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Tech News
Startup Greenairy, founded by Tanvi Thombre and Lakshya Saraf, has built plant-based towers designed to draw in indoor air, break down toxic gases, and release purified air. The company will present at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield 200, pitching the technology as a solution for offices, schools, hotels, and salons where windows often can't be opened.
A peer-reviewed study in Environmental Research Letters, conducted by Stanford, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and PSE Healthy Energy researchers with chef Christopher Galarza, measured air temperature and pollutants like methane, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and benzene in 27 restaurant kitchens across California, New York and Pennsylvania. It found that kitchens using gas or propane appliances exposed workers to pollutant and heat levels exceeding health guidelines, compared with all-electric kitchens.
CNET conducted lab testing to evaluate whether consumer air purifiers can effectively filter wildfire smoke particles from indoor air, prompted by writer Corin Cesaric-Epple's own experience during the 2023 Canadian wildfire smoke event in New York City. The piece cites National Interagency Fire Center data and NASA findings that 2023 was Canada's driest period since 1980, framing wildfire smoke as a recurring, worsening problem, particularly for Texas and the West Coast.
A hobbyist repurposed an idle LILYGO T5 4.7-inch e-paper module, built around an ESP32 chip, to create a static home dashboard using Claude Code. The device displays local temperature and humidity readings, curated tech news pulled from sources like Hacker News, and astronomical event data such as occultations and eclipses relevant to telescope observation.
A review of Coway's new Airmega Halo air purifier found the device operates quietly and effectively clears visible smoke from a room. However, the accompanying air-quality sensor readings did not consistently provide reassurance about actual air cleanliness during testing.
WIRED's latest buying guide picks IQAir's AirVisual Pro, priced around $330, as the best overall air quality monitor for tracking indoor and outdoor conditions. The device measures PM2.5, AQI, temperature, humidity and other pollutants on an easy-to-read display, while the $28 Temptop S1 is recommended as a reliable budget alternative.
WIRED highlighted the Dreo Air Purifier Tower Fan MC710S as a standout multiuse home appliance, priced around $330 on Amazon. The unit combines a 99.97 percent HEPA filter with a fan that can run independently, controllable via remote, the Dreo app, or voice assistants like Alexa and Google Home.