Good outside thermometer
August 25, 2022 8:38 AM Subscribe
I want a decent outside thermometer that I don’t have to go outside to read. What to buy and where to install it?
Checking the outside temperature on my weather app, which pulls from whatever weather station is closest to us, often seems inaccurate - I’ve noticed our house’s location seems somewhat protected from averse weather (when it snows lightly in the area our street often gets less or none) and the same seems to be true for heat (thankfully). I want to get a thermometer to install outside our house and be able to get information from it without actually going outside. Whether that’s getting the info on an app or a little station inside is fine, though an app is probably preferred. Do you have a good one you’d recommend? (There are some older similar questions but figured it might be good to update, as a lot of previous answers are no longer available.) Everything is garbage these days it feels like so I’m ok spending more on something that won’t die in twelve months.
And on that note, where do I set up the thermometer to give us the most accurate reading? Presumably not in the blazing sun, but would attaching it directly to the house make a difference? What about an area that gets sun during part of the day? Thanks!
Checking the outside temperature on my weather app, which pulls from whatever weather station is closest to us, often seems inaccurate - I’ve noticed our house’s location seems somewhat protected from averse weather (when it snows lightly in the area our street often gets less or none) and the same seems to be true for heat (thankfully). I want to get a thermometer to install outside our house and be able to get information from it without actually going outside. Whether that’s getting the info on an app or a little station inside is fine, though an app is probably preferred. Do you have a good one you’d recommend? (There are some older similar questions but figured it might be good to update, as a lot of previous answers are no longer available.) Everything is garbage these days it feels like so I’m ok spending more on something that won’t die in twelve months.
And on that note, where do I set up the thermometer to give us the most accurate reading? Presumably not in the blazing sun, but would attaching it directly to the house make a difference? What about an area that gets sun during part of the day? Thanks!
I've had pretty good experience with La Crosse Technology thermometers. They have a bunch of products, ranging from simple thermometers to full weather stations (but if you wanted an actual full-blown weather station, I think there are better options on the market).
posted by primethyme at 8:59 AM on August 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by primethyme at 8:59 AM on August 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
The traditional method is a thermometer on suction cups that you put in the outside of a window, and read from inside.
posted by alexei at 9:18 AM on August 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by alexei at 9:18 AM on August 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
We've also done OK with Ambient Weather, but it looks like they're no longer stocking sensors for the model we use. That said, if you have a shady place to put it, there's very little that can go wrong with a big old outdoor thermometer that you look at through the window.
posted by zamboni at 9:20 AM on August 25, 2022
posted by zamboni at 9:20 AM on August 25, 2022
I use this AMIR weather station and I have one sensor inside, one on a table in the shade of the patio in the back, and one on the house near the sprinkler controller in the front (full shade).
posted by Lyn Never at 9:23 AM on August 25, 2022
posted by Lyn Never at 9:23 AM on August 25, 2022
I asked for and got this ThermPro one for Christmas and then bought some additional remote sensors so I could keep track of upstairs vs downstairs etc. The outside sensor I put under a deck where it is fully exposed to the ambient air but is never in the sun. Everything has worked well so far.
When I was looking into this one, I also looked at ones that work with an app but wasn't able to find one that seemed worth it. In the past I had the Netatmo weather station which worked well while it worked (and communicated with my phone) but died far sooner than I would have liked and was very expensive, especially considering how quickly it died.
posted by acanthous at 9:24 AM on August 25, 2022
When I was looking into this one, I also looked at ones that work with an app but wasn't able to find one that seemed worth it. In the past I had the Netatmo weather station which worked well while it worked (and communicated with my phone) but died far sooner than I would have liked and was very expensive, especially considering how quickly it died.
posted by acanthous at 9:24 AM on August 25, 2022
I have been very happy with this Oria model that gives you temperature and humidity for 3 different locations, plus the one where the readout is sitting. So I can see the temperature in my shady back yard, the sunnier front of the house, and the upstairs and downstairs inside. This seems to be basically the same as Amir station listed above, so I just want to add that I've had this for a couple of years now and it's pretty durable; needs to have the batteries replaced maybe once a year or so.
posted by Dorothea Ladislaw at 11:04 AM on August 25, 2022
posted by Dorothea Ladislaw at 11:04 AM on August 25, 2022
I've had a 3- sensor Oria model that was worth less than the $20 or so it cost.
posted by Dashy at 11:20 AM on August 25, 2022
posted by Dashy at 11:20 AM on August 25, 2022
I have a similar model ThermPro as acanthous and I find it works reasonably well. If you do want to overthink accuracy a bit, you can get a solar radiation shield to put the sensor into. Make sure you get a plastic one if it's a wireless transmitter. I don't bother with it and just put it on the north side of the house which doesn't get much direct sunlight.
posted by Aleyn at 7:19 PM on August 25, 2022
posted by Aleyn at 7:19 PM on August 25, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Nelson at 8:51 AM on August 25, 2022 [1 favorite]