Wi-fi enabled temp/humidity/fire alarms etc

[Alley_Cat]

I hope the title is self-explanatory, but a few years ago I purchased several cheap digital temp/humidity monitors for various rooms. However you have to inspect them visually.

There seem to be wi-fi enabled products now which could be very handy for monitoring locations indirectly via wi-fi locally or potentially using the internet for remote locations (eg a second home).

Anyone have any experience with such devices?

It would be nice to have temp/humidity combined with smoke/fire/CO type detection system - they must exist, if not I’m sure they will in time.

Another interesting idea would be to have a device which could control electric heating/cooling/dehumidification according to set parameters to maintain a reasonably constant environment in a location/room - naturally such systems would require certain failsafe mechanisms to prevent +ve feedback loops for one extreme or another should communication/electronics fail.

I believe there are already ‘smart’ thermostatic valves and similar, and naturally electric heaters often have a thermostat, but a reliable adapter controlling them and ‘smart’ capable could be useful.

[Zebedee]

Have a look at Netatmo, good kit and decent apps and support. I wouldn’t use wireless for anything that was safety critical.

[Alley_Cat]

Thanks, the name is familiar, just never really looked at their products.

[linq]

Not sure if it’s what you’re after but I use a Ubibot sensor to monitor temp, humidity and light levels in a greenhouse that’s some distance from our house. Data is sent over WiFi and it can be monitored remotely via a web UI or phone app. IFTTT is also supported so you could look to trigger other automation tasks in response to, say, high humidity or low-temperature alerts. I’ve had it installed for over a year now and it’s performed flawlessly. More information at https://www.ubibot.io/
Regards, Ian

[Fatcat]

That’s a neat piece of kit, at a nice price.

[Fatcat]

Why do you want to control the temp/humidity? Building fabric protection or comfort?

RH is linked to temperature. Increasing temperature will reduce RH.

[spile]

I am having fun using the ESP-32 module to make an old house alarm “smart”. There are projects for interfacing it for environment monitoring. The best bit is that it is Wi-fi and Bluetooth enabled and costs a fiver!

[Alley_Cat]

They look very interesting Ian, thanks.

[Alley_Cat]

Domestic use mainly, nothing too fancy, I would like to automate certain things. I’ve used TP-Link adapter plugs in the past to control devices on a timer, but it would be nice to control some items based on actual temp/humidity levels - the cheap monitors I bought may be fairly accurate but simply have a display and that’s that.

I’d also like to remotely monitor my late father’s property which is difficult to regularly visit with local lockdown rules, I am still unclear if visiting the property to ensure things are ok would be ‘acceptable’ if challenged even though I’d not be mingling/mixing with anyone else.

[Alley_Cat]

Thanks, looks like a lot of fun, not come across that module before - might well be worth a dabble for the price when I have a bit more free time - suspect the kids would find it educational too if I could enthuse them to stop playing games!

[XMB]

If you are an Apple user then HomeKit compatible devices are a good option. The Eve Degree or Eve Room looks like it does what you want.

[Alley_Cat]

Thanks XMB, lots of interesting products since I last looked!