The following is the next installment of a series looking at at-home weather stations. You can find part 1 here.
Are you thinking of upgrading your weather station or going beyond the basics of a thermometer in the back yard and a rain gauge stuck in the ground? There’s nothing wrong with that approach. Those items are accurate and reliable.
The problem is with the user, and sorry if I sound a little harsh. With manual weather stations, you need to read everything either daily or multiple times a day and record it somewhere. With digital or online weather stations, this task is automated for you.
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When figuring out how to approach this article, I looked at price ranges and items that are easily available in our Canadian market. Before diving into these reviews, note that I work solely on the reviews of other users. That said, here is my list of weather stations according to budget.
Value ($20-$100)
This is the category where you find most of the Canadian Tire, Walmart or other big box store weather stations. One weather station seems to dominate, and that is La Crosse. There are several variations of La Crosse weather stations that all have a console and either an outdoor temperature sensor and/or rain gauge.
At this level you get a good, reliable indoor/outdoor temperature sensor and humidity, which allows the station to calculate dewpoint and humidex values.
The only thing missing at this price point is rainfall data. I have used several different La Crosse stations, either for camping or at the cottage. All of them have functioned beautifully with little effort. So, if this is all you want in weather station, just watch for the best sale.
Value plus ($100-$300)
In this category, you either get a very high-end simple weather station (old-fashioned with brass fittings, etc.) or you enter the realm of online weather stations. These collect data from your location and post or share it online for you or other users to access.
The first in this category is the La Crosse Technology C83100-INT WiFi Professional Weather Station. It does pretty much everything you want, and saves data to the La Crosse platform, which then allows users to access that data. It is unclear how accessible that data is to the end user, because I have not seen it personally, nor do I know someone that uses this interface. The nice thing about La Crosse is that their stations are quite reliable.
Next on the list is the AcuRite Iris HD weather station that also include lightning detection. This station costs about $250 and seems to cover the usual measurements. I am not familiar with this brand of station, but I know that most lightning detectors run in the $75 to $300 range, so I am a little concerned about a station that offers that plus all the usual sensors. According to information on this station, it does not appear to push or post data online, which for most of us is a drawback.
In the same price range, we have the La Crosse Technology C83100-INT WiFi Professional Weather Station. It has the expected sensors and also saves data online to the La Crosse platform, which allows users to access their data through any device connected to the internet. While I am not familiar with this particular station, I have had good results with La Crosse.
At the top end of this price point is the Ecowitt WS2320 Wi-Fi Weather Station. It provides all the usual measurements, including rainfall, but not lightning, and can push it to your computer or to the Ecowitt online platform for you to view with any device. Not too bad for under $300.
Advanced ($300+)
In this category, we move into the likes of Davis, Ambient and the higher up units from Ecowitt. I know there are other weather stations in the category, but I have to draw the line somewhere.
Ecowitt and Ambient weather stations are basically the same. The difference lies in the platform where data is collected and made available for you and other users to view it. Ambient systems come from the U.S. and have a high shipping fee, but I did a little digging and found that some are available through big box stores such as Walmart, which would allow to you avoid shipping costs.
The key stations in this category are:
Davis Vantage Pro 2: $1,400
Davis Vantage Vue: $610
Ambient Weather WS-5000: $750
Ambient Weather WS-2000: $600
Ambient Weather WS-2902: $300
Ecowitt HP2551: $325
Ecowitt HP 2553: $375
There are dozens of brands and weather stations on the market. I love the reliability of Davis stations, but they seem to be slowly pricing themselves out of the home market. If you do your research and compare different Ambient stations to the Ecowitt stations and then find the best deal, I think you will be happy. Look at the pictures and you will see they are basically the same.
It is getting easier to have your own weather station and have the data pushed online to access. Some applications need special equipment, such as remote weather stations, and these will cost more. For those who just want a station near the house, there are many options that are really good without breaking the bank.
