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c/homeassistant · by ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 357d

Zigbee Temp + Humidity Sensors

Hi all,

I'm looking for zigbee temp and humidity sensors that work with HA, are pretty accurate and either are mains powered or have use a battery that can be recharged e.g. AA or AAA.

I like the Sonoff SNZB-02D, but they use disposable coin cell batteries.

One I found that looks like it might fulfill these criteria is

https://3reality.com/product/temperature-and-humidity-sensor-with-digital-lcd-display/

But they're kinda spendy. Anyone have any recommendations?

36 points · 32 comments · view on lemmy.world

32 Comments

IanTwenty@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 357d (3 replies)

I have these:

https://zigbee.blakadder.com/Tuya_WSD500A.html

...use 2xaaa batteries. Accurate and reliable, got a bunch around the place.

cnovel@jlai.lu · 2 pts · 357d

I second this, I have three at home, they work well.

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 357d

Thanks for the recommendation!

odious@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 357d

+1 from me as well, i have a lot of them and use them with 1.2v nimh cells, they work well

yaroto98@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 357d (3 replies)

You can buy rechargable coin batteries.

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d (2 replies)

Couldn't find any 3V cr2450 rechargeable, do you have any idea if they exist?

yaroto98@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d (1 reply)

https://a.co/d/2Il1Ors

looks like these are the rechargable version.

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 357d

Oh I'll check them out, thanks

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 357d (4 replies)

If the screen isn't important, Third Reality makes a slightly cheaper version with no screen that also takes AAA - conveniently on sale now

https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B0D2NVJTS3

I have a mix of those and an old version of these Govee Bluetooth sensors that are also fully offline, take AA batteries, and pair well with HA

https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07Y36FWTT

Not strictly ZigBee, but cheaper, just as accurate as the 3R, and fully offline

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d (3 replies)

Awesome thanks for the suggestions :)

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 357d (2 replies)

Of course! From an end-user the experience between Bluetooth and ZigBee sensors is basically indistinguishable, except for range.

I have a detached garage, on the opposite end of my property from my HA controller, so the Bluetooth sensor out there specifically was a little flaky. The BT sensor is rated for ~160 ft but realistically it's 50-100 ft if your home has walls.

Swapping that one sensor to ZigBee so it could tie into my mesh network solved the problem. All other BT sensors have had zero issues, and their AA batteries unsurprisingly last longer than the 3R ZigBee AAAs, but both last at least 6mo.

Some Shelly devices can be used as "Bluetooth repeaters" but I'm unsure of the specifics of how that works.

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 356d (1 reply)

Good to know, thank you. I think the only thing I worry about with BT is vulnerabilities. Not sure if ZigBee is any more secure but I've heard of a lot of BT vulns in the past. Probably doesn't matter for a temp sensor, so probably just important for the dongle/driver being used with HA.

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 356d

Fair point! As far as I can tell, the temp sensors are just beacons - anyone can connect and see that somewhere in your house it's 72 °F, but who cares ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you're running on a Raspberry Pi, you can just use the onboard BT, whose drivers are updated regularly.

ZigBee ones get occasional updates automatically detected through HA, and have to be moved to somewhere near the controller to update. I assume, as temperature and humidity sensing hasn't changed, that these are security patches.

BT ones get no updates, which either means their security goes unpatched, or it really doesn't matter when all they do is shout out measurements into the void.

blargbluuk@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 357d (1 reply)

I have one of the 3rd reality ones and it's been good, only had it get stuck one time in a year and I think it was just a low battery thing. It indeed does use a AAA battery, but the sensor is expensive for what it is unfortunately.

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 357d

Good to know, thanks :) yeah it does seem a bit spendy.

abeorch@friendica.ginestes.es · 2 pts · 357d (1 reply)

@ueiqkkwhuwjw Be looking on #aliexpress much cheaper and basically the same thing without the retailer markup

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d

Good to know, thank you :)

paf@jlai.lu · 2 pts · 357d

Hi, If the one you link is good enough for you in term of accuracy, you can pick nearly everything you find at Aliexpress. Since you will be using rechargeable batteries, might be best to pick one without screen.

mhzawadi@lemmy.horwood.cloud · 2 pts · 357d (1 reply)

would this be of use?

https://shellystore.co.uk/product/shelly-ht-gen3-matte-black/

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 357d

Unfortunately not ZigBee, but still an interesting alternative. Thanks!

abeorch@friendica.ginestes.es · 2 pts · 357d

@ueiqkkwhuwjw I have had a few - Nice to have the display - good battery life (I use rechargable AAA from IKEA) - My HA / MQTT system hasn't been runnnig properly as I'm trying to get #Zigbee2MQTT running inside #yunohost - and life has been a series of disruptions.

rando@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 357d (1 reply)

If you are OK exploring espHome then have a look at "Apollo Automation" devices. https://apolloautomation.com/products/temp-1

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d

Cool alternative, thanks!

tofu@lemmy.nocturnal.garden · 2 pts · 357d (3 replies)

I got these: https://www.pearl.de/a-ZX7311-3110.shtml;jsessionid=nAF84CDBD95715305C44924424332C488?vid=953&curr=DEM

Not sure how precise they really are but they connected easily. Have them running for 34 months now, they run for months on rechargable AAA (I got high quality ones, Varta I think)

ueiqkkwhuwjw@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 357d

Cool :) bonus points for the pearl.de link, thanks.

Tja@programming.dev · 1 pts · 356d (1 reply)

Isn't this the same tuya linked for 5 usd elsewhere in the thread?

tofu@lemmy.nocturnal.garden · 2 pts · 356d

Seems like they have the same chip. I didn't buy for the price in the store, it seems to change frequently

feitingen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 312d

I have a few of these: https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/devices/TH02Z.html#tuya-th02z

They're fine with rechargeable aaa batteries.

I put one outside, slightly under the roof, and after about a year it got damaged somehow. It's showing significantly off temperature and humidity, even after being inside for months after that.

So maybe not good for outside weather.

KryptonNerd@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 357d

I like the sonoff sensors

thehatfox@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d (1 reply)

I think the options either that combination are limited. IKEA Zigbee devices use removable batteries, but they don’t have a temperature sensor. They do have a USB air quality sensor but it’s a bit more complex/expensive.

There are some good WiFi, Bluetooth or RF options with removable batteries but they won’t be Zigbee.

I’ve heard of some people modifying the coin cell devices to used a wired power supply, maybe that would be an option.

abeorch@friendica.ginestes.es · 2 pts · 357d

@thehatfox @ueiqkkwhuwjw Aliexpress has plenty of ones with a screen (its a low power LCD screen like a casio watch) that uses AAA batteries. - It has a backlight that you can put on to read it in the dark.

lemming741@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 357d

Wifi instead of z whatever

https://www.shelly.com/products/shelly-h-t-gen3-matte-black

Shelly's integration works well, and mqtt is available. I use the. Plugged in and the update rate is awesome.