Eve Room (Thread) in practical test: Always keep an eye on the room climate
The manufacturer Eve is popular with smart home fans who value ease of use and privacy and also swear by Apple’s HomeKit home network. In addition to sockets, heating controls, lighting, roller blinds, security cameras and sensors in the range: the room climate and air monitor Eve Room. It’s not new, but it’s now fit for the future. COMPUTER BILD explains what the smart cube can do in this practical test.
Eve Room: Ready to go
The smart air knife in the aluminum frame is chic, hardly bigger than a matchbox and battery-operated – and can therefore be placed anywhere in the home. If the built-in battery runs out of juice, a micro-USB cable docks at the back for charging. This is due about every six to eight weeks. The Eve Room owes its staying power to the energy-saving e-ink display. Although the small display is not illuminated, it is easy to read even in low light and from the side.
Easy to read: all good values are three
You can see the current room temperature and the prevailing humidity. A star rating provides information about the exposure to volatile organic compounds, which evaporate from household appliances, furniture and toys, for example, or arise during cleaning: In fresh air there are five celestial bodies, with one, two or three stars on the display, one is too high , unhealthy VOC concentration – and you should ventilate. The user decides what the display shows and how prominent: you can switch to the desired view by pressing the frame of the device.
Eve relies on HomeKit and a mobile app
Integrating the Eve Room into Apple’s home control system is child’s play: simply scan the QR code and you’re done! In this way, you build the air values into scenes and network them with smart heating controllers, for example. Or users can ask the digital language assistant Siri after dinner, for example, whether it is necessary to air the room, i.e. open the windows, or whether the air purifier should start. If you want to query the air values on the go, you need a HomeKit center at home – this can be an Apple TV 4K, a HomePod or an iPad connected to the power supply. However, the Eve app is required for the full range of functions and an overview of all air values. There, among other things, past data can be studied clearly by day, month or year.
Future-proof: Fast and reliable thanks to Thread
Like other current Eve products, the latest version of Eve Room supports the comparatively fresh Thread smart home technology. The modern mesh network ensures a fast and stable connection to the HomePod mini, which has so far only worked as a thread router. If the Apple box is not in the house, Eve Room uses Bluetooth. Privacy is also protected: According to Eve, it does not collect any personal data and does not connect its devices to a cloud.
Test conclusion and price: Eve Room can do that (thread)
Eve Room is a small gadget for smart home fans who want to know the temperature, humidity and air quality at home. The device is chic, the display is energy-saving and easy to read. However, the expensive purchase is only worthwhile for die-hard HomeKit users who want to call up the air values via iPhone and Siri or combine them with other HomeKit devices in scenes.
Quick to use
Easy to read display
Relative expensive
A few air values
The Eve Room is available for a whopping 99 euros. If you are looking for a suitable weather station for the balcony, windowsill or in the garden, you can use the outdoor version of the Eve Room, called Eve Weather. Alexa fans are better served with the Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor. Bargain foxes who only want to take a look at the room climate anyway will find a large selection of less smart but significantly cheaper room thermometers including a display of the humidity on Amazon. Cost point: less than 20 euros.