What is the best, most reliable, longest battery life Z-wave Temperature sensor for outdoor use, ideally affordable too?
I have been using original Smartthings Zigbee ones, but they are flaky, and the expensive batteries do not last very long.
I tried hooking up my Netatmo, but that does not seem to work and would require a net connection.
Thanks.
Thereâs no one best, because different people will have different budgets, goals, and definitely different weather in different parts of the countryâŠ
It works well with smartthings with custom code (no hue bridge required) , is available in many countries, has excellent weatherproofing, and is reliable. Itâs also a motion detector. But it is big. The product description will say it needs the hue bridge, but you can use the smartthings hub instead.
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Hue-Outdoor-Wireless-Required/dp/B07NDFQF2T
2022 update: multiple community members and Amazon reviews have reported battery life on these as much less than advertised, maybe as low as two years, and since the battery is not replaceable, thatâs a big deal. I know that some of the ones that have failed during the warranty. Have been replaced by the manufacturers, but thatâs still no fun. So personally at the present time I am no longer recommending these, although I do know that some people have had good experiences with them, so itâs an individual decision.
There used to be custom code that would bring these into smartthings, I donât know if it still works. You can also use IFTTT.
Customer service is hit or miss with this, it seems to be basically a one person operation and it depends what mood the person is in on any given day. So use a credit card just in case you get it defective unit and need to claim a refund. But those are rare: again, these seem to be very well engineered.
This device is overkill for most people and Integration is limited, but if you live in Minnesota or Vermont and want winter reporting, itâs good to know this option exists. 
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Most battery powered sensors will have an operating range down to -4°F, so if you need more than that, make sure you let us know as otherwise most of the recommendations wonât work for you.
The three above are all designed as outdoor sensors, so are most likely to be reliable. And all three are available in both the US and the UK. Although you can put a battery operated sensor in a sheltered location, that can defeat the purpose of a temperature sensor as it will probably be several degrees warmer than just walking down the sidewalk.
At our house we rely on a hue sensor which is on a fence post and fully exposed. Itâs excellent for temperature reporting, although I live in the San Francisco Bay area, so The weather rarely goes below freezing. I have friends in Wisconsin who use the Kumo sensors and love them. So a lot depends on the conditions where you live. 
Thank you for the input. I need to go down to Freezing, and I refuse to use Zigbee unless I have no other options. The sensitive strips look interesting, even though 10 year battery I highly doubt. 
Just thinking out of the box but have you considered adding the SmartWeather Station as a virtual device? It costs nothing and provides a lot of useful information (see screenshot below in the IDE).
Anyone has experience with Qubino temperature sensor?
You could have sensor outside and module installed inside of the wall
Sorry, but Iâm gonna piggy-back on this.
Iâm also trying to find an outdoor thermometer - Z-wave. I live in the US. Lows in my immediate area can reach single digits.
My problem is finding a sensor that meets my needs. I have no interest in one that requires a handler since I have no idea what that is. Iâve found 1-2 that are not good above 80% humidity for extended periods. Since my area can have humidity >80% for a day or two, Iâm guessing that wonât work.
The sensitive strips seem close to what i want, but review ratings are around 3-3.5 which doesnât give me much confidence.
Any suggestions on sensors that will work in my area will be appreciated.
BTW, is there a ST temperature sensor that will display the temp?
You mean on the device itself? There are some devices that are compatible with smartthings that display the temperature, but we need to know a few things first.
this thread is about outdoor sensors, so are you asking about an outdoor sensor?
what country are you in? The device selection does vary.
do you have a smartthings/Aeotec hub?
battery powered or mains powered or it doesnât matter? Most mains powered temperature sensors can report more often. Battery powered temperature sensors are often limited to about once every 15 minutes in order to save battery life.
local or cloud-based? There are several devices that work with smartthings that display temperature, but use a cloud to cloud integration.
if outdoor, what are your typical weather variations over a year? Thereâs a big difference between Minnesota and Los Angeles as far as the durability required of the devices.
Iâm interested in outdoor temp in the US. Typical temp range is -6 > 102F - not every yr. Have a ST hub and all devices currently connected are Z-wave.
Battery power, although if forced, I can use AC
Uncertain the difference between local and cloud. An alarm on a ST device can reach my phone 1500 miles away. Iâd like to find a sensor that will display temps either on an android widget or stand-alone display.
Local: does not require an active internet connection, so if your Internet goes out, your routines still work
Cloud: computers run by smartthings or Amazon or Google or some other company that your devices talk to over the Internet. So you have to have an active Internet connection to reach âthe cloudâ.
The smartthings app itself always requires the Internet, even if your phone is on the same Wi-Fi as your hub. They didnât have to design it that way, but they did. In contrast, for example, the Apple HomeKit app will work just fine when the Internet is out as long as your local Wi-Fi router is still functioning. But in either case, if you want to get information when you are away from home, not connected to your own Wi-Fi, then that requires cloud communications.
So with SmartThings, an android widget will require the cloud. A local device with a display might not, it just depends on the specific model.
As far as handlers, every device connected to your smartthings account is using a âdevice type handlerâ. Thatâs just code that lets your SmartThings account talk to the device.
SmartThings provides âstock handlersâ for many devices. So when you open the smartthings app, tap the + in the upper right, choose add a device, find your specific device model and add it there, smartthings will use the stock handler.
However, the stock handlers donât necessarily provide all of the features that the device is capable of. So sometimes community members will create a âcustom device handlerâ Which lets you use more features of the device.
For example, when some multi button devices are added to smartthings using a generic stock handler, only the first button will work. To get access to the additional buttons, you need to use custom code.
On the original smartthings platform, you could add custom code to your account using a copy and paste method. You just copied someone elseâs code and then pasted it into the web interface to your smartthings account. It was tedious, but pretty straightforward.
Under the new architecture which is currently being developed, it will be even easier. You will just follow a link that the code author gives you and then that will cause the custom code to get downloaded to your hub later that day. The new architecture is called âSmartThings edgeâ and the new device type handlers, whether they are stock or custom, are called âedge drivers.â
So when you say you âdonât want to use a handlerâ what you really mean is that you donât want to have to use any custom code. Because all of your devices will always use a handler, it just might be one that gets automatically used when you add the device.
And thatâs fine, the vast majority of smartthings customers donât use any custom code. It does mean there will be some devices that other people can use and you canât, but that choice is up to you.
Now that weâve cleared up the TerminologyâŠ
I myself donât know of any devices that meet your specifications for outdoor use. Hopefully someone else will.
These days, most of the outdoor sensors donât have a display, because then they can be cheaper and manufacturers believe that most people will just use their phone if they want to check the reading while they are outdoors. 
As far as the temperature range, you should be able to find battery-operated sensors that can handle down to -4°F. Thatâs a limitation of the batteries. Most wonât be able to go all the way down to -6, they will just stop working around -4.
You make it sound as if handlers are just DLd and installed. If thatâs the case, I have no problems with that.
I donât subscribe to a cloud service, so I guess I can say ânoâ to cloud.
I live far enough away from the nearest âofficialâ temp supplier my outside temp can be 7 degrees off to the downside and 4 degrees off from the upside from the local âofficialâ temp. Opening my phone,opening ST, scrolling to the temp sensor and opening it seems like a lot of steps to read a temp, thus, my search for a widget.
Guess Iâll re-read this thread and consider sensors needing handlers.
Hereâs the community FAQ on adding custom handlerâs for the original smartthings platform, the one that uses groovy. Thatâs the copy and paste method.
The examples shown will be from the older app version, but the concepts in the process described will still apply.
[OBSOLETE] FAQ: An Overview of Using Custom Code in SmartThings (SmartThings Classic, Groovy Code)
Smartthings is right in the middle of transitioning to a new architecture. That will be Edge. For that one, yes, itâs just download. You donât need to do anything more than that. But itâs still in beta, so some of the edge drivers will be glitchy right now.
The transition will probably be complete in a few months but no exact timeline has been given.
Iâm confused by this statement. Smartthings itself is still primarily a cloud-based system. You canât use the smartthings app without using the smartthings cloud. So if you already have a smartthings account set up, thatâs a cloud service that you are subscribed to, even though thereâs no monthly fee.
âCloudâ just means functionality that you use the Internet to access.
If you are using smartthings, you are using the cloud, it just varies on how much you are using it for depending on your specific configuration. But again, just the smartthings app by itself requires the cloud.
Came into the forum today for an app issue (persistent âNetwork connectionâ pop-up), and when I got it fixed my dashboard reported my outdoor temperature sensorâs battery is low.
My first Sensative strip lasted just over a year, using the default settings. I need a reliable outdoor temperature sensor that works down well below freezing for specific automations that control a 5000W garage heater under very specific conditions, and was assured that the Strip would be just fine down to -40°. I contacted Sensative and they promptly sent a replacement, and I set it up with just temperature reporting and minimal logging in order to maximize battery life. Itâs reporting 10% battery now, after just over a year. These are pretty damn expensive sensors with non-replaceable batteries. Iâm beyond frustrated. Does anybody have a recommendation for a weatherproof temperature sensor with user-replaceable batteries that works in the snow belt? For reference, it has dipped below zero a few times this past couple of weeks, but most normal âcoldâ nights hover just above zero.
Is battery powered a must have? Or could you do a mains powered unit inside and route a probe through the wall to the outside?
I could most definitely use an outdoor sensor with the radio indoors, or one that plugs into an outdoor mains outlet.
I should add, for those outside the US, that when I referred to âzeroâ I meant -18°C in modern parlance. 
Iâm thinking of something like the Qubino. The probe shows an operating temperature down to -58 F:
And then the radio units say theyâre good down to 14 F. Iâm sure there are other options from m other brands with a similar design. I donât have direct experience with any of them to give a recommendation though.
