included adhesive strips make it simple to mount, and the app guides you through pairing. However, there is one major catch—you’ll need to wait 7 days after pairing before you get accurate data.
Once the data starts flowing, the Airthings app is a standout. It provides detailed breakdowns of air quality factors and unique reports like the “sleep disruptors” analysis. The app’s interface is intuitive, and you’ll find everything you need in just a few taps.
While the Airthings Wave Enhance integrates with Alexa, it doesn’t support HomeKit or Google Assistant. However, the voice assistant integration is limited—you’re mostly just getting sensor readings.
Eve Room
Eve Room shines in ease of use, especially for Apple users. The setup is quick, and the HomeKit integration is seamless. You’ll have access to air quality data across your Apple devices, and you can even set up automations within the Home app.
Unlike the Wave Enhance, Eve Room gives you instant access to data thanks to its built-in screen. You can check air quality, temperature, or humidity at a glance, making it much more convenient for quick updates without needing to reach for your phone.
However, the Eve Room app isn’t nearly as feature-rich as the Airthings app. It provides the basics, which would explain why the data is readily available without a wait-time. So you’re looking for more granular data like the game-changer “Sleep disruptors” report, you’re better off with Airthings Wave Enhance.
Accuracy & Performance: More Than Just Numbers
Airthings Wave Enhance
Whereas the Wave Enhance provides actual values and thresholds for key metrics like VOCs, temperature, and humidity, Airthings takes a more analytical approach to air quality data. This approach is much more useful, helping you understand exactly what’s going on in your home’s environment rather than giving a vague “good” or “bad” rating.
Airthings also offers several in-app reports that provide deeper insights into the data, such as “Sleep disruptors,” Allergy, Headaches, and Productivity reports. The only downside is that in order to access this detailed data, you’ll first need to wait up to 7 days beforehand. Once it’s calibrated, Airthings delivers consistent and detailed performance of air quality.
Eve Room
Eve Room simplifies things with a star-based air quality rating. While it’s easy to understand at a glance, it lacks the depth offered by Airthings’ values and thresholds, which would give you more context on the quality rating. A five-star rating from Even Room is nice, but it doesn’t give the same actionable detail–something you’d like to have if your rating score was less than five-star.
Ultimately, Eve’s strengths lie in its simplicity and ease of use. The instant readings and real-time data display on the device itself are a plus. However, when it comes to diving deep into what’s happening in your environment, it can feel limited when compared to Airthings.
CO2: My Experience
Since setting up the Wave Enhance, one reading caught my attention right away: my room had a consistently high CO2 buildup. I ran a little experiment by placing a fan in the room and letting it run for about eight hours. The results were striking:
In just one day, the CO2 levels dropped significantly, and the app’s “Focus” areas suggested that this could lead to better sleep. This kind of insight is a game-changer for me and something that I simply couldn’t get without a device like the Wave Enhance.
Customer Support: Who Has Your Back?
I ran into a small snag when setting up the Airthings Wave Enhance. The device wouldn’t sync with my iPhone at first, but Airthings’ customer support had the opportunity to shine. They were quick to respond and get to the bottom of the issue. Within a few days, they had deployed a fix, and my device was syncing perfectly.
Their speed to handle my problem directly via the app was impressive, especially considering they had no idea I was reviewing the device. It’s reassuring to know they provide solid support, especially because I know first-hand how connecting smart home devices can be tricky.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is the Airthings Wave Enhance accurate?
After a week of testing, the Airthings Wave Enhanced matches up with my Eve Room for VOC, humidity, and temperature.
Who owns Airthings?
Airthings is an independent company founded in 2008, based in Norway.
Does the Airthings Wave Enhance measure radon?
No, the Wave Enhance does not include a radon sensor. Airthings does have other models, like the Wave Plus, which do offer radon detection.
Does the Eve Room work with Android?
No, Eve Room is designed exclusively for Apple’s HomeKit ecosystem.
Do I need a subscription to use the Airthings Wave Enhance?
No subscription is needed for basic air quality data, but premium features require a subscription to their “Airthings Plus” service.
How long do the batteries last in Airthings Wave Enhance and Eve Room?
The Airthings Wave Enhance uses AA batteries that can last up to 16 months. Eve Room has a rechargeable battery that lasts around 3-4 months.
Final Thoughts
After spending time with both the Airthings Wave Enhance and the Eve Room, it’s clear that each device has its own strengths and short-comings. Airthings Wave Enhance comes out on top for me because of its detailed app, powerful insights, and useful reports. One such report that I found particularly useful outlined my CO2 levels, something I’ve been actively trying to adjust thanks to the device.
Ultimately, the choice depends on what you value most: deeper insights and long-term monitoring from Airthings or an aesthetically pleasing, HomeKit-friendly device like Eve Room. Personally, the Wave Enhance’s app, reports, and responsive customer support make it the winner in my book. But if you want something that’s easy on the eyes and syncs seamlessly with Apple products, Eve Room still holds its own.