This device is a small, beautifully designed product made from aluminum. There are two small tubular parts to the station, the in-home sensor which is about six inches in height and an outdoor sensor which is two inches shorter. They’re slim, neat and almost go unnoticed and even if they are visible, they are beautifully designed.
The outdoor device runs on two AAA batteries, which could power the device for up to a year, while the indoor sensor plugs in to a regular power socket. You set up the two sensors using a downloadable app which steps you through a simple set-up process which integrates the devices on to your home wi-fi network. It’s a quick process, no more than 20 minutes to get everything out of the box, powered up and connected to your network and ready to start taking readings.
You do have to give some consideration where you place the outdoor sensor, as it needs to be out of direct exposure to rain or sun, so under a garden bench or mounted on the eaves of a house are ideal.
The indoor unit monitors temperature, humidity, CO2, air quality and something I didn’t expect, noise level. The outdoor unit measures the weather outside including temperature, air pressure and humidity All of the information collected from the two sensors is presented simply on the app on your phone or tablet.
You see an overview of the indoor and outdoor weather on the main screen screen and if you turn your phone sideways, in to landscape mode, you see a graph of changes in the specific measurements over hours or days. As well as the data you record at home, the Netatmo assembles local weather forecasts and pollution information and gives you a detailed view of the conditions inside and outside your home, as well as a forecast.
There are nice additional features, for instance touching the indoor unit as you walk by produces instant feedback with the device showing a green light if the CO2 if acceptable and a yellow or red if you need to think about ventilating the room.
One of the fun features of Netatmo is the ability to share your own data with the rest of the world on the web. You can do this simply by opting to publish your station’s weather using the app and moments later you’ll see your own station displayed on Netatmo’s WeatherMap of global owners. Any one visiting the Netatmo web site can access the WeatherMap and if you’re not concerned by any privacy issues around sharing your weather reading there really is a thrill in seeing your own personal weather station helping to paint a picture of global weather.
The map itself is easy to use and you’ll find yourself looking up all the places you’d rather be in a wet and windy December and as well as temperature, humidity and air-pressure you’ll see any optional rain or wind-speed data being measured.
There are a few optional extras which Netatmo are launching which would be must-haves for the more seriousweather-watcher. There’s a rainfall monitor and a wind-gauge with an optional mounting attachment. These are useful and add to the overall weather picture you get. As well as being a fun pastime for adults, there has probably been no better time to start teaching children about the weather we experience and the ability to share your weather could assist emergency or environmental organisations through access to this crowd-sourced, super local weather information.
Netatmo’s Weather Station is a beautifully designed, well made device that’s fun, informative and a talking point in any home, and there’s nothing we like more than talking about the weather.
Netatmo’s Weather Station is a beautifully designed, well made device that’s fun, informative and a talking point in any home, and there’s nothing we like more than talking about the weather.
More info: netatmo.com and they’re available on Amazon UK.
Price: €169
