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Healthy Home Living
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Opening the package reveals the Healthy Home Coach device, a power lead with a three-pin plug and a mini Welcome booklet. Tubular in shape, with a height of 155 mm and a diameter of 45 mm, the champagne coloured Coach, with its aluminium sheen, perches in an upright position. Running down the front face of the Coach is a slim elongated window which displays feedback information regarding the health of the dwelling using a colour coded system. Connection to a suitable mains power source is via a micro USB port at the rear of the unit.
Setting up the Netatmo device is covered by the Welcome booklet or so you might expect. However this information is limited to say the least. References to the Apple and Play Stores plus an illustration to show how the power lead should be attached was the sum total of printed assistance. You are obviously meant to take the hint and download the Healthy Home Coach app from the relevant store.
Running the app will walk you through the process of signing into or creating a new Netatmo account. Once a connection has been made to the Netatmo server, the app will take over and organise the recognition and pairing of the coach device plus the downloading of any necessary software and upgrading of the Coach including its integration with your Home WiFi. You will need to give the Coach a name to identify the device plus select from profiles designated as Whole Family, Baby or Asthmatic, each with its own appropriate settings that affect different aspects of the checks made.
When checking out the state of health of its immediate environment, the Coach makes use of the four built in sensors to decide on the current living conditions. The coach can check on humidity to avoid problems such as itchy skin and other allergies. Air quality is checked as is ventilation. The Coach also checks on temperature so that this feature can be set to suit babies and young children who might be making use of the particular area. Noise levels are also checked to help ensure noise pollution does not cause a problem.
By combining the information gleaned from the various sensors, the Coach will be able to provide feedback regarding the overall conditions in the current location. This feedback can come directly from the coach unit or remotely via the app running on a smartphone or tablet.
In the case of direct from the Coach, this feedback, which appears following a slight tap on the top of the coach, is in the form of a single colour pulsing in the slim window, I was rewarded with a cyan colour indicating that my living room was healthy. Switching to my smartphone confirmed not only that my living room was healthy but also provided more information. The temperature in my living room was judged to be an excellent 21.1C, humidity was rated good at 68%, air quality was excellent at 488ppm while noise level was a peaceful 59dB as I listened to a Detroit Spinner tape. Moving the Coach to a bedroom reported a temperature of 22.2C with humidity of 38$, air quality of 570ppm and a noise level of 43dB.
The information gathered is transmitted from the coach device to your Netatmo account where it is stored. Once the Healthy Home Coach app is launched then the recorded data will be downloaded to the mobile device, via a secure connection, ready for displaying. A time line feature allows you to check on conditions at an earlier time.
Of course the reported conditions are for the current room in which the Coach is located. To check other rooms in the home you either need to relocate the Coach or purchase other units and go for a multi-Coach experience which is supported by the app. As you might expect from a coach, you do get some advice regarding the four facets of air quality, humidity, temperature and noise level by tapping on the relevant reading on the app. However the advice given is very general and it could be described as being commonsense.
Netatmo Healthy Home Coach provides a range of readings relating to different conditions within its base location in the home. It will prove more useful for those who have invested in HomeKit. While set-up information is limited, it should not prove too much of a handicap. Currently the Netatmo Healthy Home Coach is listed at £89.99 for a single unit on Amazon.co.uk
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