Air sampling fixture

Maybe the enclosure from a small stereo speaker ?

I think the concern about it resembling a smoke detector is largely irrelevant. If it does, so what? In buildings you see a variety of gizmos on the ceiling. Make sure you have the required smoke detectors and what the air sampler looks like doesn't matter.

Would a fake security camera dome strike your fancy?

I think that would tend to be large -- even for a "small" speaker.

The advantage/appeal of a smoke detector "case"/cover is that they seem to be designed to be as unobtrusive as possible -- folks don't really want to *notice* the smoke detectors in their homes, etc.

Along that same line of reasoning, I've seen some *indoor* PIr detectors for alarm systems that "try to be unobtrusive" (same rationale: folks don't want to *see* the stuff that comprises their alarm system) that might be usable in wall-mount scenarios.

The third URL, above, is exactly that -- though masquerading as a smoke detector.

But, I think most cameras tend to be larger (at least all of mine are). And, like my original desire NOT to have this be mistaken for a smoke detector, I think being mistaken for a *camera* might be even more unsettling. What would you do if you walked into someone's bathroom and saw something that *looked* like a camera affixed to the ceiling (or wall)?

:-/

Ooo! That's pretty! But, probably *large* (sticks off the "mounting surface" too far). I have Lowe's on the list for today so I will see if they have one to examine.

Look at small - loosely woven - wicker baskets.

Or make it look like an air outlet like used in some central air conditioning systems?

What i envision is something like a "disk valve" ventilation outlet like in this page

I think if you saw wicker baskets hanging all over the place, you'd wonder, "WTF???" And, ceiling mounted would *really* make folks wonder!

Clever idea, though! For "one off", it would probably be ideal.

How many "air sampling stations" are you planning on hanging?

In a home, at least one per heating/cooling zone. In homes where air flow to/from rooms/areas can be controlled (e.g., servo'd dampers), at least one for each such controlled area. Add to that areas where you would want to know about other aspects of air "quality" and its easy to see having LOTS of them.

I.e., any place where you would want to know qualities of the air in order to make control decisions.

As you're typically dealing with a bunch of loosely coupled systems (e.g. "rooms"), what you do in one affects others and what you *see* in one reflects what's happening in others.

In commercial spaces, this gets even more intertwined -- more rooms, more ways for things (air) to interact.

Hmmm... this would "look different" so fits that bill. But, while it *seems* very low profile, there's actually a lot of cruft hidden up behind it. I assume it is intended to fit in a round conduit?

I could probably remove the "insides" but don't know if that wouldn't leave me with a bigger problem to solve...

I'd like to build on a standard round Jbox (for ceiling mounts) or a 4" square (for wall mounts). This gives me a place to stuff "bits" as well as a scheme that would be familiar to installers.

Do you plan on battery power or do you need standard 120 Volt electricity via the mounting boxes you referred to?

I have "power" available -- though don't see how that will affect the choice of (cosmetic) *cover*.

Would not be hard to make a housing like that - if you hace any volume at all. Could be as simple as vacuum forming snd cutting with an xacto knife.

Get your hands on a Maiko TK of the appropriate size and see how it is made. I believe the plastic bits come off of the metal bits quite easily, and you could very easily make it fit on a JBox