this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2025
15 points (100.0% liked)

homeassistant

13529 readers
3 users here now

Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
15
Sensor for furnace air filter replacement (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
6 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Is anyone aware of a sensor (preferably Zigbee, I think), that will give me an idea of when I need to change my furnace air filter?

I am picturing something that maybe sits on the "clean" side of the filter to measure...pressure? Air quality? I don't know.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago (2 children)

how do you typically notice the filter needs to be changed now? does it:

  • draw more power than usual? wattage sensor
  • give some alert like a “change filter” light? esp32
  • need changing after a certain time/usage amount? power consumption sensor
  • need changing every X days? you might just need a calendar alert

of course the mega nerd approach would be to put a particulate sensor in the duct like a PMS7003 that measures PM10 particles like dust, strap on an esp32 and set some alerts using your favourite monitoring tool.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Yeah, there's no sure fire way to know without checking. Simpler solution is a calendar reminder every month to look at it 🤣

Honestly though, you can get cheap air sensors that will at least tell you if the PM rises in the house. Won't alert to things that might be giving you allergy problems though.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

I read somewhere, the suggestion, that the filter be replaced when air flow has reduced by 50% from when the filter is new. IDK, that seems reasonable to me and should be measurable.

I have always replaced filters on a schedule, but it has always felt wasteful. Sometimes the filter is clearly dirty and sometimes it is not. I would like something more specific.

I will look into PMS7003.