Analytics
Understand Your Readings
Every number on your Guardian tells part of the story. This guide explains what each measurement means, why it matters, and how to interpret the trends you see over time.
Guardian isn’t designed to judge a single moment — it’s designed to help you understand how your indoor environment changes.
Before We Dive In
Keep these in mind before you read a single number. They’re what turn a screen full of measurements into a picture of your home.
Trends Matter More Than Single Numbers
Indoor air quality naturally changes throughout the day. Rather than focusing on one measurement at one moment, Guardian helps you recognize patterns over time.
Every Home Is Different
No two homes are exactly alike. Your typical readings may not look identical to someone else’s, and that’s perfectly normal. Guardian helps you understand what “normal” looks like for your home.
Context Matters
Cooking, cleaning, weather, HVAC operation, and even opening a window can temporarily influence your indoor air quality. Understanding what caused a change is often just as important as the measurement itself.
Reading Your Dashboard
Your Guardian dashboard brings together multiple measurements to give you a complete picture of your indoor environment. Each reading is useful on its own, but together they help you spot patterns, notice changes, and understand what’s happening inside your home. Tap a point on the dashboard to see what it shows.
Your Air Quality Index
One score for the whole room, updating on its own. It rolls several measurements into a single number, so you can read your air at a glance before looking closer.
Where and When
The name of the space this Guardian watches, with a live indicator showing the reading is current. Name more than one Guardian and each keeps its own view.
Individual Measurements
The tiles break the single score back into its parts, CO₂, humidity, temperature, particulates and more, so you can see what’s driving a change.
Trends Over Time
A running history of your air. The last 24 hours here, with more available in the app, so you can see how a reading rose and fell rather than one moment in isolation.
Trends, Alerts and Reports
The side menu is where you dig deeper: full trend history, alerts you set for the measurements you care about, and reports you can pull whenever you need them.
Your Guardian and Account
Your device and settings live here. It’s where you confirm a Guardian is online and sending data, and manage the ones connected to your account.
What Guardian Measures
Tap any measurement to see what it tracks, why it matters, and what you can do when it moves. A few of these are computed values rather than direct sensor readings, and those are marked Index.
Standard Measurements
In every GuardianThese nine come with every Guardian, in every configuration.
Air Quality Index (AQI)
IndexA single, at-a-glance score for your indoor air.
The AQI combines several of Guardian’s readings into one number for your indoor air. It’s a summary, not a reading from any one sensor.
It gives you a quick read on your air before you dig into specifics. As a rule, lower is better.
- Cooking, cleaning, and other daily activities
- How well a room is ventilated
- Outdoor air making its way inside
- How many people are in the space
- Swings in humidity
- Open a window or improve ventilation
- Pause whatever pushed it up
- Check which measurement is driving the change
- Give it a little time to settle
Because it’s a rolled-up score, the AQI is your starting point. When it moves, open the individual measurements to see why.
Particulate Matter (PM)
Fine airborne particles, measured by weight.
The concentration of tiny airborne particles by mass, across sizes from PM0.1 up to PM10. PM2.5 and PM10 are the ones you’ll hear about most.
Particulates are a big part of what “clean air” means day to day. Tracking their weight shows how much is floating in your air right now.
- Cooking, especially frying or searing
- Candles and open flames
- Dust from cleaning or vacuuming
- Outdoor smoke drifting inside
- Pets
- Run the range hood while cooking
- Ventilate or run air purification
- Cut down on dust sources
- Keep windows closed when outdoor air is poor
Guardian tracks a fuller range of particle sizes than most monitors, so you see more than just PM2.5.
Particulate Count (PC)
How many particles are in the air, by count.
The number of particles per cubic foot, sorted by size. Where PM weighs the particles, particulate count tallies them.
Count is more sensitive to lots of very small particles that barely register by weight, so it’s a useful companion to PM.
- Cooking and open flames
- Dust stirred up by cleaning
- Smoke from indoors or outdoors
- Outdoor air coming inside
- Ventilate and run air purification
- Reduce the source when you can
- Watch count and weight together for the fuller picture
A high count with low weight usually means many ultrafine particles rather than a few large ones.
Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs)
Airborne gases from everyday products and materials.
The combined level of volatile organic compounds, gases released by many household products and materials.
TVOCs rise and fall with what you’re doing, so they’re a good read on how activities and materials change your air.
- Cleaning products
- Paint and finishes
- New furniture and carpet
- Air fresheners and candles
- Cooking and adhesives
- Ventilate while and after using these products
- Choose low-VOC options where you can
- Let new furnishings air out with good airflow
TVOC is a combined figure across many compounds, not a reading for one specific chemical.
Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)
A simple marker of fresh air and ventilation.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in your air, in parts per million.
CO₂ climbs in closed, occupied rooms and drops when fresh air comes in, which makes it an easy read on how well a space is ventilated.
- People and pets in the room
- Closed doors and windows
- Crowded spaces
- Some fuel-burning appliances
- Open a window or door
- Improve ventilation
- Avoid packing a closed room
- Let fresh air in periodically
Guardian can alert you when CO₂ rises above 1,000 ppm, a common point where a room starts to feel stuffy.
Ozone (O₃)
Ozone present in your indoor air.
The concentration of ozone, a reactive gas, in the air around Guardian.
Ozone indoors usually comes from certain devices or from outdoor air. Tracking it tells you when it’s present and when it clears.
- Some ionizing or ozone-generating air cleaners
- Outdoor ozone on hot, sunny days making its way inside
- Certain office equipment
- Avoid ozone-generating air cleaners
- Ventilate to clear it
- Choose purification that doesn’t produce ozone
Ozone tends to come and go with a source, so watching the trend helps you connect it to a cause.
Temperature
How warm or cool the space is.
The air temperature where your Guardian is placed.
Beyond comfort, temperature is tied to humidity and to how a room actually feels, so it gives the other readings context.
- Heating and cooling
- Sun through windows
- Cooking
- How many people are in the room
- The season
- Adjust your heating or cooling
- Manage direct sunlight
- Keep Guardian away from vents and heat sources so the reading reflects the room
Read temperature alongside humidity. Together they tell you far more than either does alone.
Relative Humidity
How much moisture is in your air.
Relative humidity, the amount of moisture the air is holding compared with the most it could hold at that temperature.
Humidity shapes how a room feels and how it behaves, so keeping it in a comfortable range is worth watching.
- Showers and cooking
- The weather outside
- Heating and cooling
- Drying laundry indoors
- Limited ventilation
- Ventilate damp rooms
- Run a dehumidifier or AC when it’s high
- Add moisture when the air is very dry
- Address leaks and standing water
Guardian can alert you when humidity rises above 60%, which helps you keep conditions where you want them.
Mold Index
IndexA 0 to 100 score based on conditions, not a spore count.
A computed 0 to 100 score Guardian works out from conditions like temperature and humidity. It’s an index, not a direct measurement of mold.
It gives you a single trend to watch for the kinds of conditions that tend to matter over time.
- Sustained high humidity
- Damp or poorly ventilated spaces
- Temperature swings
- Lingering moisture after leaks or spills
- Keep humidity in a comfortable range
- Ventilate
- Deal with moisture sources promptly
Because it’s based on conditions rather than a spore count, treat it as a signal to check your space, not a test result.
Optional Measurements
Sensor-dependentDepending on your Guardian configuration, your device may include additional sensors for specialized monitoring. If these are installed, they appear in your dashboard automatically.
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Optional SensorA colorless, odorless gas from burning fuel.
The concentration of carbon monoxide, a gas produced whenever fuel is burned.
CO can’t be seen or smelled, so a reading is the only way to know it’s present. Guardian adds that visibility to your air data.
- Gas stoves and ovens
- Furnaces and water heaters
- Fireplaces
- An attached garage
- Any fuel-burning appliance
- Keep fuel-burning appliances serviced and vented
- Ventilate while they run
- Have them checked if a reading is unexpected
This is an optional sensor. When it’s installed, carbon monoxide appears automatically in your dashboard.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂)
Optional SensorA gas linked to combustion.
The concentration of nitrogen dioxide, a gas that comes from burning fuel.
NO₂ rises with certain indoor activities and outdoor traffic air, so tracking it shows when and where it turns up.
- Gas cooking
- Unvented combustion
- Outdoor traffic air drifting inside
- Run the range hood while gas cooking
- Ventilate
- Keep combustion appliances maintained
Optional sensor. It appears in your dashboard automatically when installed.
Air Pressure
Optional SensorBarometric pressure in and around your home.
Barometric air pressure, the weight of the air itself.
Pressure is mostly context. It shifts with weather and altitude, and can help explain changes you see in other readings.
- Weather systems moving through
- Your altitude
- Heating, cooling, and how sealed the space is
- Use it as background context rather than something to act on directly
- Watch it alongside your other readings
Optional sensor. Handy for spotting weather-driven changes across your other measurements.
Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂)
Optional SensorA gas that usually traces to outdoor sources.
The concentration of sulfur dioxide, a gas tied to certain kinds of combustion.
Indoors, SO₂ most often traces back to outdoor air, so a reading can point to something drifting in.
- Outdoor industrial or combustion sources nearby
- Some fuel burning
- Keep windows closed when outdoor air is poor
- Ventilate with cleaner air when you can
Optional sensor. Appears in your dashboard automatically when installed.
THC Index
OptionalIndexA 0 to 100 score for total hydrocarbons.
A computed 0 to 100 index for total hydrocarbons in the air, rather than a reading from a single sensor.
It gives you one trend to watch for a family of airborne compounds.
- Fuels and solvents
- Combustion sources that release hydrocarbons
- Ventilate
- Track down and reduce the source when the index climbs
Optional index. Like other indices, read it as a signal and a trend rather than a precise measurement.
VAPE Index
OptionalIndexA 0 to 100 score that flags vaping aerosols.
A computed 0 to 100 index designed to flag the aerosols associated with vaping.
It surfaces a specific kind of activity that ordinary particulate readings might not single out.
- E-cigarette and vaping aerosol in the space
- Ventilate the area
- Use it to understand when and where this is happening
Optional index. It reads conditions to flag a pattern, not to identify a specific substance.
Understanding Trends
The same reading can mean very different things depending on what came before it. Here are three shapes you’ll come to recognize.
Healthy Daily Changes
Indoor air quality naturally rises and falls throughout the day. Small fluctuations are expected as your home and daily routines change.
Temporary Events
Activities like cooking, cleaning, or opening windows can create short-term changes in your readings. These events typically resolve on their own as your indoor environment returns to normal.
Long-Term Patterns
Guardian becomes more valuable over time. Persistent changes or recurring trends often provide more meaningful insight than a single elevated reading.
Why Trends Beat Any One Number
Indoor air changes all day: cooking, cleaning, opening a window, the weather outside. Rather than fixating on a single reading, Guardian helps you see patterns over time, so you can make better decisions about your space.
If you’ve turned on alerts, Guardian can nudge you when a measurement drifts out of your preferred range, even when you’re away.
Reviewing Your History
Guardian keeps a running record, so you can look back instead of only checking the moment. Comparing a room before and after a change is often where the insight shows up.
Open your dashboard, choose a measurement, and pick a date range to see the trend graph. Daily, weekly, and monthly views make it easy to compare one stretch of time to another.
Guardian syncs with the dashboard roughly once a minute, so recent history fills in quickly as conditions change.
Pull your data from the dashboard, have it emailed straight from the device, or schedule recurring exports on a daily, hourly, or by-the-minute basis.
The device holds about 8 GB locally, roughly eight months of data, so your history is there even between syncs.
Still confirming with the product team: the exact date filters, export file formats, and whether automated reports are available to every Guardian customer.
Need More Help?
Guardian keeps building a clearer picture of your home over time. When you’re ready to go further, start here.
Guardian Care & Maintenance
Learn how to keep your Guardian performing at its best with cleaning, maintenance, and long-term care recommendations.
View Care Guide →Help & Support
Browse troubleshooting guides, frequently asked questions, warranty information, downloads, and contact options.
Visit Support →Back to the Guardian App
Continue exploring your dashboard and watch your home’s indoor air quality story unfold over time.
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