I am exhausted from reading reviews from people I don't trust on amazon, so please forgive this post if it's specifically been asked before. I am looking for a PWS that can withstand cold winters, is solar powered and has the ability to report directly to Hubitat. I would like to report on WIND SPEED, TEMP, RAIN FALL, and SOIL MOISTURE at the very least. Anything other than that I will also take but they aren't a requirement.
Battery power isn't really an option because the winters here in WI kills a battery within a week sometimes.
One alternative, there are some PWS that have external battery packs (or you could DIY one) so those batteries could be better protected. They are usually meant so you do not need to take the station (or pole) down to replace them.
I do not know of any that DIRECTLY work with Hubitat. I have an Ambient that connects to an Ecowitt gateway, that is about the most direct I know of. It has handled our weather for a few years now. Of course I am in Webster, NY, so maybe not exactly comparable...
I 've used a Davis Vantage II Pro for about 10-12 years now. Works great here in Maine (and before, at two locations in PA). Battery last a few years, with solar supplying most of the power (and that's with the tiny panel facing north). Expensive, but rock solid.
I don't think anything reports "directly". You'll need a computer or Raspberry Pi or similar device. I use a Raspberry Pi and it just runs and runs. I update it a few times each year, often while watching TV or similar. Takes a few minutes at most.
There was a company offering a Z-Wave weather station years back but nobody could ever seem to get one before it basically disappeared.
As for getting the data, most people use a Raspberry Pi or other system to "catch" the UDP broadcasts most weather stations provide their data with on your network then provide it to a driver on the Hubitat. There is also (like one of my setups, the other two use APIs) the option of an Ecowitt Gateway which does basically the same thing in a pretty simple and small package (one of the methods I use) that can send the data to a port on your Hubitat and a driver (there are at least two, Mircolino's and mine) that will process it and provide devices/data from it.
Thank you everyone for the replies. It really helps me narrow down my choices. I was under the impression that all weather stations would suffer from the same issues I have with my outside motion sensors during our winter months.
Remember that even solar power weather sensors have to have rechargeable batteries. Like primary cells, they are also affected by cold temperatures.
I would not count on any PWS giving accurate data once the temperature gets below 0 degrees F.
I have a Smartthings multisensor inside my freezer in the garage. It does work, although the temperature is registering as minus 19 degrees F. The battery is showing 1% life remaining, although I just installed a new battery yesterday. However, if the freezer door is not closed properly or the compressor fails, it will still alert me to the failure. I have it set to alarm if the temperature gets above zero.
I have an ambient weather ws5000 that I've been extremely happy with.
Solar powered with a "supercapacitor" acting as a battery. No moving parts to get damaged by ice.
Reports:
wind speed
Direction
Uv index
Sunlight load in lux
Temperature
Humidity
Barometric pressure
And a whole bunch of other items depending on what you purchase.
Pair it up with an ecowitt gw1000 gateway and it'll communicate directly to hubitat without internet requirements
I’ve had an Ambient Weather PWS for 3 years. No issues at all, except for a remote temp sensor failing once, but that can happen (and has happened with other brands too).
In the unit in the roof, I use Lithium Energizer batteries and they last two years. I’m in Toronto, so we get the extreme cold too.
I wouldn’t bother with Davis. It’s overpriced and less reliable over time. Parts are stupid expensive and just keep failing.
They've been around for decades, are the PWS of choice for remote locations with extreme weather, and have outlasted a number of manufacturers of lesser, lower priced equipment. I've had a Vantage Pro II with me in three locations for well over a decade now, and it's still cranking along here in Maine, where weather can be a real factor. There are toys, and then there are tools. Tools cost more, but they're worth it.
Don’t know what to tell you. My Dad had his two different models fail over and over anywhere between 2 week to 6 months. Now has an Ambient Weather too and it’s been problem free for over a year.
Don’t know what to tell you. My Dad had his two different models fail over and over anywhere between 2 week to 6 months. Now has an Ambient Weather too and it’s been problem free for over a year.
