Device for logging temp, humid wanted

[ArronOB]

Hi. I want a device which I can set up in our shadehouse which will do the following:

1. Measure temperature and humidity.

2. Record these readings every 30 mins. (Other schedules like every hour would be ok, but half hourly is preferred as that aligns with met office data).

3. Allow me to export the data as a csv file. My preference would be date,time, temp and humidity in one line for each half hourly reading.

4. It must be waterproof as I water with overhead sprinklers.

5. It must run off battery, as I don’t have mains power near the shadehouse.

What I don’t need but don’t object to are:

1. Bluetooth or wifi connectivity.

2. cloud storage

3. out of range alerts.

I looked at the Govee products and they seemed to be very good but I couldn’t work out if they are waterproof, and couldn’t work out how they store the data or the extent of customisation. Do they allow me to record data every 30 mins ?

The reason I want this is all about microclimates. We live on a narrow, hilly peninsular surrounded by water so every bit has its own microclimate. That makes it difficult to use Met Office data to understand the nuances in our climate. To make it worse, the two nearest Met Office data points are poorly chosen and don’t represent the general area very well at all. I’d like to build up a fiddle factor as a measure of how much we vary from a more remote but more reliable data point (probably Observatory Hill on Sydney Harbour, if any locals are reading this).

I’d like to run this thing continuously for a year, extracting the data periodically, and then download data from the met office and compare in Excel.

Obviously I’m trying to minimise the work involved.

Any recommendations?

[apfire]

Just this week Govee introduced a new set of sensors that they stated were weather resistant and made for greenhouses and outdoors. GoveeLife Smart Thermo-Hygrometer is how they are listed on the Govee website. I hope this helps.

[Ray]

Again, I’ll point to SensorPush.

Waterproof, 2-year battery life. Data is logged every minute, but the storage capacity is a bit over a month, so you’d need to offload it at least that often.

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by Ray

Again, I’ll point to SensorPush.

Waterproof, 2-year battery life. Data is logged every minute, but the storage capacity is a bit over a month, so you’d need to offload it at least that often.

Thanks Ray. Can you clarify just how waterproof. Could it handle getting soaked once every day or two?

[Ray]

Originally Posted by ArronOB

Thanks Ray. Can you clarify just how waterproof. Could it handle getting soaked once every day or two?

I used them in my greenhouse, where I had an overhead “rain” system, but put them under covers to the wouldn’t get drenched. They are billed as “water resistant”, not waterproof.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by ArronOB

Thanks Ray. Can you clarify just how waterproof. Could it handle getting soaked once every day or two?

Why not rig up an umbrella to keep the bulk of the water off the unit? A lot easier than searching for a truly waterproof device. Just a thought. Personally, I keep my units outside the tent and the sensors inside.

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

Why not rig up an umbrella to keep the bulk of the water off the unit? A lot easier than searching for a truly waterproof device. Just a thought. Personally, I keep my units outside the tent and the sensors inside.

Because I don’t want a ‘heat island’ effect building up around the sensor.

[MateoinLosAngeles]

I use these guys from Govee. Very economical, great app, I believe you can export the data into CSV.

I do place them in the fridge to track humidity for my dormant plants. However I don't think they're water proof and water can mess with the sensor. I would be surprised if there are full water proof hygrometers as how would they be able to measure humidity and not be thrown off by water? The main problem is water getting in the sensor and not evaporating, this can be barriered but I don't think fully proof. Maybe one with a probe might still give you an off reading when wet but might be easier to maintian accurate over time.

I like the Govees for home use because I keep them connected to my humidifier and my smart plugs, so they can trigger the humidifier and the fans based on humidity/temperature. Very helpful.

Here are the ones I use in case it helps:
- https://a.co/d/9QuYrUk
- https://a.co/d/2vVRByS

They have other models as well:
- https://a.co/d/acwfs5k
- https://a.co/d/cLRHYWw
- https://a.co/d/3P0qr9T

[Ray]

Originally Posted by ArronOB

Because I don’t want a ‘heat island’ effect building up around the sensor.

A flat piece of relatively thin plastic, bent into an “L” shape and inverted, attached to the back with double stick tape isn’t going to affect a thing.

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by Ray

A flat piece of relatively thin plastic, bent into an “L” shape and inverted, attached to the back with double stick tape isn’t going to affect a thing.

Unfortunately my watering system users spinners which fling the water out almost horizontal, so everything gets drenched.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions of the Govee and the other brands. Although they are inexpensive and look to be of excellent design I decided to make my own device. That allowed me to also incorporate a light sensor, a UV sensor and a soil moisture sensor. The latter two being wanted for a different task, not orchids. This allows me to locate the control unit in the attached garage where it is dry and has mains power, with a wire to fully waterproof temperature and light sensors in the shadehouse. The humidity sensor is not waterproof and remains a problem.

In case anyone is interested, the components used are an Arduino nano microcontroller, SD card module, RTC module, some switches and LEDs for control and status, and various 5 volt sensors. Not a difficult task even for someone like myself with very basic electronics knowledge. Programmed with C or python - although most of it is already available on the net for cut and paste.

Cheers
Arron