Keep the haze out and the bedroom air clean without remembering every step: sensors, purifiers and a haze mode that switches itself on.
📍 We serve KL, Selangor & Putrajaya.
Haze automation links an air-quality reading to the things that protect the air inside: when the haze gets bad, your phone tells you which windows are open, the air purifier goes to a higher speed, the exhaust fans pause and the aircon keeps recirculating, all without anyone remembering. The trigger can be the official Air Pollutant Index for your area or an indoor particle sensor in the room. The manual side of haze season, from shutting gaps to rinsing filters, is in the dry season and haze checklist.
In a bad haze week, most homes do the same few things by hand: shut the windows, switch the purifier on, turn off the fans that pull outside air in, and remember to change it all back when the sky clears. Each step is easy. The trouble is that the haze comes and goes during the day, people are at work, and a window left open in the spare room undoes the rest.
A haze mode turns that list into one routine. A reading crosses a level you choose, and the smart home acts: alerts, purifier speed, fan behaviour. When the reading falls back, a second routine undoes it. Nothing here cleans outdoor air; it keeps more of it out and cleans what gets in.
Malaysia reports outdoor air quality as the Air Pollutant Index. The Department of Environment explains that the API reflects the effect on health in ranges from good to hazardous, is linked to the action criteria in the National Haze Action Plan, and is taken as the highest sub-index among five air pollutants. It is the right signal for “the haze has arrived”, and you should check the official readings for your area rather than a figure on a product box.
An indoor sensor answers a different question: how dirty is the air in this room right now? Most home air-quality sensors estimate fine particles, often labelled PM2.5. They are not the official measure and different brands read differently, but they show clearly whether the purifier and the closed windows are working.
| Trigger | Good for | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor API for your area (official) | Switching the whole house into haze mode | Updates periodically; not every app can read it directly |
| Outdoor air-quality reading in a weather app | A simple trigger many hubs support | May not match the DOE station nearest you |
| Indoor particle sensor | Purifier speed in each room; proof the room is clean | Consumer accuracy; reads only its own room |
| Manual haze-mode button | Households that prefer to decide | Someone has to press it |
Most homes combine the last two: a haze-mode button on the phone for the whole house, and indoor sensors that set purifier speed room by room.
A purifier is only as useful as its fit for the room. The US EPA advises choosing a portable air cleaner with a clean air delivery rate (CADR) large enough for the room it will serve, and notes that many achieve a high CADR with a HEPA filter. It also advises avoiding air cleaners that intentionally produce ozone.
For automation, check two more things. First, how the purifier can be controlled: its own app, a hub integration, an infrared remote that an IR blaster can copy, or only a smart plug. Second, what it does when power returns. A purifier on a smart plug is only useful if it starts again when the plug turns on; many stay in standby until a button is pressed, which makes a plug useless for them.
Put the sensor where people breathe: bedside height in a bedroom, a side table in the living room. Keep it away from the purifier outlet, which would make the room look cleaner than it is, and away from the kitchen, where cooking smoke will set off haze mode on a clear day. Incense and the prayer room also raise particle readings, so place sensors with that in mind.
USB-powered sensors read continuously and suit a fixed spot; battery models report less often to save power. Either way, name each one by room so routines and alerts stay clear. Many air-quality sensors also report temperature and humidity, which the humidity sensor guide covers.
| When | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Haze mode switches on | Phone alert listing any open windows or doors | One open window undoes the rest |
| Haze mode switches on | Purifiers to auto or a higher speed | Clean the air that leaks in |
| Haze mode switches on | Exhaust fans paused or limited to short runs | Fans pull outside air in through gaps |
| Indoor reading rises in a room | That room’s purifier to its top speed | Respond room by room |
| Haze mode switches off | Purifiers back to normal; airing reminder | Let fresh air in once outside clears |
Keep the routine short and testable. Press the haze-mode button on a clear day, walk round, and check each device did what you expected.
The simplest window automation is not a motor; it is a small battery contact sensor on each window and door that opens. Haze mode then sends one message naming every window still open, and a family member shuts them. Contact sensors stick on, need no wiring and work on sliding windows, casements and balcony doors.
Motorised window openers do exist, mostly for high or hard-to-reach windows. They need power at the window, which is mains work. For smart switches and anything wired into the mains, we supply the devices and set up the app, and the switch or wiring work is done by an electrical contractor registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga that we coordinate. Most homes find alerts enough.
A split aircon recirculates room air; it does not bring outdoor air in, so running it with the windows shut is fine in haze. Its filter catches some dust and clogs faster, which is why the haze checklist asks for more frequent rinsing. Haze mode can switch older units to a comfortable setting through the IR blaster, and newer WiFi units through their own app.
Portable aircons with a hose through a window, and air coolers that need an open window, work against haze mode. Close the gap round the hose as well as you can, or rely on the split units during bad days.
Every fan that blows air out of the house draws the same amount back in through the gaps, and in haze that is hazy air. A humidity-controlled bathroom fan should be paused or limited during haze mode; the smart exhaust fan guide shows how to add that pause. Use the cooker hood while cooking, then switch it off.
A fresh-air or ERV unit is different: it brings outdoor air in on purpose, through a filter. During haze, its filter grade and condition decide what reaches the rooms, so check the filter before the season and ask the supplier whether the unit has a recirculation or reduced-intake setting.
If the whole house is hard to protect, start with the bedroom where the most vulnerable family member sleeps. Close its door, run a purifier sized for that room, and put a sensor at bedside height. The app history then shows whether that room stays clean overnight, which is more useful than any reading of the house as a whole.
The US EPA’s answer on whether portable HEPA air cleaners improve health is a careful “possibly”: studies have found small improvements, typically not always noticeable to the individual. A purifier lowers particles in one room; it is not medical treatment. Follow official health advice during haze episodes, and see a doctor for symptoms.
We install indoor air-quality sensors and window contact sensors, link your purifiers by app, hub, IR blaster or smart plug, and build the haze-mode routine and its undo routine with you, including alerts to the family members who should get them. We do the smart device, app and low-voltage side of the job. For the rest of the smart home, see our smart home installation service.
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