Welcome to Incremental Social! Learn more about this project here!
Check out lemmyverse to find more communities to join from here!

KLISHDFSDF ,
@KLISHDFSDF@lemmy.ml avatar

I would recommend this product from Shelly https://www.shelly.com/en-us/products/shop/shelly-h-and-t-gen3-1

Doesn't no app or hub requried, works via wifi or bluetooth, has an e-ink display to conserve battery. I've had it since October and its been running without issue. Uses 4 AA batteries which I haven't changed at all and are still above 75%!

There's a newer generation (I have the previous one) so I can only imagine its even better.

DetachablePianist OP ,

This looks great! Is it definitely HA compatible?

KLISHDFSDF , (edited )
@KLISHDFSDF@lemmy.ml avatar

Yep! The device has a built-in web server. You connect via it's IP from any browser and configure it how you want. Here's what it looks like in homeassistant.

Overview:

https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/24aa2672-5130-4536-920c-86c73b38dcb4.png

Historical data:

https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/73aba0b6-998d-4ebc-9131-35d7277a8c1e.png

DetachablePianist OP ,

Damn, that's cool! 😉 Thanks, this is perfect!

AA5B ,
  • what other measurements might you care about, for combination sensors?
  • how frequent?

I have Shelby flood sensors in the basement, based on WiFi. They were cheap and the batteries last over a year. While they do have an online portal, the HA integration can read them locally. One of the things I get from it is a graph of temperatures, however the data points can be an hour or more apart.

ahal ,

Can anyone recommend any matter based sensors? I too haven't purchased any devices yet and figured I might as well try to build out with matter to have a single strong network instead of many weaker ones, and aiui matter will likely win out over ZigBee in the long term?

wander1236 ,
@wander1236@sh.itjust.works avatar

Like others have said, ZigBee is the way to go for low-traffic things like temperature sensors. It uses a lot less power than WiFi, so battery-powered devices can last for months on a CR2032.

I've got some Aqara temperature/humidity sensors that I have hooked up to my Smartthings Hub and then imported into Home Assistant through the cloud, but you can use any ZigBee adapter that works with Home Assistant: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/using-aqara-temp-and-humidity-sensor/408166/9.

I also recently got some Sensibo Elements boxes, which are wall-powered WiFi air quality sensors that include temperature/humidity. They have an official HA integration. If you go for them, don't worry about the sale countdown on the website; it doesn't actually seem to ever end.

DetachablePianist OP ,

thanks!

tburkhol ,

If you're trying to avoid a whole zigbee or zwave network, Govee makes some inexpensive battery-powered bluetooth thermometer/hygrometers, and have a HA integration, but bluetooth can be tricky to get running on Pis. I feel like most of the actual wifi devices are phone-home type setups. My govee thermometers have pretty good range - one of them even reads from inside the refrigerator.

DetachablePianist OP ,

thanks!

sabreW4K3 ,
@sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al avatar

Grab yourself a Zigbee coordinator and some Zigbee Temperature Devices off AliExpress or from Ikea if you're willing to pay more.

DetachablePianist OP ,

thanks!

GreatAlbatross Mod , (edited )
@GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk avatar

I'm a bit late, but if it helps, I've had good results with the Sonoff and Tuya zigbee sensors. I prefer the Tuyas, just because they use AA instead of CR2032 batteries.
$50 will easily get you everything you need to start.

You might also want to think about getting a 433MHz radio for the system.
If you live in a built up area, you'd be surprised how many people have equipment transmitting on 433MHz already (free data!).
And a lot of generic wireless temperature sensor kits use it as a standard, making it a good value way to get weatherproof gear.
I got a generic fridge/freezer kit for about £10 that works perfectly with this.
Again, $50 or so for a DVB-T2 receiver. Just be aware that it's a little more technically involved than pairing zigbee devices.

Bother me with DMs if you like, I've been fiddling with just about every protocol I can get my hands on for under £100!

DetachablePianist OP ,

interesting, thanks!

thr0w4w4y2 ,

Outdoor, Indoor? Wifi, Zigbee? mains power, battery?

DetachablePianist OP ,

Outdoor. I assune wifi-enabled, but I'm a newb and looking for advice. Zigbee keeps getting mentioned, so I guess I'll be looking into that. thanks!

vpklotar ,

The thing with wifi is that it drains a shit ton of energy. A WiFi temperature sensor might last a few weeks or months but ZigBee devices can last years. Of course this depends on what kind of batteries were talking about.

AA5B ,

WiFi also usually means an internet portal, which impacts responsiveness, potentially violates privacy, and leaves you at the mercy of a company continuing to provide the service.

Zigbee is not just cheaper and uses less power, but it’s open and local so there’s not some company accumulating your data to sell and you’re not at their mercy

vpklotar ,

Yup, all valid points which contributed to me either using ZigBee or designing my own things for WiFi.

JASN_DE ,

Have you considered other protocols, especially ZigBee?

DetachablePianist OP ,

Zigbee is mentioned all the time. Guess I'll have to look into them...

lambda ,

SMLIGHT SLZB-06/M/P7

I've tried a few other ZigBee Coordinators and this is the only one I can really suggest. Home Assistant even has their own that used to be called Sky Connect. I was having things randomly drop off my network with Sky Connect.

Get the one that has experimental Matter-over-thread support for future-proofing. You can even get it with POE support if that's helpful for you.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • homeassistant@lemmy.world
  • random
  • incremental_games
  • meta
  • All magazines
    •