I have cottage with internet service. I would like to monitor the temp and humidity over the winter. But I want to use my home hub, as it is a bit pricy to get another hub just to this.
Is this possible? I saw some Bluetooth or Zwave gateways, but I'm not sure if these will do what I want. I can use a VPN to get on the network at the cottage (including WiFi).
The easiest way might be to get something like a Ecowitt GW1100 gateway and then a temp/humidity sensor. There are already a couple drivers for receiving the Ecowitt data locally to your network (if the Ecowitt can send the data directly to the Hubitat) or via cloud systems.
Plus, if you ever decided to add additional weather sensors, they could connect through that gateway.
easy. Find a device that you can reflash Tasmota onto which has these two sensors, or make your own. Then have it report back to your hub using Maker API to a virtual multi-sensor. check out this website to find suitable HW.
if you are an Apple user, a super easy route is to place a HomePod Mini at the cottage. They have built in temp and humidity sensors. Set up a "second" home in HomeKit on your iPhone or Mac, add this HomePod Mini to that "second" home. Then you are done. No need to setup VPN. It becomes a HomeKit hub at your cottage and the temp/humidity is reported into your iCloud account automatically.
Yes I'd agree. For most instances I'll always recommend Hubitat. However, in this instance for such a basic requirement, the HomePod mini is ideal. It takes moments to set up, is simple to use and is easy to add a few other devices later. Using Apple Home it's also easy to add a HomeKit compatible camera cheaply for basic monitoring.
While I completely agree, this would be the route I would probably go. It would give me a reason to try out that POE ESP32 board I saw on AE the other day.
Thanks for all the input. To expand on this a bit, most of the sensors I have, including the Ecowitt, only seem to have temperatures down to freezing or -10c or so. As I'm up in Canada, we do get temperatures dropping that can go as low as -40c, but most cold days now are in the -30 range.
My plan was to set up 2 temp/humidity sensors, one under the cabin and the other (or just the prob) outside. The cabin itself does not yet have an insulated roof, but underneath the walls and the underside of the floor, there is some spray foam. The floor is dirt (now covered with poly)
I had some moisture issues last winter. I've installed a vent fan to circulate some air, and the ground keeps things relatively warm. The 2 sensors would provide enough info so I can turn on the fan when the humidity is low outside and off or too low when it is warm and wet. I'm going with in-floor heating, so there will only be an air exchange unit and minimal ducting.
I plan to automate a lot there over the coming years, so I was planning on getting another Hubitat or another hub.
I doubt you can stick the HomePod mini outside. Where exactly do you want to read temp and where do you want to read humidity? Out in the elements or inside the cabin?