Why is it called Canary Mode?

Canary Mode is Briiv 2 Pro’s automatic detection and activation system which works to monitor and clean your air without you having to lift a finger. But why is it called Canary Mode?

In the UK up until the 1980s coalminers used canaries to warn against harmful gasses and pollutants while underground. The canaries would be brought down into the mines, and if their birdsong stopped the miners knew it was time to get moving.

Unlike humans, canaries have a unidirectional lung system; humans breathe in oxygen, gas exchange takes place in the lungs, then carbon dioxide is breathed out. In canaries however, the gas exchange occurs in one direction during both inhalation and exhalation. This means that the canary is able to extract more oxygen from the air, but if air pollution is high they’ll also be taking in these pollutants at a higher level than we would, and smaller levels would affect them more.

Using animals and plants in this way to measure pollutants in the environment is known as biomonitoring and can be used to provide early warning signs of environmental changes. In fact, the early use of canaries is so well known that other such plants and animals are referred to as ‘ecosystem canaries’ amongst ecologists!

Canaries were the original air quality monitors, and we wanted to pay homage to them with Briiv 2 Pro. Read more about how Canary Mode in Briiv works here.