During the recent winter storms in the midwest, I noticed some damp spots in my second-floor ceiling. So I went up to the attic and found it to be very damp. Over the ceiling area that was damp, I noticed a lot of condensation leading to drips. Even the ping loose insulation was moist to touch on top.
I now know this is due to ice damming. But I would like to actively monitor this situation without having to go into the attic and walk all the way over to the other end of it. The best I could think of is temperature and humidity sensors. My current setup is home assistant on docker with Aeotec Z-stick.
Any recommendations on the following would be much appreciated:
Any other way to monitor other than temperature and humidity sensor? - Some have recommended Xiaomi Aqara with this https://github.com/Koenkk/zigbee2mqtt
Any good recommendations for temperature and humidity sensor that gives at least a few months of battery life?
3rd the Xiaomi sensors. Also use them around the house with the Xiaomi gateway and they work great.
One off which i use to start my shower extractor fan, so it sees very high humidity and is holding up fine.
Sonoff th10/16 with a temp/humid sensor around ten bucks a piece. Works with wifi and perfectly intergrates with home assistant. You should flash it with tasmota.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if youâre seeing damp spots in your second-floor ceiling, the extent of the potential damage is probably much greater than what youâre observing.
You probably already know that ice dams form because of heat loss. Stop the escape of heat into the attic and you eliminate the ice dams. I realize thatâs often easier said than done. My home had massive ice dams form over the south-facing bathroom. I spent a weekend in the attic and insulated that area to modern R-50 standards and now, for the past five winters, no more ice dams.
Fix it now or spend big bucks later fixing water-damaged structural elements of your home ⌠or worse, the growth of mould in your attic. That stuff may cause air-quality issues; it certainly devalues your home and costs $$$ to clean up.
EDIT
The old-fashioned way to mitigate ice dams was to install heater wires on top of the shingles in the affected area. The idea is to melt the ice so it doesnât grow into large dams. Depending on the severity of the winters in your area this can be a relatively cheap and effective way ⌠or just ineffective and maybe not so cheap in the long-run (depends on electricity rates). The wires arenât particularly attractive and subject to wear and tear.
Also, if and whenever you need to have your roof shingles replaced, you may opt to have âice shieldâ installed along the roofâs trailing edges and in all valleys (under the shingles). This is typically a 4-foot wide sheet of elastomeric material that is highly water-resistant (and it adheres to the roof). It self-seals when pierced by roofing nails . If you live in a cold climate it may even be part of the local code to have this material installed.
I pretty much had exactly the same issue. Resolved it using a Xiaomi Mijia Bluetooth Temperature Humidity Sensor LCD Digital Thermometer. Bought at eBay for US $12.50 shipped.
Supported directly by HA.
Two caveats:
It is a BLE device so it has to be relatively close to BT receiver.
If you want that price, you have to wait 20-30 days to ship from China.
Other than that, it woks all the time with a very long battery life.
Thanks! I am working on adding some more loose insulation to my attic. I am also pretty sure that this was caused because of the conduit I had running from basement to attic, which was carrying hot moist air to the attic which condensed. So there was both condensation and ice damming, all from the same cause - I believe. I plugged the conduit and the problem seems to have disappeared.
Meanwhile, I will add more insulation as I messed them all up with all the walking.
I have since switched to Tuya zigbee temperature and humidity sensors, since they have much better battery life. I live in Central Texas where summer temperatures can easily reach 100+ farenheit. The sensors have work flawlessly.
I have outlets in my attic so Iâm looking for a âplug-inâ version somewhere. Anybody have any ideas? I donât want to go up and change batteries if I donât have to.