Kaiterra unveiled the wireless, battery-powered Sensedge Go indoor air quality (IAQ) monitor to the world in September 2024 — but a handful of early testers have had their hands on the device since before the official launch.
These six experts in air quality, sustainability, and workplace design tested out the device and shared their initial thoughts, reactions, and feedback. Here’s what they loved about the Sensedge Go.
As a global WELL consultant, Alessandro is familiar with the pains that WELL projects face when completing the air concept: performance testing and the high costs of installing air quality monitors. Before, WELL projects could only go the performance testing route to verify their air quality for WELL. The sensor data pathway was inaccessible due to the lack of carbon monoxide and ozone monitoring in most continuous air quality monitors.
While installing continuous monitoring delivers a number of other benefits, specifically the ability to uncover trends and optimize air quality for occupant health, it’s often not worth it for WELL projects to install monitors, from the perspective of earning points for WELL.
Now, with the Sensedge Go, Alessandro is thrilled to share a new alternative to performance testing with clients — a continuous monitor that measures every single parameter for WELL (and can also score up to nine optimization points!), which simplifies initial certification, annual data submission, and re-certifications every three years.
“Not only is the method of installation incredibly simple, and it has the replaceable sensors that we’ve come to know from Kaiterra, but it packs a punch with all of the necessary sensors that comply with the WELL requirements all inside one single machine.”
- Alessandro Bisagni, BEE Incorporations
This comprehensive suite of parameters not only streamlines WELL certification today but will also evolve alongside certifications like LEED and WELL as they become more stringent over time — a feature that Alessandro believes will deliver ongoing value for Sensedge Go users.
“In addition to air quality sensors that we’ve come to know such as PM, TVOC, and CO2, we’re also able to look at atmospheric pressure and lux levels, in addition to having a customizable slot inside for advanced air quality sensors, such as carbon monoxide, which is essentially future-proofing the machine for future air quality requirements.”
- Alessandro Bisagni, BEE Incorporations
As a long-time air quality monitoring expert, Sarah was impressed by the Sensedge Go’s rapid, hassle-free installation that tackles a number of challenges that we see in other air quality monitors when it comes to installing, setting up, and connecting the device.
“There’s a hurdle, both for new and existing projects, of who’s going to put this thing in, who’s going to set it up on the network, how’s it going to be powered, is it going to be PoE or how many gateways do we need, does it need local internet access…the Sensedge Go takes away a lot of those barriers.”
- Sarah Gudeman, BranchPattern
As a completely wireless solution, the Sensedge Go drastically simplifies the set-up process by using batteries as a power source and connecting to the gateway via a cellular connection — two features that Sarah believes will significantly lower installation time, complexity, and costs.
Another hurdle that the Sensedge Go overcomes is the question of battery life, which is typically about one year in other battery-powered monitors. Through our patent-pending Adaptive Sampling™ technology, the Sensedge Go lasts up to eight years while delivering higher accuracy to help project leads meet their monitoring goals more effectively.
“The Adaptive Sampling™ I think is also a great feature that I’m excited to see play out in real life in terms of conserving battery life and improving the overall quality, without quantity, of data that we’re getting from new devices in existing buildings.”
- Sarah Gudeman, BranchPattern
Battery-powered monitors are known for their easy installation and maintenance since they don’t require a wired power source (meaning no specialized labor to knock down walls and run new cables throughout the building) and they can be easily moved to almost any location.
However, as a seasoned workplace specialist, Michael has seen the trade-offs that come with the convenience of battery-powered solutions: frequent battery replacements that drive up a building’s environmental impact.
However, this concern no longer exists with the Sensedge Go.
“Cost and speed to deploy has always been a challenge. I think the Sensedge Go, with its combined long battery life and wireless installation, is going to help organizations to expedite deployment while dealing with the environmental considerations that a lot of organizations have traditionally had with battery-powered units.”
- Michael Przytula, Accenture
The Adaptive Sampling™ technology creates an intelligent network of sensors that work in tandem to optimize sampling rates across a building and improve sampling accuracy, resulting in better data at a lower power cost. That means fewer battery replacements — all coordinated to happen on the same day, thanks to Adaptive Sampling™ — and better data that provide a complete view of the indoor environment.
“Kaiterra has now really innovated outside of the box. They’re thinking beyond the unit itself and thinking about how they can bring together a full picture of the customer’s built environment.”
- Michael Przytula, Accenture
Installation is a major consideration when it comes to starting an IAQ project, both from a labor and network connectivity perspective. Many existing air quality monitors on the market typically require Wi-Fi or ethernet to transmit data — both of which require connection to the building’s existing network. Shona has experienced firsthand the challenges that come with this type of connectivity:
“Both of those pathways to connect the monitors to feed data will require a lot of advocacy and conversations with the network security team. That can take months. I’ve seen it take over a year!”
- Shona O'Dea, SOM
The Sensedge Go offers the option to transmit data via cellular, which is completely separate from the building’s existing network. This means you don’t have to undergo the security and data approval process that is required for integration with the building network, making installation more efficient and cost-effective.
As a building and sustainability designer, Shona is especially excited about what the Sensedge Go’s rapid installation and network set-up means for her projects.
“We, as designers, advocate for these types of technologies on projects because we think it matters for ongoing operations. But sometimes it’s really hard to get it across the finish line and actually get the devices in spaces, so [the Sensedge Go] really helps eliminate some of our bottlenecks around that.”
- Shona O'Dea, SOM
Given the endless number of financial, logistical, regulatory, and occupant-level complexities and costs involved in building operations, Erik sees the simplicity of the Sensedge Go as a key advantage for building owners and operators.
“What really separates and distinguishes the Sensedge Go is, in the critical IAQ monitoring part of the technology ecosystem, it dramatically simplifies things and also makes it very easy to use.”
- Erik Malmstrom, SafeTraces
From purchasing hardware and software to installing and maintaining a network of monitors, the costs of IAQ projects quickly add up with solutions that require extensive cabling for wired power and connectivity. Eric sees the wireless power and connectivity source and rapid installation of the Sensedge Go as a major saver of both costs and time.
“From a product standpoint, it’s really simple, and I would describe it as dummy-proof. You can take it out of the box, get it up and running, get it onto a network, put it on a wall, and be up and running very quickly and easily.”
- Erik Malmstrom, SafeTraces
These benefits extend beyond a single building or project. By cutting costs and streamlining operations, a wireless air quality monitor like the Sensedge Go makes IAQ monitoring a possibility for more types of buildings and projects around the world.
“I think that Sensedge Go can really advance the field by making the technology for monitoring, which is critical, more affordable, more accessible, and bring it to more buildings to be able to benefit more people.”
- Erik Malmstrom, SafeTraces
Our goal when designing the Sensedge Go wasn’t just to address current challenges but to go above and beyond and meet other needs of our customers. Nitin highlights this in his review when he calls the Sensedge Go a complete indoor environmental quality (IEQ) device:
“The Sensedge Go is a very, very versatile IAQ device. Why versatile? Because it senses a host of pollutants in the indoor environment, not just the regular ones. Besides that, this device comes with a battery-powered power supply. That means you don’t need a fixed power supply and the batteries can last as much as eight years. That makes this a complete IEQ device, not just an IAQ device.”
- Nitin Naik, DewPoint
From features like cost- and time-efficient installation and connectivity to optimized sampling and long battery life, Nitin sees the Sensedge Go as a solution that will set a new standard in the industry by focusing entirely on meeting every customer need.
“Sensedge Go is about to change the way the industry views any IAQ monitor. This is a complete IAQ monitor which is high on accuracy, flexibility, and, of course, peace of mind for a very, very long time.”
- Nitin Naik, DewPoint
We’re thrilled to receive these Sensedge Go air quality monitor reviews from certified industry experts! If you’re curious to learn more about the features mentioned in these reviews, or if you want to see if the Sensedge Go is the ideal monitoring solution for your project, reach out to our team today!