Weather Stations FAQ
Home weather stations have never been as powerful, user-friendly, and, best of all, as well-priced as they are right now! This is the ideal time for you to purchase one if you are interested in observing weather conditions. Understandably, you may have a lot of questions that need answering before you commit to anything. This FAQ is here to help.
1. What is a Home Weather Station?
This is obviously the first thing that newbies will want to know when they hear about the wonders of weather stations. Well, for your information, home weather stations are electronic products that use one or more sensors to collect and record data on certain weather conditions, like temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction, and air pressure. The data is then transferred, whether by cable or radio signal, to a digital display console inside your home, eliminating the need for you to go outside and collect the readings from the sensors yourself. The more sensors that a weather station incorporates, the more information it will present you, though the cost will rise as well.
2. A friend had a weather station and there were cables everywhere. Why would I want that?
Your friend must have been using a cable home weather station. Nowadays, many stations use radio signals with effective ranges of over 100m to transmit data from the sensors to the indoor console, so there is no need for those unsightly cables if you don’t want them. They cost a little more, but it is worth the convenience.
3. How difficult are they to set up?
Home weather stations are not difficult to install, but you do have to plan where you will place the sensors and receiver beforehand. It is very important that you make sure the sensors are in transmitting range of the receiver and that they are sited in an area that will allow them to collect accurate information. But the act of setting up the weather station is not difficult in itself, only requiring you to have some rudimentary ability with a drill or screwdriver.
4. How reliable are home weather stations, and what do they cost?
The reliability of home weather stations vary with their manufacturer (specialised manufacturers produce more reliable and advanced equipment) and their cost. Generally, the more you pay the more sophisticated equipment you will get. You could pay less than $50 for a very simple model that has only one sensor, but a high quality weather station will probably cost you more than $500. More specialised units, designed for commercial and agricultural use, can cost up to $3,000. Buying a cheaper model is not always a bad idea, however, as there are some particularly affordable makes and models these days that measure the full range of weather variables.
5. Will I just see raw weather data, or can I expect more?
This really depends on the model you get, but most likely you can expect to see way more than just raw data. Most home weather stations come with the ability to analyse data and display a variety of calculated functions, such as heat index, wind chill, dew point, and relative humidity. Most quality weather stations also have a basic forecasting ability.
You can set alarms on your station that alert you when certain extreme weather conditions are measured. And any model you buy can be expected to show the time, and many can even function as an alarm clock, waking you up at whatever time you want with information about the world outside.
6. Can I connect my weather station to my computer?
In these times, it would be impractical to design a weather station that is unable to interface with a computer. In fact, if you buy a quality weather station, chances are that it will include software that makes doing this very easy. And if not, a large amount of commercial weather software is available on the market and is compatible with most models.
7. What other uses could a home weather station have?
Home weather stations are useful in a wide variety of situations. Even limiting ourselves to the home, they can help you out in a lot of ways. For instance, you could gather information about the soil to aid you in planting a garden, or monitor the conditions in a room in your home that you want kept at a certain temperature (no one likes a hot wine cellar).
In addition, after purchasing a home weather station, you will be able to use the data you collect to help others. You could upload it to your own webpage or a local weather network for example both of which are relatively easy to do.
And finally, what could be a better reward than simply enjoying the world around you a little bit more? Observing the trends in weather conditions will enable you to understand weather reports and forecasts better than most. You will also begin to appreciate the weather itself more. You might find yourself take pleasure in watching the clouds roll across the sky, an act you found plain and boring before, but now holds new meaning. Because you will have knowledge of the variations in wind direction and air pressure that make them behave as they do that you did not have before.
All in all, home weather stations can be extremely beneficial. If you want one then, by all means, go and get yourself a model that fits your needs. And try not to be too astounded when you learn much more about the world than you ever expected to.