Best Smart Home Temperature Sensors for Home Assistant
Best Smart Home Temperature Sensors for Home Assistant
I test and compare 13 different types of temperature sensors for Home Assistant that I actually use in my smart home. I’ll cover the features, test results, and my final thoughts.
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Top Picks – Zigbee
SONOFF SNZB-02D LCD Smart Temperature Humidity Sensor
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3YsBEn7
ITEAD: Save 10% with code MICHAELSLESONOFF at https://go.michaelsleen.com/snzb-02d
SONOFF SNZB-02P Temperature and Humidity Sensor
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4895vEl
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Top Pick – Z-Wave
Zooz ZSE44 Temperature Humidity XS Sensor
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cTFLN6
The Smartest House: https://go.michaelsleen.com/zooz-zse44-sensor
Top Pick – Multipurpose
Aeotec SmartThings Multipurpose Sensor
Amazon: https://amzn.to/47BIIix
Rest of the Lineup
Aeotec SmartThings Multipurpose Sensor: https://amzn.to/47BIIix
Apollo Automation MSR-2: https://go.michaelsleen.com/msr-2
Apollo Automation MTR-1: https://go.michaelsleen.com/mtr-1
Apollo Automation AIR-1: https://go.michaelsleen.com/air-1
Everything Presence One: https://go.michaelsleen.com/ep-1
Honeywell Home T5 Smart Thermostat: https://amzn.to/3Sz4XBf
Philips Hue Indoor Motion Sensor: https://amzn.to/3QeeRXy
Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor: https://amzn.to/3Y9Glm6
SwitchBot Meter Pro: https://amzn.to/3XVIekD or Save 10% with code 10UPQIZHBUZ9W2 at https://go.michaelsleen.com/switchbot-meter-pro
Tempest Weather System: https://amzn.to/4aQezOM
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Video article: https://www.michaelsleen.com/temperature-sensor-comparison/
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Hi, I’m Michael Leen. I’m a tech product manager and a YouTube creator. I have worked in big tech and smart home, and am a lifelong tech enthusiast. I produce YouTube content showing how tech can make you more productive – saving you time and money, and making your home more comfortable and secure.
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📘 CHAPTERS
00:00 – Introduction
02:04 – Testing methodology
03:14 – Temperature sensor lineup
12:05 – Indoor test
13:14 – Freezer test
15:33 – Outdoor test
16:47 – Final thoughts
18:22 – Outtakes
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Anyone go to/been to DEF CON?
Err- that’s a lotta nice smart home features you got there sir.
👉 Let me know if any of these results surprised you, and what temperature sensors you prefer in Home Assistant, or how you use them in home automations. You can find links to my top picks plus exclusive discount codes in the video description.
Hope this doesn’t come across too negatively, but the reliance on uncalibrated/potentially-unreliable baseline measurements makes me question the validity and value of the results. I would like to have seen something like a Thermoworks RH Spot or Hygrobug used that are both fairly affordable and professionally calibrated rather than an off-the-shelf cooking thermometer, et al. That said, I do appreciate the feature set breakdown and pricepoint comparison, fascinating to see that sometimes the more expensive options seem to be outliers relative to the control, would just like to have a better established baseline to better to able to evaluate the results.
My critiques aside, thanks for all the great content you put out!
I’m using a bunch of Govee H5075. Working out of the box with HomeAssistant via BLE. You only need a BLE gateway or some Shelly Gen2 (+) stuff.
Watching from the part of the world were feel like temprature is above 102 F.
please clear throat!
I have a couple of the older Sonoff SNZB-02 sensors, but my preference are the Govee Bluetooth sensors H5075 or H5102. They also run on AA or AAA batteries. With a couple of ESP32 BT proxies around the house, the data is easily fed into HA.
Zooz has changed the operating temperature for ZSE44. It’s now 40 – 90 F. The lowest tempeature ZSE44 will report is 0 F. If the scale is set to Celsius, the lowest reported temperature is 0 C (32 F).
You forgot 433MHz wireless. It’s my favorite, for range, cost of sensors, and its ease in passing through barriers that attenuate the 900MHz and 2.4GHz signals you tested. I’m running LaCrosse brand outdoor sensors. Their range is fantastic and they’re US$15 every day at a local big box hardware store. And they’re specifically made to be outside.
I’d love to hear any input on govee temp/humidity sensors. They have a THREE pack for under $35. Too cheap to be good?
I was surprised that the Aqara temperature and humidity sensors weren’t on the list. Any reason why I should avoid them? I just bought a bunch on Amazon, but I think I’m still within the return window. Thanks for the great video.
Appreciate the video! Would have been 10/10 if you provided the celcius range next to the fahrenheit temperature
Nice tests. I’m in the market for a set of these; deciding between zwave or zigbee.
Why couldn’t you have included celsius conversions as well?
We are looking for a battery operated heat sensor that we can monitor the temperature in our pump room from our cottage to our home. We recently had a baseboard fail, freezing our system causing over 1k in damage. Can you please let us know which sensor would work best in this situation. We only need it to monitor the heat, thanks
Thanks for reviewing so many different sensors, that’s very helpful. I have a question about your terminology. For the two Sonoff sensors you say they have no "temperature offset" capability, but in the screen the Calibration text says "Yes". Is calibration different from offset? Also, for the Zooz sensor the screen says "Calibration: Yes" but you dont audibly say anything about adjusting the reading.
Thanks for the input. I purchased my first standalone temperature/Humidity sensor today to connect to my Home Assistant Green, it is a (TPLink) Tapco T310 (A$27) which is also a Matter device.
I bought 2 pack of Sonoff SNZB-02D sensors with an LCD display – I didn’t get as far as connecting the to Home Assistant because it was obvious that they were inaccurate, with them sat next to each other they both showed different temperatures and humidity readings (2C difference, 10% difference)! They belong in the bin – returned as not fit fo purpose
I’m really enjoying my Thirdreality basic sensors. Run off two AAA’s, and report temperature and humidity. I don’t really need visual indicators outside my HA dashboard. Thirdreality stuff in general tends to be good in my opinion – they all use AAA’s and not those annoying coin cells so I can use rechargeables and they just do what they do, over Zigbee.
good video, Michael! I wonder… you have all these data in HA, now how to set as input to the thermostat? climate.set_temperature is to set a TARGET; not the sensor temperature, so… what kind of automations do you do to change the input in your thermostat? as you said, each room has different temperature 😛