I see people looking for reliable outdoor temperature sensors. The big issue I see is most temp sensors are not meant to be outside and proper placement is an issue.
I have both a Heat Pump and an Oil Fired Boiler. The HP loses efficiency below 35F so I wanted to auto switch heat sources. They both have independent smart thermostats.
I registered for OpenWeatherMap (free) and created a sensor for the outside temp.
sensor:
- platform: openweathermap
api_key: MY_API_KEY
monitored_conditions:
- temperature
you will get a sensor that gives you the current local temp… sensor.owm_temperature
You can create sensors for other monitored conditions as well just follow the documentation.
I live in the northeast US and I have found OWM to be quite accurate and very dependable, not sure how it will be for your location. I have 2 automation’s, one that turns off the HP and turns on the OFB if the temp is below 35F for 30 minutes and one that switches back over 36F for 30 minutes.
Hope this helps someone it works perfectly for me…