Review: Make your home a healthier place with this smart CO2 monitor

SwitchBot is a company that makes home automation simple. It's the brand that brought us the bots that can flick switches for you, and it's the brand that branched out into robot vacuum cleaners, smart door locks, and curtain-opening devices.

The progression SwitchBot has made through every facet of your home's electrical devices has been remarkable in the time I've known them, and one of the gadgets I've always been impressed with is its meters.

Take for example the original small, square SwitchBot Meter. I've got a few of these in my house, and they monitor temperature and humidity, and constantly report back to an app.

Using these cheap, simple devices I can set an alert that lets me know if the temperature in my pet lizard's vivarium is getting too high, and I leave one in my motorhome so we can monitor the conditions in that while we're not in it, too.

The genius behind these monitors is the way they link up to the SwitchBot ecosystem, which in turn links up to the Matter platform.

It means that, when it's all linked up through a hub, you can trigger automations such as turning on a heater if the temperature gets too low, or flicking on a dehumidifier if things are getting a bit muggy.

SwitchBot has now upgraded its meters, too. There are two new launches I've been testing, the Meter Pro and the Meter Pro CO2 Monitor.

The CO2 monitor costs £59.99 and has a large display giving you things like the time and date, the current temperature in a room, and the CO2 measurement in parts per million.

If you've never considered the CO2 in a room before, you should. At best, a high reading could indicate poor air quality or a lack of ventilation and, at worst, it can affect your cognitive performance.

So to have a simple device giving you a clear indication of levels, and with the capability of alerting you if they get too high, or even switching on an air purifier, is just marvellous.

The Meter Pro is a simpler device that just monitors temperature. It looks physically the same, but the main part of its display just shows the temperature and humidity in the space around it.

I keep one on my bedside table, so I know if my room's getting warm and, if it is, I can either manually or automatically adjust a smart thermostat on my radiator. In the summer, mine can even turn on an air conditioning unit and close the curtains as soon as the room gets too warm. All using SwitchBot gadgets.

Again, it links up to the SwitchBot app, which gives you a more detailed breakdown, along with graphs to show the conditions over time.

The clever bit about the devices, however, is that they can link up to SwitchBot's Indoor/Outdoor thermometer and hygrometer. I've got one of these outside my house, and it constantly feeds back the outside temperature to the Meter Pro. So when I wake up I'll instantly know what sort of coat I'll need for walking the dogs.

Another neat trick I've set it up to do is to let me know if there's a frost likely. As soon as the outside temperature takes a tumble, I can cover the car windscreen, or bring in my wife's geraniums.

There really are so many automations you can set up, especially if you've got other smart devices in your house. The only limit is your imagination.

The Meter Pro costs £34.99, which is incredibly reasonable. And if you're quick you can catch a limited-time deal on Amazon that brings the price down to just £26.24, which is a bargain.

The CO2 monitor is currently £52.49 and there are bundle deals available with the thermometer and a hub as part of the package.