r/homeassistant • u/slboat • 21h ago

A new adventure is here—the new CO₂ sensor, SCO2-30, based on SCD30, is now available. The first batch will be manufactured in 4–5 days, and orders are now being accepted.

Starting with SCD40, we gained a lot of knowledge about CO₂ sensors, and then we manufactured the SCD41 sensor, which has improved accuracy and range.

However, we have reevaluated our approach. If we do not require a smaller form factor, we can utilize the third-generation SCD30 sensors, which offer excellent accuracy, a very wide range, full NDIR technology, and faster response times.

These features make us believe this could be an excellent sensor for applications requiring CO₂ measurement in large areas such as greenhouses.

This is the first batch, and we anticipate firmware updates to enable ASC shutdown in the near future.

Well, welcome to this new carbon dioxide sensor adventure. We are offering a 15% discount. In the future, we hope it will be our most affordable carbon dioxide sensor (under $30).

We will continue to manufacture the SCO2-1 and SCO2-1S, as they have proven to be stable.

https://shop.screek.io/products/sco2-30

65 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

12

u/BostonDrivingIsWorse 18h ago

What protocol does it use to communicate with HA? WiFi?

7

u/slboat 18h ago

just like sco2-1, it's wifi, use esphome.

3

u/oMGalLusrenmaestkaen 12h ago

Maybe consider making a Thread version with an ESP32-C6? ESPHome supports it now.

3

u/slboat 12h ago

Yes, that sounds very cool! It's a great idea, and we hope to have the opportunity to explore it :)

1

u/draxula16 9h ago

Curious, is thread protocol easier to implement (hardware wise) than something like zigbee?

I’m new to esphome and while it’s been excellent, I’m wondering why it’s highly regarded when other protocols exist.

Simply a learning question, I’ve been making my own esphome compatible hardware but don’t understand

3

u/oMGalLusrenmaestkaen 8h ago

both are similar (they literally use the same antenna & frequency), however currently ESPHome only supports Thread and they have no plans for supporting Zigbee anytime soon.

1

u/draxula16 8h ago

Thanks! Again, I’m slowly leaning into the more “advanced” diy world of HA so I’m trying to make sure I stay in the loop.

Would I be incorrect to say we would need to have a thread (matter over thread(?)) antenna in the future if we plan on using devices for said protocols?

1

u/slboat 1h ago

Thread and Zigbee share similar protocol layers, allowing them to operate on the same antenna hardware. The remaining implementation differences lie in the protocol details, and thanks to their common standards, i think they can interconnect in this way.

1

u/slboat 1h ago

Zigbee may be responsible for a lot, with some plans to support esphome, such as the nrf5x support library (using Zephry), but it seems that progress is not going smoothly. Zigbee seems to have too much to implement.

12

u/GodSaveUsFromPettyMo 16h ago

Hello my friend. Maybe with so many sensors you could write for others a sort of "dumbed down" benefit of Y versus Z and so on, as I am sure the technical specs will mean nothing for most people. Even a good, better, best description and user examples.

Also your colour matching is off in the pictures (I hate white balance and matching when I had to deal with that in the past). Or someone will expect that nice cream case version.

I better get what I've already had from you installed... 3D printing and health delay HA toys. I got stuck part way with the mmwave sensor and meant to write to you... maybe this month, or next (looks at calendar).

2

u/slboat 13h ago

If possible, we will try to introduce more features.

However, in reality, this may just be an invitation for everyone to discover whether it is really practical. In such a case, it may be up to everyone to discover and determine its true purpose.

But for now, we have only created some basic prototypes, and we welcome everyone to discover its fun, see what it can do, and how it performs.

3

u/slboat 13h ago

Regarding color matching, we would like to consider it in the future. However, it is clear that we are not very good at it. We are concerned that if we exaggerate its performance in order to create better documentation, it will lead to disappointment. We hope to gather as much real-world exploration results as possible to form our true understanding of the sensor. :)

3

u/bigb8242 14h ago

really like the sensor. It would be nice if there is an LED which could indicate a status

1

u/slboat 13h ago

It actually has two red LEDs inside that can be used (I think it might be worth considering offering a linked option to indicate higher CO2 levels, which could be released later for automation), but on the other hand, we really want it to be as simple as possible while maintaining excellent reliability, and leave the automation to HA.

Let the HA system handle the intelligence, while the sensor can be installed and forgotten.

Of course, adding a screen to display values directly would be another direction to explore. However, at this stage, we want to collaborate with everyone to explore its performance, as we are just beginning to explore this new sensor.

2

u/WilliamsWalkMemphis 15h ago

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) or Carbon Monoxide (CO)?

5

u/slboat 15h ago

it’s for co2

3

u/WilliamsWalkMemphis 14h ago

Genuine question, what would a CO2 sensor be used for in a home automation set up?

8

u/QliXeD 14h ago

Basement, spaces fully closed with forced ventilations and places where you use fossil solid (gas, wood, etc) to heat it up can accumulate CO2 and CO. You can use this sensor to alarm or to enable motorized extractors via hass.

5

u/LambdaNuC 14h ago

Ventilation. CO2 levels indoors can be used as a proxy for how much exhaled air is in a room vs. fresh air. This can have implications for disease transmission. 

High CO2 levels are also correlated with an increased sense of exhaustion and a decrease in cognitive ability. 

You'll see CO2 sensors used in a lot of commercial building where large numbers of people congregate (office buildings, schools, etc...). 

2

u/silentnomads 13h ago

At home, I use it to turn on the fans, provide a visual indication (flashing indicator lights), and sent notifications to my smarphone. Just this morning, with the fans were switched off (as a test) and the doors/windows closed, CO2 reached around 1500 ppm which isn't good. Similarly, my home-office is a relatively small room and I can see there being CO2 issues come winter so I want to be notifed if there's a problem.

2

u/slboat 13h ago

Yes, I think most people use it as a reference for air freshness, and some people use it to monitor the condition of greenhouse plants.

1

u/draxula16 9h ago

You’ve already received replied, but I’ll chime in and say quite useful! A diy carbon monoxide sensor would be neat though, especially for the garage.

3

u/WilliamsWalkMemphis 14h ago

Actually answered my own question by reading the whole post. Sorry for the confusion.

2

u/slboat 12h ago

Yes, some people will be very interested in it, and for us it's an interesting opportunity to explore the air.

2

u/draxula16 9h ago

Will the first gen CO2 sensor continue to receive support? Anything to take into consideration? I’d hate to feel like it was just a “beta” test

3

u/slboat 9h ago

Yes, it will still be supported and it's actually good enough for everyday use.

Yes, despite what we said about testing, it seemed pretty stable in our tests. Of course, we invite you to come along and explore its possibilities. New Because it is, after all, still a DIY product and not the perfect product that comes out of a commercial assembly line.

2

u/draxula16 9h ago

Excellent! I’ve been quite happy with it, but hope to compare the two when I inevitably pick up this new unit :)

2

u/slboat 9h ago

Have fun on your adventures, and we'll be collecting as much useful everyone's feedback as we can. Let's explore their wonders together.

2

u/slboat 9h ago

I think the scd30 is for those who are obsessed with ndir technology, demand accuracy, and a greater range of complex specialty space use, such as large sheds, confined spaces, public spaces, and other places.

2

u/slboat 9h ago

For the most common home indoor monitoring, I think the sco2-1 proved to do the job well, it's unpretentious and reliable.

2

u/Appropriate_Day4316 4h ago

Is there a CO sensor for HA?

1

u/slboat 1h ago

They are rarely ideal, well-calibrated sensors with a good price-performance ratio, and we will continue to monitor them.

Only those vague, rough sensors that can reach a specific concentration alarm are available.

1

u/Citopan 20m ago

Looks pretty cool!

I wonder what's power usage due to WiFi, vs. battery longevity if zigbee/threads(+matter) was used.

Ordered 1, thus gonna give it a shot!