I have a WS-2902C, and installed in in late November. Not even mid-Feb and the battries are showing they need replacement. This is in SoCal, so not like we had a brutal winter.
Is this normal for this device? I thought the solar panel was supposed to provide enough power when the sun is out, and expected the batteries to last longer.
Well wait...Hubitat is telling me batteries are fine, 100% (via Ecowitt integration).
However, the WSView app is showing me a red battery icon under "Wind Direction" (which comes from the WS-2902C). Confusing...
I installed a WS-2000 in December, which uses the same Osprey outdoor sensor array. I used Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAs in the Osprey station and the 4 outdoor sensors I got. Those batteries do better in the cold (we've been down to 0F this year). I'm still hoping for at least 6 months. So far I've kept the outdoor array cleared of snow; at least, I've cleaned it off the next morning after the snow stops.
The Ambient API (local or remote) only reports 2 values for battery: OK or Replace. I'm guessing OK is mapped to 100%. It just doesn't mean the batteries are at 100%.
It depends on the driver. In mine I report 75% when it comes back as the OK value (and 0% when it is to be replaced), because you really do not know and 100% seems too definitive. Some methods actually report the battery voltage so those have finer reporting.
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