I live near a large lake so online weather and weather underground stations tend to be very inaccurate for my house.
I am looking for a simple and INEXPENSIVE way to remotely monitor my outside temp and humidity levels. Ideally I’d like to spend less than $50 USD. I’m not looking to install a full blown weather station that reports to weather underground or anything extravagant. I have a large porch that wraps around the front of the house so I think indoor sensors will be adequately protected.
I can find sensors that report temp and humidity such as the monoprice PIR multisensor. My concern is that this is an indoor multi-sensor and that temp and humidity reported may not be accurate. I know that my Visonic door sensors that report temp seem to be terrible with respect to accuracy and update interval.
Also, I could see myself setting up a later project to run my solar pool heater (black tubing/fountain pump) based on pool temp, ambient, sunlight level etc…
Does anyone have any reccomendations for my best option that will update regularly with accurate information for less than $50? Setting up a pi or adruino project is not out of the question here although I’ve never touched those systems before (I have an engineering background with “some” coding skills).
I think people use kumo wireless tags outdoors. The tags themselves are well below $50, but I think you need a bridge device to get them linked to ST (presumably one bridge for multiple sensors). Enter Kumo in the forum keyword search box, there’s other threads discussing how people use them with ST.
I have an Aeotec multi sensor mounted under the eaves to monitor movement at the front door. Also doubles up as an exterior temperature sensor for CH system. Works just fine! BTW, the Aeotec multi is advertised as weather proof when mounted correctly. Never tested that aspect of it…
I saw those wireless sensor tags and they do look like the perfect solution but I have decided against them for 2 reasons.
First is price, were looking at $75 or more. At some point I would just make a weather station with my own weather underground site.
Second is WAF. She already can’t stand our Nighthawk router that’s in the family room. She has tried to hide it in the glass cabinet that it lives on top of. She is far less concerned with it being positioned for wireless range than I am. When I added the smartthings hub she was had some further objections (at least that’s white like the cabinate it resides on top of). I really don’t want to add the ethernet adapter for the wireless sensor tag.
How often does the Aotec multisensor update? Any impressions as to the accuracy? This is slightly more than I was planning to spend but if it’s my best option I may just go with it. I’d be so dissapointed if I spent this much for a sensor that doesn’t meet my needs.
Check the specs, but the Aeotec is rated for outside use for everything except the motion sensor report (too many false alarms due to shifting sunlight). So I agree, wait until that one goes on sale as long as your temperatures don’t go too much below freezing.
If you need a broader temperature range, then the wireless tags are probably a better fit.
I’m glad it’s working well for you, but the information is neither old nor incorrect.
The user manual for that device says:
Please note that when installed outdoors of your home, your MultiSensor should only be relied on for temperature, light, humidity, and ultraviolet readings, where as the motion sensing capabilities should be disabled on your gateway in order to avoid false motion readings
And the smartest House (an authorized retailer) confirmed this with Aeotec less than 2 months ago:
JAN (THE SMARTEST HOUSE)
December 22, 2017
we consulted Chris at Aeotec directly and this is what he came back with: “It can be used outdoor as a motion sensor, but the customer will need to direct the PIR sensor away from the sun depending on how strong the sun is in the area.
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We add this as a strong recommendation as strong sunlight can trigger the motion sensor, so if the user wants to use it, it may take some trial and error to avoid this issue by twisting around the sensor away from the run, or decreasing sensitivity of some time.”
As I said, I’m glad it’s working for you, and it may well work for others depending on the specific placement. But it is not being sold as an outdoor motion sensor.
I don’t care what anybody says. It’s working for 3 sensors.
People are just repeating the same incorrect (incomplete) thing.
If you were to read the manual you would’ve seen this under outdoor installation: If you wish to use Multisensor 6 outdoors, you will need to lower settings, and angle Multisensor 6 accordingly as all environments will require different solutions or different settings for the motion sensor to work properly.
Did you read this whole post? (The one that JD linked to above)
In the comment section at the end (which is also reproduced in this thread), they said they spoke to Chris at Aeotec. I’m guessing that’s Chris Cheng, he has posted occasionally here as @ccheng and he helped me with a warranty issue I was having once on another aeotec product.
My understanding is that the motion sensor may work well outdoors, or it may not. No one is arguing with your personal experience, but others may have a less satisfactory experience with the device.
This is all probably pretty much a moot point anyway, since the OP is pretty clearly looking for a temperature/humidity sensor.
I did. It only references what others say. And the article from The Smartest house doesn’t really talk about performance of the compared sensors. It’s very superficial from the technical standpoint.
The real (technical) meaning of my comments is that you can make it work simply by not having sunlight shinning directly on it. On a secondary note, unless one does read the complete manual for a product, one should not make definitive statements about a product. Also, if there’s a problem don’t give up and always look for a solution. In most cases one exists.
I’m using a cheap Aqara Temperature Humidity Sensor under my porch to monitor temp/humidity. It works great, and is accurate based on a comparison to my desk Oregon Scientific sensor and the AccuWeather virtual device. For ~$10 its worth a try, GearBest runs specials all the time.
