Smart cooking sensor identifies bad indoor air quality caused by cooking

Dusseldorf-based Renesas Electronics Corporation reports that the ZMOD4410 gas sensor is at the heart of the Safera Sense smart cooking sensor. The sensor enables the Safera Sense to determine when airborne concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and CO₂ in users’ kitchens are at unhealthy levels.

Safera selected the ZMOD4410 based on its combination of excellent accuracy, high reliability and low power operation for smart cooking applications. In addition to monitoring VOC and CO₂, the Safera Sense measures humidity levels and concentrations of airborne particles, which are easily inhaled and absorbed in the lungs. Placed above the cooktop, the Safera Sense warns users of bad indoor air quality (IAQ) by sending alerts to their smartphones and displaying a warning light on the device.

“Cooking generates substantial amounts of VOCs, CO₂, humidity, and airborne particles, and is the primary cause of bad indoor air quality in the kitchen and throughout the home,” says Debra Deininger, director of industrial sensing at Renesas. “Thanks to our ZMOD4410 gas sensor, the Safera Sense smart cooking sensor alerts users to bad air quality so they can simply open a window or turn on a vent to improve the air quality.”

”We have been very impressed with the ZMOD4410’s performance and Renesas’ excellent technical support for our implementation work,” comments Samuli Lintonen, director of Research and Development at Safera. “We believe it is one of the key enablers in creating a new generation of home safety and comfort products.”

The ZMOD4410’s combination of programmability, best-in-class stability, and sensitivity in measuring VOCs makes it an solution for a wide range of IAQ applications, including smart thermostats, air purifiers, smart HVAC equipment, and other smart home devices.

The ZMOD4410 is based on proven metal oxide (MOx) material and each sensor is electrically and chemically tested to ensure consistency from lot to lot, an important advantage for manufacturers with long production runs. The ZMOD4410 devices are also highly resistant to siloxanes for reliability use in harsh applications.

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