--- description: Find out why EcoQube is one of the best inventions of 2021 title: EcoQube: The 100 Best Inventions of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73bdbfe3c981b77d/698a1e9f01168226da981225/best-inventions-2021-Ecosense-EcoQube.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 10, 2021 # The Smart Radon Detector ## Video: 100 Best Inventions of 2021 | TIME [Watch (HLS stream): 100 Best Inventions of 2021 | TIME](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3xavhZim.m3u8) (1:44)  _Published 2021-11-05. TIME100 Best Inventions_ EcoQube by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Harpreet Chohan never worried much about radon—until a close friend died of lung cancer, likely due to exposure to the radioactive gas in his home. Generated by underground uranium deposits, radon causes about 20,000 lung-cancer deaths a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To help detect the invisible danger, Ecosense, the company for which Chohan works, created the [EcoQube](https://ecosense.io/pages/ecoqube "undefined") ($183), which enables users to monitor their home’s radon levels on a companion app. The small black box uses an ion chamber to detect the deadly gas, and independent tests showed that the underlying technology performs similarly to much more expensive professional radon detectors. (A device using the technology has also been certified by the National Radon Safety Board.) _—Alejandro de la Garza_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6114389/ecosense-ecoqube/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6114389/ecosense-ecoqube/"},"headline":"The Smart Radon Detector","datePublished":"2021-11-10T11:08:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:55:09.274Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6114389/ecosense-ecoqube/","keywords":["list","franchise","best inventions","Best Inventions 2021"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73bdbfe3c981b77d/698a1e9f01168226da981225/best-inventions-2021-Ecosense-EcoQube.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73bdbfe3c981b77d/698a1e9f01168226da981225/best-inventions-2021-Ecosense-EcoQube.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6114389/ecosense-ecoqube/","name":"The Smart Radon Detector"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"100 Best Inventions of 2021 | TIME","description":"TIME100 Best Inventions","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/3xavhZim/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2021-11-05T20:08:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3xavhZim.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6114389/ecosense-ecoqube/","duration":"PT1M44S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6114389/ecosense-ecoqube/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```