Ikea Vindstyrka – PM2.5 particle sensor, temperature and humidity monitor

November 14, 2024

Why I Needed a Sensor

About a year ago, maybe a bit longer, in the winter, I started noticing that something was off with the humidity in the room. I thought about getting a separate sensor for the room. I already had a humidity sensor set up next to the 3D printer, but it’s in a closed box, creating its own environment. So, when I saw the Ikea Vindstyrka with the ability to measure humidity, temperature, fine particles, and connect to Ikea’s smart home, I thought it would be a good addition and chose it.

First Impressions of the Ikea Vindstyrka

The sensor itself is compact, measuring 52x59x87mm, powered via USB (it comes with a long cable), and sits on a shelf. If connected to the Ikea Smart Home system, it can activate an Ikea air purifier according to a preset scenario.

Operating Modes and Connecting to Ikea Smart Home

The sensor can work independently, simply displaying the current readings on its screen, and you can turn the display backlight on or off using a button on the sensor (with two brightness levels or off). It can also be connected to the Ikea Smart Home system, but this requires the DIRIGERA hub.

Indicating Volatile Organic Compounds (tVOC)

The sensor’s manual states that it can also indicate the level of volatile organic compounds (tVOC) in the air. Unfortunately, it only shows stable, increasing, or decreasing tVOC levels with arrows rather than displaying exact values.

In short, if you open a can of paint in the room, the arrow will point up, indicating a rise in tVOC levels. After ventilating the room, the arrow will point down, and once the room is fully aired out, it will point to the right, showing a stable state.