Netatmo Urban Weather Station. The first useful weather station

The market for weather stations has existed for a long time, they were still at the end of the 90s, but recently the interest in them has noticeably decreased. This is partly due to the mass distribution of smartphones, another reason is the redundancy of weather station functions for many consumers. Therefore, in their gadget Netatmo tried to add a few features that make the device more interesting for the modern audience.



The French company Netatmo was founded in 2011 and has already managed to become popular among those interested in the concept of "smart home". Netatmo gadgets ( weather station , thermostat , smart camera for the home) have received various awards at CES many times over the years. Today we decided to tell you about their weather station, as it compares favorably with most products of other companies.

When talking about meteorological stations, a big clock immediately comes to my head, showing not only time, but also a weather forecast at home or on the street. And whatever the manufacturers of these gadgets say, users buy them not so much to measure the weather, but rather as a desk clock with cool additional functionality. The weather station from Netatmo is not focused on these users, but rather on weather geeks who want to have the most detailed information about temperature, pressure, humidity, CO2 level and be able to compare these data for different periods of time - apparently, this is why there is no separate display with a clock. . On the other hand, sometimes devices for geeks are not so easy for an ordinary user: they do not always have a user-friendly interface, so a simple consumer usually bypasses them. In the case of the Netatmo Weather Station, this does not happen, since the gadget is simple to set up and looks great at the same time, you immediately pay attention to it on the store shelves.
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The weather station is delivered in a big beautiful box, you can not pack it in separate gift paper. The first thing you immediately notice when meeting a station is its modern appearance. The futuristic design of the gadget is somewhat reminiscent of the Apple technique, it seems that the case is in a cylindrical aluminum case, which is very similar in style to the devices of the apple company. At the same time, the appearance of the weather station is universal, it will look great in its own modern apartment and in an old rental housing without repair.



The first setup of the station is carried out using a special application from Netatmo, which is available on Android , iOS or Windows Phone . To pair, you need to connect (via Bluetooth) the gadget to your laptop, smartphone or iPad, and then continue the configuration in the application. The program offers quite detailed step-by-step instructions, which also includes connecting the device to Wi-Fi. During setup, the main module glows in different colors, although it is not immediately clear that something can glow at all in it.

After completing the setup, you will need to hang the external module (the smaller of the two cylinders) outside. The manufacturer has already included a set of screws and special velcro for mounting the module outside the window.







In Netatmo remind you that you should not leave the device in direct sunlight or rain and offer to protect it with a separate visor. Before installing, do not forget to insert two AAA batteries, which are also included. Do not worry about autonomy - the manufacturer promises up to six months of battery life of the sensor from one set of batteries.


The main module is powered from the network, it comes with a USB cable and a USB adapter with several plugs.





In the photographs, both the main and additional modules look quite large, in fact they are much more compact, since their height is only 155 and 105 mm, respectively.

Measurements of all indications by default are made every five minutes in order to forcefully update the information by simply double-tapping the upper part of the main module housing.



In addition to temperature, the station allows you to measure the level of CO2 in the room, the level of noise and pressure. And the external module measures the quality and humidity of the air, as well as the perceived temperature (it is just affected by humidity).

In the main cylinder there is an LED indicator, it lights up red when the CO2 level becomes high, yellow, if the air quality can be improved and changes its color to green after the CO2 value returns to normal. This is a simple and convenient reminder that the time has come to air the room or, on the contrary, close the window.



An interesting scenario of using the noise measurement sensor: assessment of noisy neighbors and a clear demonstration to them that the norms regulated by the law were exceeded.

In addition to the current temperature, the weather station can predict the forecast for the next day, and it does it quite accurately. Available and the traditional forecast for the week, but from third-party suppliers.

Having a separate application for all popular platforms (and even a web-interface) allows you to monitor the temperature at home and on the street, even remotely. So it suggests the integration of the gadget with some smart air conditioner or air humidifier, which will automatically turn on when the peak values ​​of one or another indicator are reached.

Fans of statistics will like the graphics from Netatmo, which demonstrate visual information on any parameter: whether it is air temperature, humidity level or CO2 value. As we have already written, in automatic mode, the weather station makes data measurements every five minutes, as a result you get a very detailed schedule, which you can read at any time to check when the CO2 level began to deteriorate or the neighbors began to make noise. Having accumulated data for a certain time, you can better understand which days you should ventilate the room more often, and when there are no problems with it.

The system can be scaled - optionally, you can purchase indoor modules for other rooms, or even additional measuring components: a module for measuring wind speed and rainfall (rain), which can be useful for those who carefully monitor their beds and plants :)

You can use your Netatmo module in the global map so that any user can find out the actual data in a particular point of the planet (where the sensor is installed). You, accordingly, will be able to do the same.

For those who want to check out the web version of the application, there is a separate demo page that clearly shows all the graphics from Netatmo. There is a separate demo area in the application, which is available without registration.

Although the station was first introduced at CES 2013, the manufacturer was not too lazy to work on its application, for example, the current version for iOS looks great even on the latest iPhone displays, although not all developers are doing this optimization.

Applications from Netatmo support various notifications that can be customized to your taste. For example, for someone it will be relevant to report a critically high level of CO2, someone else would prefer to know about insufficient humidity in the apartment, and for some it will be important information about the temperature or pressure rising to a certain limit. The beauty of the station is that the setting of notification conditions lies with the user, so the company does not limit the consumer to several hard-coded presets.

At retail, the Netatmo Urban Weather Station kit sells for 13,990 rubles - of course, this cost may scare some customers, but it is important to understand that this is not an ordinary remote thermometer, but a beautiful accessory with a separate functional application, collecting statistics on all parameters from temperature to CO2 values. and remote control of this data.

Speaking of environmental monitoring devices, we cannot fail to mention the Lapka sensor package , which we reviewed in our blog last year.



Thanks for attention!