Battery Type
Batteries must be 2 x AA Lithium batteries and must not exceed 1.5V
Battery Life
Battery Life
The estimated battery life is 2 years for the below devices:
Space Pro (formerly known as “View Plus”)
Space CO2 (formerly known as “View CO2”)
Space Plus (formerly known as “Wave Plus”)
When an Airthings device is powered up by inserting batteries, it tries to detect the type of batteries based on several factors. It measures the voltage from the batteries over time to estimate the power left in the batteries - and is very accurate in optimal conditions.
If the device for some reason draws more power than expected (excessively powered on/off, bad RSSI (Received Signal Strength), led flashing often because of wave-gestures, etc.), or if the quality of the batteries are not within the expected range, the detected battery life and the battery indicator will not be aligned.
Battery replacement detection
Battery replacement detection
In some cases, the device can fail to detect a battery replacement, and it can think that the same batteries that were removed were re-inserted into the device. This typically happens when you swap between battery types before the batteries are depleted.
For instance, if you replace Lithium batteries - which have a higher starting output voltage than Alkaline batteries - with new Alkaline batteries before the lithium batteries are depleted, the device can think that the Lithium batteries were re-inserted because of the similar output voltage.
Rechargeable batteries are not recommended
Rechargeable batteries are not recommended
Airthings devices were tested with alkaline non-rechargeable batteries and based on these tests the lifespan of the batteries was calculated.
Airthings devices were tested with alkaline non-rechargeable batteries and based on these tests the lifespan of the batteries was calculated.
There are several reasons why we advise customers to not use rechargeable batteries:
Battery percentage will be incorrectly calculated for other battery chemistries since the voltage will be different when fully charged / new.
There are rechargeable lithium battery cells that have an internal DC/DC converter in order for it to produce a stable output voltage independent of charge level.
Some rechargeable batteries are not intended for this type of product where the average current consumption is very low.
There are batteries on sale, where one is intended for light loads and one for heavier loads like RC cars.
There is a lot to take into account here, therefore we cannot recommend that type of batteries.
The voltage of rechargeable batteries also behaves differently from the one in alkaline batteries- Batteries may have stable voltage for a longer time and then suddenly drop to very low voltage asking to be recharged. With low voltage, some of the devices' sensors will stop working in order to keep the device on.
The voltage of rechargeable batteries also behaves differently from the one in alkaline batteries- Batteries may have stable voltage for a longer time and then suddenly drop to very low voltage asking to be recharged. With low voltage, some of the devices' sensors will stop working in order to keep the device on.
You can, of course, opt to use rechargeable batteries, in such case we cannot guarantee how long the sensors will work correctly, as the voltage is different from brand to brand and we also cannot guarantee how often you will have to recharge the batteries.
For more information about why your device may not be recognising your new batteries see the help article here.