A home weather station is a compact and accessible system designed for personal weather monitoring at homes, garages, workshops, etc. These stations offer a cost-effective way for individuals to keep tabs on local weather conditions, making them ideal for gardening, outdoor planning, and general weather tracking. Home weather stations typically consist of several key components, including weather sensors, a display console, and some even have ability to alarm users (usually through a smartphone).
The weather sensors are at the heart of the system, measuring basic weather parameters such as temperature, humidity, etc. Some advanced models may include sensors for barometric pressure, wind speed, rainfall and solar radiation. The console often features a user-friendly display screen and may offer additional functionality like data logging and weather alerts. One of the key advantages of home weather stations is their ability to provide historical weather data, helping users track weather patterns and trends over time. Some models even offer internet connectivity, enabling users to share their weather data online or integrate it with other smart home devices.
We recently came across one such interesting Thermo Hygrometers known as the INKBIRD IBS-TH5-WIFI 8-in-1 Wi-Fi Thermometer Hygrometer Home Weather Station. It has an integrated display unit along with smartphone app connectivity and even Alexa support. As it has Wi-Fi connectivity, you can get real-time weather updates, comfort levels, and many more.
This is the review of the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer Hygrometer Home Weather Station. We are writing this review after setting up and using the device in our home for more than 2-weeks. In this review, we will look at our experiences regarding the ease of use, features of the device, smartphone app functionality, etc. Continue reading the review if you are interested in purchasing the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer Hygrometer for your home, baby room, garage, or wine cellar.
Let us kickoff this review by taking a look at the contents of the package of the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer. First, we have the main unit itself i.e., the INKBIRD IBS-TH5-WIFIThermometer Hygrometer. It is a compact little unit with a nice white finish. We will take a closer look at the device and its design in the next section.
Continuing further, there is a tiny box in the package that contains the USB Cable for charging the device. It is a regular USB-A to USB-C cable. Next, we have a tiny user manual. There is also a card with QR Code on it. If you scan the code, it will take you to the official downloads website of INKBIRD.
The design of the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer is very minimalistic. It is a tiny box with a 3.71” (diagonal) display on the front. The interesting thing about this display is it isn’t an LCD display but an Electronic Ink or E-Ink Display. What’s so special about this display? E-ink displays only consume power when the image on the screen changes. Once an image is displayed, it can remain on the screen without consuming any additional power. This makes E-ink displays ideal for devices that require long battery life, such as e-readers and in this case a home weather station. The contrast and viewing angles of an e-ink display are also very good.
If you turn your attention to the back of the device, there is an on/off slide switch and a push button that toggles between Degree Celsius mode and Degree Fahrenheit mode. With the display facing you, there is an USB-C Port on the left of the device to charge it.
There is a multi-function button on the top of the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer (we will see about this later) and an opening for the sensor on the right to collect data from the surroundings.
Setting up the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer is very simple. Slide the on/off button on the back to on position and the device comes to life. It shows the current temperature and humidity immediately. But as we haven’t connected the device to Wi-Fi, you cannot use the “smart” features of the device just yet. So, the first step is to connect the device to Wi-Fi and for that you need to download the official INKBIRD app, which is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Go to your device’s app store (Google Play Store for Android or Apple App Store for iOS).Search for “INKBIRD” in the app store’s search bar. Download and install the INKBIRD app to your device. After installing the app, open it to start the configuration process. In the INKBIRD app interface, you’ll find a “+” icon, typically situated in the upper right corner. Click on this icon to initiate the setup of a new device. From the list of available devices, select “IBS-TH5-Wi-Fi” to specify your device type.
The next steps involve configuring the device to connect to your Wi-Fi network. You’ll be prompted to select the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, as this device is not compatible with 5GHz networks, and you may also be asked to enable Bluetooth for the initial setup process. Follow the on-screen instructions provided by the app to ensure a successful connection. Once the connection is successful, you should be able to monitor and control your “IBS-TH5-Wi-Fi” device through the INKBIRD app. Once the setup is complete and your “IBS-TH5-Wi-Fi” device is connected, you’ll be able to conveniently monitor and control it through the INKBIRD app.
The INKBIRD IBS-TH5-Wi-Fi Thermometer Hygrometer is a versatile and comprehensive environmental monitoring device designed to meet a variety of needs. It offers an array of features to ensure you stay informed about your indoor environment. The device provides real-time monitoring of temperature and humidity, allowing you to continuously track your indoor conditions. It also offers weather forecasts, helping you plan your day effectively based on the expected weather. To keep you well-informed, it also displays the time and date.
We already spoke a little bit about the display on this device. It boasts a large 3.71-inch electronic ink display with high contrast, making it easy to read even from a distance. The wide viewing angle ensures that you can see the display clearly from various positions in the room, and its design is easy on the eyes, allowing for prolonged use without discomfort.
After connecting the device to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, you can enable real-time data monitoring from anywhere. It also provides the convenience of free data storage and the ability to export up to 2 years of historical data, ensuring you can access and analyze past environmental information.
Equipped with a Swiss-made Sensirion sensor, known for its precision, the IBS-TH5-Wi-Fi offers quick data refresh, updating information every 2 seconds. Its accuracy is impressive, with temperature accuracy at ±0.36 °F/±0.2°C and humidity accuracy at ±1.8%RH.
INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer’s long battery life is particularly noteworthy, thanks to a built-in 2000mAh rechargeable battery that can power the device for up to 12 months on a single charge but only if you set the recording interval of 60 minutes. This extended battery life not only enhances its environmental-friendliness but also ensures your convenience but at the cost of slow data updates.
In addition to these features, the IBS-TH5-Wi-Fi provides a comfort level indicator that ensures your environment remains comfortable and pleasant. If the humidity is less than 30%, it will indicate it as “Dry”. For the comfort level to be, well, “Comfort”, the humidity must be in the range of 30% < Humidity < 60% and the temperature must be in the range of 68°F < Temperature < 78.8°F. If the humidity is more than 60%, then it indicates “Wet” on the display.
Beyond its standard monitoring features, the IBS-TH5-Wi-Fi also provides an environmental assessment for colds. It evaluates the flu risk using a precise algorithm considering temperature, humidity, and air pressure. The flu risk is categorized into three levels: Safe Level, Moderate Risk, and High Risk, providing you with valuable health insights and guiding you in taking appropriate measures to maintain a healthy and safe indoor environment.
After setting up the device and connecting it to the Wi-Fi, we fixed the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer to the wall in a room where we have some plants. We got the temperature and humidity data right away. As we connected to Wi-Fi, we also get weather forecast for the next day. For this, we need to short press the button on the top. It will display the local weather for 5 seconds, just beside the date and time. It will also display “TMR” on the top to indicate that it is next day’s weather.
We can turn on or reset the device’s Wi-Fi by long pressing the top button (for about 5 seconds).
While the display on the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer is good, we can get more information from the smartphone app. Setting up the app is very simple. It shows temperature, humidity, and many more and the interesting thing is it can log the data if you are interested in tracking the data over a period. You can set alarms in the app where the device beeps and sends app notifications if the current temperature or humidity goes beyond set limits.
By default, the device synchronizes with the app every 10 minutes. But this consumes a lot of battery. In fact, if you leave it to the default, you can expect only about 2 months of battery life (realistically, it will be even less). Thankfully, the app gives you control on the synchronization period. You can choose between the default 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes.
With 30 minutes data synchronization, you can expect around 8 months of battery while with 60 minutes, the battery can last up to 12 months.
You can disable the INKBIRD’s Alarm buzzer by long pressing the °C/°F button on the back for about 3 seconds.
You can instantly synchronize the data from the device to the app by pressing the top button. While the real-time temperature and humidity data and some basic weather prediction are good, there isn’t much regarding the prediction other than whether it is sunny or thunderstorms. As this has built-in Wi-Fi, you don’t have to worry about any gateway. Also, you can use the INKBIRD Wi-Fi Thermometer with Alexa, by calling it TH5.
The INKBIRD IBS-TH5-WlFl Thermometer Hygrometer Home Weather Station is available for $59.99. But with coupons and discounts, you can get the device for even less. INKBIRD also backs this device with a 1-year warranty.
Overall, we liked the INKBIRD IBS-TH5-WlFl Thermometer Hygrometer Home Weather Station for what it is. It offers a smart way to monitor temperature and humidity of a room or closed space with the help of a smartphone app. This is very useful for niche applications such as indoor plant nurseries and wine cellars where monitoring and maintaining a particular humidity and temperature is critical.
The e-ink display is good with crips text. But the smartphone app is the ideal way to use the device. It allows you to remotely monitor environment data. Speaking of environment data, using some magic algorithm, the INKBIRD IBS-TH5-WlFl Thermometer informs the level of comfort and also evaluates the risk of flu.
If you are looking for a Wi-Fi based smart home weather station that can provide real-time information on temperature and humidity, the INKBIRD IBS-TH5-WlFl Thermometer Hygrometer is a worthy contender.
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