I’m currently using the Zooz 4 in 1 sensor to monitor bathroom humidity, and run an exhaust fan automation. However, there is a pretty fatal flaw. It seems to only report humidity at a certain time interval, not when the humidity actually changes.
I’m looking for a humidity sensor that is capable of reporting changes in humidity (either by default or configurable). Does something like this even exist?
I am looking at the newer Zooz temp/humidity XS Sensor, and the specs imply that it is configurable to report based off of changes in humidity:
" Parameter 4: Set the reporting threshold for your humidity sensor. The device will report any changes in humidity once the reading exceeds the value from this setting compared to the last report."
Has anyone made this work with SmartThings? I know these would require an Edge driver. Does the Edge driver allow for that parameter to be changed?
Another option is the Aeotec Gen7 Temp/Humidity sensor. What concerns me on that one is that it says it only reports humidity between 0 and 80%. What if the humidity is higher than that? What is it’s reporting interval and is it configurable or not? I can’t find any information on their website about this.
Pretty much all batterypowered Sensors, regardless of protocol, limit the frequency with which they report in order to save battery life. And many of them will only report when there has been a change outside of a predefined delta, again to save battery life since sending a message is pretty powerintensive.
Your best bet for getting more frequent reporting is to use a Mainspowered sensor. Is that an option for you?
Shelly has a WiFi humidity/temperature model that reports much more frequently when it is running on Main’s power. You could get in touch with them and find out what the frequency setting options are.
the advanced parameter settings are in their user manual. Click on the “engineering sheet” link at the bottom of this page:
You would need to ask them about any limits, but I would note again that the available parameter values are different if the device is running on mains power than if it is running on batteries. And specifically you can get more frequent reporting.
SwitchBot also has their hub v2, which includes a humidity sensor. This is another WiFi plug in. I have one and like it. It’s a Matter device which should mean eventually it will work locally with smartthings but for now it’s part of their cloud to cloud integration.
I don’t know how often it updates humidity exactly, but it’s at least every 10 minutes on a 1% change.
This “fatal flaw” is inherent of all battery-powered devices. Just as @JDRoberts has described, the reporting frequency is limited so it can extend its battery life. @Mariano_Colmenarejo gives more explanation in this post:
Concerning the Shelly Plus H&T sensor, I wanted to add some information about the device’s technical specifications. According to the Shelly representative, the sensor will report humidity values between 0-100% but is only recommended for use within environmental humidity conditions that do not exceed 70%. What a peculiar design.
The only other plug-in temp/humidity sensor that I’ve been able to find is the IKEA Vindstyrka air quality sensor but it’s only partially functional since there isn’t an edge driver for it.
As for the Aeotec AerQ, in addition to the RH limit of 80%, you will have the same problem with its reporting interval because it’s battery-powered. From my personal experience with the AerQ, beware that it does not accept offset adjustments as easily as my Zigbee devices with similar offset options.
Currently I am in the same boat; searching for an accurate, plug-in temperature/humidity sensor with offset parameters.
As I mentioned above, the switchbot hub 2 is a plug-in temp/humidity sensor which DOES work with SmartThings via a cloud to cloud integration (although it incorrectly reports a battery level, even though this device doesn’t run on batteries). It does allow calibration, but I don’t know if there any limitations on it, I haven’t needed to try that feature.
The SmartThings integration exposes temperature and humidity, but not lux.
To be honest, I mostly got it to act as a matter bridge to bring my SwitchBot curtain, openers into Apple home, and it works very well for that. But it can be used as a humidity trigger in a Smartthings routine and the values update at least every 10 minutes for 1% change.
Which driver are you using with the 4-in-1?
I’m using the Zooz driver and have the option to configure humidity change trigger. I have mine reporting every time there is a 10% humidity change. Otherwise it reports at whatever the default time interval is. Same for temperature reports.
