Monitoring Temperature and Humidity

[nhman]

OK. Perhaps a strange request, but does anyone know of a SIMPLE way to be able to monitor the temperature and humidity remotely via the web?
I imagine that this should be possible, just haven't found any simple solutions that I can see on the web.
I would envision using this to monitor the status of my growing area(s) while away from home (e.g. on vacation, etc).
Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome. Thanks in advance.

[Ray]

This is less-than-elegant, but before I got a sensaphone (which calls me if there is an issue), I pointed a webcam at my Oregon Scientific wireless monitor.

[nhman]

Where did you obtain the Sensaphone from and how does it work?
I mean, obviously, it must have the ability to monitor and then phone if parameters are out of spec, but......anymore info, sites, cost, etc. would be appreciated. Thanks!

[nhman]

Hey, did a search and got some good info. What type of Sensaphone (4 sensor, 8 sensor etc) are you using and how has it worked for you thus far??
Was it difficult to set up?

[Ray]

I have an old 1114 (you can usually find them on eBay), which is a 4-port, line-capturing model (if someone is using the phone line, it kills the connection and then dials). As nobody is usually here when I'm not, I would not have paid extra for it - I thought I was getting an 1104.

It has built-in power-outage and noise sensors (worked great when we were out-of-town and my son had a big party) that don't occupy the connectors.

I don't bother with humidity, but have a Thermalarm in the GH, which is connected to an X10 Powerflash unit plugged into an enclosed power receptacle. When the upper- or lower temp limit is reached, the X10 module sends a signal over my buried power lines to an X10 universal module that is plugged into the wall and connected to the Sensaphone in my home office.

I have three numbers programmed into the unit - home (to wake me up in the middle of the night), office, and cell phone. There is a 4th slot, and if I know a number where I'll be, I'll sometimes enter it. (I forgot to remove my mother-in-law's number once, and she got calls for several weeks whenever we vacuumed the room!)

In an alarm situation, it first "speaks" "alarm condition 1 exists" from the unit, and will try 10 times for an acknowledgment (entering a PIN in the keypad). If that doesn't happen, it calls the first number 10 times (awaiting telephone keypad entry), then the second, and so-on.

Setting up the unit itself is no issue whatsoever, and it has helped me in two crucial situations - once when the propane folks skipped a week one winter, and once when a squirrel decided to short the overhead lines on a 100°F day, killing all power and shutting down my fogger, fans, and ventilation shutters.

[nhman]

Ray, thanks for all of the information! I do believe that Santa will be delivering one of these - a little late - but hey, can't have everything.
Just what I was looking for. Thanks for all of your help.

[Lilavati]

For saltwater aquariums they make a sensor array that relays the required information to a web page. I have no idea if they make something like that for greenhouses, or how much it costs, but its another option.

[beanluc]

Hi, nhman, if by "monitor" you just mean that you want to be able to look, you could just point a webcam at an instrument like this:
Thermometer and Hygrometer Gauge - Plant It Earth

I think that you can set up a webcam to just be always on, showing you the realtime view, and also could be set up to save like hourly snapshots too, so you could see what conditions were like all day.

[nhman]

Thanks beanluc!
I've gone forward with a sensaphone with monitors for temp and humidity.
So far, no problems, but it helps me sleep better while traveling!