We can’t always rely on the weatherman on TV or weather apps to keep us up to date with the ever-changing elements of weather because sometimes the report stations are miles away from your exact location, as the reports are not accurate enough. If you want to know more than a smartphone app can offer, it is worth investing in a home weather station so you can keep on top of the brewing storms no matter what time of day it is. Whether you just want to know your exact locations temperature, humidity or wind speed, you’re an avid meteorologist or just a nerd in your basement, we are here to guide you through 8 of the best home weather stations around.
Top Picks Summary
- Best all-rounder: Ambient Weather WS 2902
- Most extravagant: Davis Instruments 6153 Vantage Pro2
- Most accurate: Logia LOWSC510WB
- Best money-saver: La Crosse Technology C85845V3
- Top for farmers: Davis Instruments Vantage Vue 6250
- Nicest design: Netatmo Weather Station
- Best 3 in 1: AcuRite 00589 Pro Color
- Top 5 in 1: AcuRite 01528
When you live in the rural areas and you have a nifty little self-sufficient farm with barely any communication to the outside world, it’s a good plan to have a heads up on the weather. If you’re a farmer, it could be the difference between losing money and saving your crops. Alternatively, having a warning will help you secure your belongings, which could easily be damaged in the event of spontaneous hurricanes. With this in mind - let’s get stuck into the list.
Best all-rounder: Ambient Weather WS 2902
This weather station costs between $170 and $180.
Pros
- Comes with Wi-Fi capabilities.
- Amazing value for money.
- A great number of features are included.
Cons
- Structural integrity issues.
- The initial setup is confusing.
This impressive home weather station comes with an admirable ten sensors and arrives in a neat small package. You get wind direction, wind speed, temperature, humidity, UV levels, rainfall, solar radiation. Add this onto the indoor barometer, temperature, and humidity and you’ve got an impressive bit of kit. However, all of this information is packed neatly onto a single LCD screen, making it hard to read.
Despite the slight drawback with the screen, you can overcome this with the casting abilities made possible through Wi-Fi connectivity. So, you can view the information from any supported device including your smartphone. Further, up can hook your new station up to assistants like Alexa, which will give you more tailored weather reports.
As weather stations go, this product is top-notch for value and features. The screen and the device integrity are small prices to pay.
Key Features - Wind Detection, Rainfall Measure, LCD Display, Barometer.
The best for flashing the cash: Davis Instruments 6153 Vantage Pro2
If you’re willing to open your wallet up, you can get this for a staggering $754.
Pros
- Heavy-duty design.
- Impressive 1000 ft radius transmission range.
- Support for the extendable sensor.
Cons
- You need to subscribe for remote readings - on top of the steep price.
- High cost.
- Confusing display.
For those of you chasing storms in your yellow raincoats and hoping for the day you get caught up in a tornado, this one is for you. This device will give you end of the world guarantees, with the sensors designed to brace for extreme conditions. Whether it’s insanely warm, freakishly cold, or it’s caught up in insane 200mph winds, this device can take it all. Maybe Dorothy would have done better if she was equipped with this bad boy.
For the price, you’d think that the internal display did a little sing and dance. However, it’s the same outdated display as the Vantage Vue model, evaluated above. Further, despite already shelling out a fortune, you have to subscribe just for the pleasure of taking the readings remotely. For what reason, we do not know.
Key Features: Wind Metrics, Barometer, Rain Measurements, Humidity Levels, LCD Display.
Most accurate: Logia LOWSC510WB
If accuracy is your middle name, then this weather station can be yours for $120 - $140.
Pros
- Straightforward installation.
- Vibrant screen.
- Spot on measurements.
Cons
- Complex instructions.
This 5 in 1 beauty is the most accurate addition to the list and doesn’t come at a bad price for the power it punches. Once you’ve waded through the setup instructions, you get a 450 radius zone between the base and the LCD screen. From the safety of your own home, you can benefit from updates every 12 seconds for wind speed/direction and at 24-second intervals for rainfall, humidity, and temperature. Further, this snazzy bit of tech can zap your data to the cloud through Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning you can pull up the metrics on your smart devices. Bear in mind that it can be rather difficult to get connected to the Wi-Fi - but it’s only a small issue. That being said, the LCD is the brightest of the bunch and is extremely easy to read.
Key Features: Full Wind Measurements, Barometer, Rainfall, Humidity, LCD Display.
Best money-saver: La Crosse Technology C85845V3
This nifty device will only set you back around $44 - steals.
Pros
- Absolute bargain piece.
- Smooth installation process.
Cons
- Only basic metrics are available - but it comes with a low cost to compensate.
If you’re not that nerdy and you don’t care about your barometer readings and other fancy readings, this is the perfect option for you. However, it will tell you your indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, and will come with some jazzy weather icons. Setting up your station couldn’t be easier; all you need to do is place the weather station outside within 300 ft of the outdoor sensors. Then just hook up the LCD screen - ideally set up inside - with AA batteries to power.
Once you fire the LCD, it will automatically detect your time zone and will zip forwards and backward according to daylight savings. Although simple, this device offers greater clarity than your basic thermometer. You can wall-mount the display or stand it up. Further, you can set alarms to keep track of your day. This weather station is a budget favorite because of its ease of setup, simple functionality, and its ability to help plan your day.
Key Features: Humidity Levels, LCD Display.
Top for farmers: Davis Instruments Vantage Vue 6250
This farmer-centric weather station can be yours for the cost of $290-$304 - a worthy price to keep those crops safe.
Pros
- Amazing transmitting range.
- Impressive accuracy levels.
- Robust design.
Cons
- Rather outdated display - looks a bit like a calculator.
- No internet integration.
- Fairly pricey in comparison to other models.
With this device, you are compensated for the high price by incredible accuracy that will offer real-time weather tracking. As you guessed, the weather station goes outside and it talks wirelessly to the basic LCD screed inside. The only minimal gripe, however, is that the screen looks like it would make a great addition to a vintage store.
Despite the dated look, this tech comes packed with a transmission speed of just a couple of seconds. For a home weather station, this is the closest you’re going to get to real-time weather without stepping outdoors. Unfortunately, as you might have guessed given the dated approach, you can’t connect to the internet in its off-the-shelf state. However, you can buy some extra gizmos and gadgets to get yourself up and running.
Key Features: Barometer, Wind Metrics, Humidity Levels, Rain Measurements.
Nicest design: Netatmo Weather Station
This slick home weather station wins the slot for the best design, and it could all be yours for between $140 and $155.
Pros
- Brilliant software integration.
- Fabulous design.
- Expandable range.
- High accuracy level.
Cons
- Fairly pricey for its capabilities.
- The refresh rate is laggy.
- No LCD included - relies on a smartphone app.
- Weather instruments are limited.
If you need a weather station that doesn’t look the part, this is the one for you. This tech comes with two modern stations, one for in and one for out. The accuracy is pretty good and will record barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity. Further, you will be able to record CO2 levels inside your home. Additionally, you can buy rain measurement devices as extras.
The primary downside where this home weather station is concerned is there’s no display included, which means you can’t just glance at the recordings. Instead, you need to take out your mobile and fire up the app, which can be sluggish at times. However, if you’re looking for something futuristic then this isn’t a bad buy at all.
Key Features: Barometer, Humidity.
Top 3-in-1 Station: AcuRite 00589 Pro Color
To get your hands on this gear, you’re looking at spending $89 to $151 depending on the seller.
Pros
- Smooth wireless installation.
- Great value for money.
Cons
- Could include more metrics for the price.
- Visual angles aren’t that great.
This entry-level station is perfect for people needing that extra bit of weather insights. Set up is easy, all you have to do is mount the sensors and the base, leaving you ready to know the weather. The color LCD screen provides a barometer reading, temperature metrics, and wind speed - which is not bad going for the price. The only snags are that the barometer and humidity metrics can be a tiny bit off. However, the data was out by the same amount every time - and who cares about a couple of degrees. Despite the slight inaccuracies, this option is a fantastic entry-level home weather station and is perfect for a budding meteorologist.
Key Features: Humidity Metrics, Windspeed, Barometer, LCD Display.
Top 5 in 1: AcuRite 01528
This excellent piece of tech can be bagged for $120-$145.
Pros
- Simple construction.
- Displays weather 12-24 hours in advance.
- 100% accuracy.
Cons
- Faces occasional connectivity issues.
If an impressive 5-in-1 sounds up your street, this is the home weather station for you. Included, you get two wireless devices and plenty of sensors to dot around within 330 meters of the station. In terms of metrics, your indoor/outdoor temperatures are measured, as well as the wind direction, wind spread, rainfall, and humidity. Armed with all of that power, you’ll never be caught in the rain again, especially with its 24-hour forecasting abilities.
The LCD screen comes in color so you can easily spot important information, and the writing is black to make it stand out. This means that you don’t have to get up close with your magnifying glass to analyze the data.
For a fair review, we must mention that the censors can be prone to giving up within a couple of years. However, for the money, this is a worthwhile investment.
Key Features: Rainfall, Wind Speed, Humidity Levels, LCD Display.
And the Master Home Weather Station is…
As you may have guessed, our favorite home weather station is the Ambient Weather WS 2902. For a commendable price, this gear comes with the full package of sensors and is easy to read. Further, it can speak with Alexa and Google’s assistant - it can’t get better than this.
However, if you’re heavy into the weather and need something that treats you like a pro, you should go for the 6153 Vantage Pro. The gear is robust and it will give your spot on metrics for its entire life.
FAQ
Do You Need a Wi-fi Connection?
The only reason you need Wi-Fi is if you want remote readings from the station. However, it isn’t mandatory because the majority of options include an LCD screen that will sync up with the station without the need for Wi-Fi connectivity.
Why Do You Need A Home Weather Station?
Not everyone will need a weather station. Generally speaking, if you live in rural areas or those prone to adverse weather like tornados and brutal storms, it’s a good idea to have one. The idea is that when a storm is on the way you get that bit of extra time to enact protective measures. Further, if you’re a hardcore gardener and you like to protect your yard, you may consider investing in the home weather station. Alternatively, some people just enjoy the weather and gain pleasure from knowing what’s going on in the sky.
How Difficult is Installation?
Installation difficulty varies from device to device. For the most part, installation is as simple as putting the station out and hanging up the LCD screen. However, the Davis 6153 instrument is fairly complex because it has a lot of parts to assemble. However, this is the sacrifice you make for having more metrics for your bucks.
What You Want From A Home Weather Station
Great Connectivity
As a basic inclusion, your external home weather station will connect to the LCD screen in your house. However, more advanced devices will integrate with your network and provide metrics to your smart devices. Further, you can buy stations that will communicate directly with home assistants like Google and Alexa.
Impressive Durability
One of the most significant things you need to look out for is its durability. After all, your device needs to weather the storm, so to speak. Depending on your area, you should ensure that your chosen home weather station can cope with adverse conditions like thunderstorms and snowstorms. As an added peace of mind, you should try and find a device with an extensive warranty in the event of failures.
Superb Transmitting Distance
How you choose to position your station is integral to the degree of accuracy you will get. As a general rule, you need to place the sensors in a circle of roughly 200-300 meters from your station. Further, you should read the manufacturing instructions and remember that some of the sensors won’t be able to handle intense sunlight.
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