With awareness of the importance of indoor air quality growing, many of us have air purifiers in our homes. However, many of us lack a way to measure the results; cleaning the filters lets us know the purifiers are doing something, but without some kind of monitor, we have no idea how polluted the air was to begin with, and how clean the purifier has made it.

Thus Ikea has designed the Vindstyrka, a pleasant-looking and easy-to-read air quality sensor that eliminates the guesswork. Helpfully, the unobstrusive object displays not only the PM2.5 (particulate matter) levels in the room, but also the TVOC (total volatile organic compound) count—"a measure of the pollution load of various gaseous pollutants," according to Ikea—as well as the temperature and humidity, earning its place in the room.

Furthermore, the Vindstyrka is "smart" and meant to integrate with Ikea's ecosystem:

"When connected to the DIRIGERA hub for smart products, the sensor makes indoor air quality levels readable in the IKEA Home smart app. In the app, users can also enable VINDSTYRKA to trigger other smart devices, making air quality levels actionable. VINDSTYRKA can be used on its own, but also to enhance the capabilities of the existing smart air purifier STARKVIND. Connecting VINDSTYRKA to STARKVIND enables the fan speed to be automatically adjusted in correlation with the amount of PM2.5 in the air, ensuring the air in the home is always as clean as possible."

The Vindstyrka is scheduled to launch this April. At press time Ikea hadn't nailed down the price, but mentioned the device will be "affordable."