Simple wind direction (and maybe speed) sensor?

Devices & Integrations
1

I am looking for a very simple outdoor wind direction sensor (anemometer) that is compatible with SmartThings, because I want to figure out the orientation of a flying flag. It would be nice, but not required, for the sensor to measure wind speed as well. I would like to avoid hardwiring the device, so it should be battery, solar, or self-powered (e.g., from the wind) if possible. What are good suggestions?

2

I havenā€™t seen anything simple or standalone.

Some people have worked out a partial integration with the netatmo weather station, you might search the forum for that.

Qubino makes a weather station intended to integrate with zwave controllers, but the sensors themselves arenā€™t zwave so you canā€™t use them individually, you have to buy the whole system.

Obviously both of those are pricey.

If you find something with an IFTTT channel, you might get some Integration that way.

3

One other option would be to get a standalone sensor with analog output and connect it to either a Fibaro RGBW controller ( which can accept 4 sensors) or another voltage reader. You could use one channel for speed, a different one for direction.

Hereā€™s a typical weather station sensor bundle, but there are lots of them out there.

Hereā€™s the Fibaro:

@ogiewon might have more ideas about a reader.

So basically you get weather station sensors that output analog results, then wire those to a voltage reader that can communicate with SmartThings. :sunglasses:

4

Oh, and Popp has exactly what youā€™re looking for (although again, pricey), their model 005206, but itā€™s only available in Europe and will not work with a US hub. :disappointed_relieved:

I only mention it in case anyone with a UK hub does read this thread in future.

5

Thank you all.

I am resistant to getting a full-on weather station, but maybe I should not be. It has more to do with the continuous power requirements.

Ultimately the goal is to dim or turn on/off line voltage spotlights of about 20W each that illuminate the flag, thus saving energy and reducing light pollution. Putting a lot of power on the sensor 24/7 (or even 10/7 at night) defeats the purpose of the exercise. :cowboy_hat_face:

The SparkFun SEN-08942 looks interesting, and at $76.95 it might be a good start. I reached out to Campbell Scientific as well for 05103-L and WINDSONIC4-L but I am guessing those industrial products will be significantly more expensive.

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6

Just remember that you need both the sensor and a SmartThings-compatible device that can accept the analog output from the sensor and report it as something meaningful to ST.

7

Another option might be just to go with a local weather service report for wind conditions and trigger off of that. It sounds like you might not need to be too specific. That then doesnā€™t add any energy draw to your existing set up. :sunglasses:

Some of these have an RSS feed, some have an IFTTT channel, thereā€™s also a smartthings ā€œweather tileā€ but they changed providers last year and Iā€™m not up-to-date on what information it has now.

But if your primary goal is energy saving then you probably donā€™t need to really get into microclimates and you could just use a general local feed. :wind_face:

8

I added SmartWeather Station Tile using the IDE. The tiles are nice. There is a PWS within a mile radius, however I am not convinced that its wind readings are accurate (right now there is very little wind though).

Is there a way to trigger actions based on the wind direction and speed within SmartThings, using the SmartWeather Station Tile? I could have an IFTTT sequence going but would rather stick within SmartThings if it is possible (or at least, would rather give it a try first).

9

Iā€™m sorry, I just havenā€™t kept up with the new version.

@Dianoga might know.

10

I think so, but probably not with any of the pre-built automation options. Youā€™ll probably need to use something like webcore (or roll your own).

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11

Other than the Fibraro RGBW controller, what other input sensors exist for SmartThings? Specifically, I would want to measure one analog input voltage (for wind direction), and probably one input voltage for square wave (for wind speed) (which could also be analog, or digital/contact sensor I guess).

12

A lot of people use an Arduino with the ST_anything library from @ogiewon . :sunglasses:

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13

One other option, although it will probably cost around $150is to get the WiFi aenometer that works with ambientweather.net .

That service has an IFTTT channel that you can then use to integrate with smartthings.

Hereā€™s one example:

@GSzabados pointed out in another thread that there is also a DTH available for this one:

[RELEASE] Ambient Weather Station: Integration of a Network Connected Ambient Weather Station

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