Having just started with HA, I now want to put temperature/humidity sensors everywhere around my house. I’ve got no experience with electronics, but I’d be up for DIY and learning how to do it. Considering I want at least 5+ of these, I probably can’t go with a pre-made solution that’s as cheap as DIY.
Also it’d be ideal if they’re battery powered, since some of the locations I want them haven’t got easy access to wall plugs for power cords.
I’ve got several of these Acurite sensors around my house. It’s supported on HA with the RFLink Gateway and RTL-SDR and rtl_433 via MQTT integration:
Same for the Digoo DG-R8H 433.92 MHz Wireless Digital Hygrometer Thermometer. (Rflink or rtl_433)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32848739935.html
Another cheap option is the Xiaomi LYWSD03MMC. I bought 4 of them for €12 together (including shipping) They need a bluetooth receiver (I use an esp32)
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I also use the acurite sensors, I’ll add one to my order when I need to qualify for free shipping. Originally I went the DIY route but found these to be just as cheap once you bought the case and extremely accurite.
I use the XIAOMI Bluetooth sensors - high WAF as they also provide a local LCD display and report back their battery status also
The are a doddle to setup using a ESP32 with ESPHome - i have found the ESP32 has a range of about 10 metres and a couple of plaster walls to register these - i curently have a single ESP32 per floor (most of my internals walls are solid block) and have no issues monitoring them - i currently have 15 of them scattered over the 3 floors
Craig
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I use the remote sensors that ship with Ecobee thermostats.
Small, battery powered, batteries last a year or more.
These work exceptionally well.
Hi, can Digoo DG-R8H work with Sonoff RF gate 433 flashed with Tasmota and Portish?
If you use a rflink with esprflink, you get
{"TEMP":24.3,"HUM":67,"BAT":"OK"}
With a serial connected rflink (native rflink integration) you just get sensors created.
With a Sonoff RF Bridge with portish firmware, you get one long string with binary code, I don’t know if you can decode that yourself.
thank you any good guide how to setup the rflink?
To build a rflink yourself :
https://diyprojects.io/how-build-rflink-433mhz-radio-home-gateway-domoticz
To set up :
I use a handful of the ZigBee based Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensors. They are pretty reliable so far and battery is at 40% after 1.5 years.
Depending on the placement or distance to the ZigBee gateway you may need repeaters e.g. lights or plugs.
Just a link for reference: https://m.de.aliexpress.com/item/4001231005225.html
Is there a guide somewhere for using these sensors with HA? Do I need any additional hardware?
These sensors use a 433 MHz signal to transmit their measurements. You need a 433 MHz receiver that can decode these signals to be used in HA. The RFLink Gateway is one that integrates with HA. Read up on this integration on the HA website. There’s a link there to the RFLink web site where you can read more and purchase the gateway.
I’ve been trying to find the right receiver that I can simply plug in to my Pi via USB; is this the only thing that will work? If so, is there a North American store I can buy this from? If not, are there any other USB RFlink receivers?
Yep, that’s the kit…you will have to do some soldering or use the soldering service. Also get an enclosure from the same site. There is no US/NA shop…but they ship to the US. Takes about a week.
And just to double check; I want the 433.920 MHz version and not the 433.420 MHz version right?
Yes…433.92
Maybe you can try another alternative:
I didn’t see it mentioned, but I think the Aqara Weather Sensor (indoors) is fairly cheap and pretty.
It’s about 120 DKK (~20 USD) here in Denmark, runs on Zigbee, and works well with HA. It provides temperature, humidity, and pressure readings - its battery should last for approx two years (the package says so).
I have a few of these, one of them outside (under a roof - let’s see how long it actually lasts :D). Two of them are in my freezer and fridge - which works surprisingly well.
Mike.