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Blue Ridge Heating and Air, a South Carolina-based HVAC company, saw a growing problem in the homes they serviced: invisible mold buildup in HVAC systems and crawlspaces — often going undetected until it began to affect residents’ health.
"We see mold in 15–20% of the homes we service. It’s invisible, but it’s making people sick." — Chris Davidson, Co-founder of Blue Ridge Heating and Air
To solve this, they developed AirGuard, a connected mold detection device that monitors high-risk areas in the home and alerts residents before health issues arise. We spoke with Chris Davidson, Co-founder of Blue Ridge and lead on the project, to learn more about their path and how they brought the idea to life with Blynk.
The development of AirGuard was shaped by years of research and hands-on experimentation. Starting with early prototypes built from basic components, the team iterated through multiple hardware revisions to create a reliable edge device capable of detecting mold risk in real-world conditions.
“ I probably have five or six of these different sensors sitting around my house. This is probably rev number six,” shares Chris.
Along the way, they collaborated with biologists and inspectors to validate their approach and fine-tune detection capabilities.
“There’s a was a lot of biochemistry on the detection side we had to go through” — says Chris
Once the hardware was in place, the team needed a way to continuously monitor mold risk and deliver data to homeowners in real time. The system covers multiple parts of a home — typically HVAC systems, crawlspaces, and living areas. The solution required:
IoT was the only practical way to provide this kind of visibility and user experience.
Chris had experience with in-house development, but building everything from scratch wasn’t the plan. Instead, his team focused on their core IP — hardware design and edge-based detection algorithms — and looked for a platform that could handle the rest.
"We wanted to spend time on the sensor and algorithms, not reinvent a cloud infrastructure." — Chris
With built-in Wi-Fi provisioning, dashboards, alerting, and mobile UX, Blynk offered exactly what they needed — and helped them move fast.
The Blue Ridge team has gotten the first prototype up and running in a matter of weeks using Blynk’s low-code software suite within the self-serve PRO plan — an affordable starting point for early-stage deployment. Today, over 70 units are deployed.
We asked Chris what stood out as the most valuable functionality in the platform so far. Aside from the overall ease of prototyping, his top picks were:
“We do a lot of over-the-air updates. Once we build a new algorithm, we have to deploy it to the edge.” — Chris
After validating the concept and deploying the first few dozen of devices within the self-serve Blynk PRO plan, Blue Ridge Heating and Air will be shifting gears from prototyping to growth. With strong initial feedback and a clear market need, they’re preparing for the next phase of scaling and product evolution.
By using Blynk, the team saved time, reduced development costs, and validated their business model early — without needing to build a full-stack IoT solution from scratch.
When you're already focused on solving a complex real-world problem, building the entire software stack from the ground up only slows you down. The Blue Ridge team was able to invest their energy where it mattered most: in the product, the science behind it, and the people it's built for.
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