Temperature & Humidity Sensors

Discover the Best Temperature and Humidity Sensors for Your Smart Home.

Maintaining optimal temperature and humidity levels in your home is crucial for comfort and health. With these simple, smart sensors, you can effortlessly monitor and control these environmental factors to create a more balanced living space.

This Best Buy Guide reviews the best temperature and humidity sensors for your smart home. With Homey and a dedicated climate sensor, you can easily monitor the ambient conditions in every room of your home.

Choosing a Smart Temperature and Humidity Sensor

While there is little differentiation between dedicated climate sensors, a few factors can steer you towards one model over another. Here are some key considerations when making your pick.

Display

A built-in display can provide immediate, at-a-glance readings without checking your smartphone. Consider the importance of displaying ambient information on a screen, but be aware that sensors with a display typically have shorter battery life than those without.

Accuracy and Reliability

Ensure the sensor delivers precise and consistent measurements to maintain a comfortable and healthy indoor environment. Pay attention to the reading accuracy highlighted in our Best Buy Guide.

Connectivity Protocol

Opt for sensors using reliable and secure protocols like Zigbee or Z-Wave to ensure stable operation and prolonged battery life.

Battery Life and Type

Long battery life reduces the frequency of replacements and ensures the sensor remains operational without frequent maintenance. Consider the battery type and life of the device highlighted in our list.

Price

Even though temperature and humidity sensors are relatively affordable, consider your budget and find a sensor that offers the best balance of features and performance without going overboard.

Brand	Model	Protocol	Display	Battery Type	Battery Life	Price
Aeotec	aërQ Sensor	Z-Wave		1x CR2477	2 years	€34.95
Aqara	T1 Sensor	Zigbee		1x CR2032	2 years	€21.95
Frient	Humidity Sensor	Zigbee		2x AA	5 years	€33.95
Nous	E6 Sensor	Zigbee		2x AAA	1 year	€23.95
Shelly	Plus H&T	Wi-Fi		4x AA	1 year	€29.90
Sonoff	SNZB-02D	Zigbee		1x CR2450	2 years	€12.99
SwitchBot	Outdoor Meter	Bluetooth		2x AAA	2 years	€19.99
ThirdReality	T&H Sensor	Zigbee		2x AAA	1 year	€24.99
Xiaomi	LYWSD03MMC	Bluetooth		1x CR2032	1 year	€9.99
Zooz	ZSE44 Sensor	Z-Wave		1x CR2450	1 year	€27.95

The Aeotec aërQ is a smart temperature and humidity sensor that uses Z-Wave as a connectivity protocol. It’s compatible with Homey Bridge and Homey Pro, providing seamless integration and allowing you to monitor and manage your home environment efficiently.

In addition to measuring temperature and humidity, the aërQ also monitors dew point, a critical factor in preventing mold growth. Whenever the value passes a threshold, the mold alarm is triggered in Homey, and the user is notified.

The temperature is measured on a scale from -10° to 65°C with an accuracy of ±1°C. Humidity measurements range from 10 to 95% RH in a non-condensing environment.

The aërQ is very small and compact, measuring just 34.5 millimeters. It’s powered by a single CR2477 battery, lasting up to two years. The Aeotec aërQ is pricier than similar devices, which can be considered its main drawback.

The Aqara T1 is the latest enhancement of the company’s well-known temperature and humidity sensor. Like its predecessor, the T1 uses Zigbee 3.0 for communication, ensuring a secure and local connection with Homey Bridge or Homey Pro.

Beyond temperature and humidity, the T1 sensor measures atmospheric pressure, comprehensively understanding your home’s climate conditions. This capability helps predict weather changes, manage physical comfort for sensitive individuals, and enhance overall environmental control.

The T1 sensor provides precise temperature readings from -20° to 60°C with a margin of ±0.3°C and measures humidity levels from 0 to 100% RH with an accuracy of ±3%. Its compact size, just 36 millimeters in diameter, allows discreet placement in any room.

Powered by a single CR2032 battery with an average lifespan of up to two years, the Aqara T1 offers extended battery life due to Aqara’s efficient Zigbee implementation. However, it is worth noting that Aqara’s battery-powered devices can be selective about the Zigbee routers they communicate with, which can be a potential drawback.

If you’re a fan of Frient’s product line, the Frient Smart Humidity Sensor should be at the top of your list for indoor climate monitoring. This sensor measures humidity and temperature despite its name, providing comprehensive environmental data.

What sets the Frient Smart Humidity Sensor apart is its exceptional battery life. With the default reporting interval of 5 minutes, it can operate for up to five years on a set of good AA batteries.

The sensor offers accurate temperature readings from 0 to 50°C and humidity measurements from 0 to 100% RH, with a precision margin of ±0.5°C for temperature and ±3.5% for humidity. It also offers fine measurement resolutions of 0.1° and 1% RH, respectively.

However, it’s worth highlighting that the Frient Smart Humidity Sensor cannot measure sub-zero temperatures. Its larger size (70 x 70 x 21 millimeters) also makes it bulkier than other options on the market.

The Nous E6 Temperature and Humidity Sensor is an excellent choice for a climate sensor with a screen. This sensor features a 2.7” LCD screen that displays clear and bold readings, making them easily viewable from a distance. It operates using Zigbee 3.0, ensuring reliable connectivity with Homey Pro.

The LCD screen shows temperature and humidity, a digital clock, and a small comfort indicator. The contents are easily visible, even from a considerable distance, as the Nous E6 sensor measures 75 x 45 x 17 millimeters.

The Nous E6 measures temperatures from -20°C to 60°C and humidity levels from 0% to 100% RH, precisely monitoring various environmental conditions. It runs on two AAA batteries, offering a battery life of up to one year. It is practical but requires more frequent changes than other models.

The Nous E6 Temperature and Humidity Sensor’s biggest drawback is its refresh rate, which many users find too slow. The sensor updates its readings inconsistently, approximately every 30 minutes, which can be insufficient for those who need more frequent updates.

The Shelly Plus H&T is a high-quality climate sensor with a sleek, minimalistic design. Its e-ink screen displays clear, bold readings that are easily visible from different angles and distances without distortion.

In addition to temperature and humidity readings, the Shelly Plus H&T displays the current battery level, connectivity mode, and connection quality. This sensor connects to your home network via Wi-Fi and integrates seamlessly with Homey and Homey Pro.

Shelly Plus H&T can measure temperatures from -10°C to 50°C and humidity levels from 0% to 100% RH. The sensor reports temperature changes as small as 0.1°C and humidity changes of 1%, ensuring accurate and responsive adjustments to your home’s climate.

The Shelly Plus H&T can be powered through AA batteries or a USB-C cable, allowing more frequent data updates. If you decide to use the Shelly Plus H&T with batteries, note that it requires four AAs. This requirement is more than any other sensor on our list and only provides up to a year of battery life.

The Sonoff SNZB-02D is an affordable temperature and humidity sensor with a display. It utilizes Zigbee 3.0 for communication and integrates seamlessly with Homey Bridge and Homey Pro.

Once added to Homey, users can monitor temperature, humidity, and battery status. It measures temperatures from -9.9°C to 60°C and humidity levels from 5% to 95%. The Sonoff SNZB-02D is compact and highly power-efficient, boasting a two-year battery life on a single CR2450 battery.

The sensor can be mounted on a wall with the included sticker or propped on its extendable mounting stand. It also comes with a small magnet, which is useful for attaching the device to metal surfaces like fridges or shelves.

The 2.5” screen displays information neatly and efficiently, allowing you to view measurements from a distance. However, it’s worth noting that the screen has poor viewing angles and is best viewed directly from the front.

The SwitchBot Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-hygrometer is another affordable option for those seeking comprehensive climate monitoring. As the name implies, this sensor is suitable for indoor and outdoor use. It has an IP65 rating, resists dust and water, and operates safely even on rainy days.

The device measures temperatures from -20°C to 60°C and humidity levels from 0% to 100% RH. Additionally, it provides readings for absolute humidity, dew point, and vapor-pressure deficit (VPD).

Absolute humidity indicates the total amount of water vapor in the air, helping to understand the overall moisture content of your environment. The dew point is the temperature at which air becomes saturated with moisture and condensation begins, providing insight into the likelihood of dew or frost formation.

Vapor-pressure deficit (VPD) measures the difference between the amount of moisture in the air and the amount of moisture the air can hold when saturated. Monitoring VPD is beneficial for optimizing plant growth and preventing mold, as it affects transpiration rates and plant stress.

The SwitchBot Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-hygrometer uses two AAA batteries lasting up to two years. This sensor communicates via Bluetooth but requires a hub to integrate with Homey and Homey Pro.

The ThirdReality Temperature and Humidity Sensor features a high-definition LCD screen that displays temperature, humidity, and battery levels. The screen provides clear readings with quick refresh rates, updating every 20 seconds for accurate data.

The sensor measures temperatures from -10°C to 50°C and humidity levels from 0% to 95%. It offers a temperature accuracy of ±1°C and a humidity accuracy of ±2%. With measurement resolutions of 0.1°C and 1%, respectively, the ThirdReality sensor provides precise environmental monitoring.

This sensor integrates seamlessly over Zigbee with Homey Bridge and Homey Pro. ThirdReality devices are well-known for their proper Zigbee implementation, resulting in rock-solid connectivity. Once paired, you can use the readings to trigger Flows or create reporting notifications in Homey.

The main drawback of the ThirdReality Temperature and Humidity Sensor is the limited viewing angles of its LCD screen, as it is best viewed directly from the front.

Suppose you’re up for a DIY challenge. In that case, Xiaomi offers a widely used and well-known temperature and humidity sensor in its portfolio that you can integrate with Homey. This device is known as model LYWSD03MMC in the smart home community and uses Bluetooth as a communication method.

The challenge lies in flashing the Xiaomi thermometer with third-party firmware to integrate it with smart home platforms other than Xiaomi. It’s a very simple yet rewarding process. 

Using third-party firmware brings notable enhancements to battery life, customized display modes, and other small benefits. This transforms this compact thermometer into a very versatile indoor climate monitor. Out of the box, it measures temperatures from 0°C to 60°C and humidity levels from 0% to 99% RH. It uses a single CR2032 button cell for power and lasts up to one year.

The small LCD screen displays very basic info by default. However, you can customize it with third-party firmware to cycle through information automatically. Unfortunately, the firmware cannot help that the screen is unviewable beyond a couple of meters because of its size.

The Xiaomi LYWSD03MMC is available worldwide for prices below €10, making it a perfect choice for mass deployment in your smart home.

If you prefer using Z-Wave devices, the ZOOZ ZSE44 Temperature and Humidity Sensor is a great pick. It integrates seamlessly with Homey Bridge and Homey Pro and offers a secure and completely local connection to your smart home hub.

The sensor measures temperatures from -15°C to 40°C and humidity levels from 0% to 100% RH. It offers a temperature accuracy of ±0.2°C and a humidity accuracy of ±2%, with resolutions of 0.1°C and 1%, respectively. This fine-grain accuracy makes the ZOOZ ZSE44 very suitable for use as a sensor for a room thermostat.

The ZOOZ ZSE44 has a configurable reporting interval, ranging from 1 to 480 minutes. Increasing this interval can improve battery life significantly, as the device will spend most of its time sleeping. Out of the box, the ZSE44 can last for a full year on a single CR2450 coin cell battery.

With its small size of 59 x 33 x 5 millimeters, the ZOOZ ZSE44 temperature sensor is an excellent choice for concealed installation. Since it does not have a screen, it’s essentially a set-and-forget setup.

Many users have reported that the sensor’s battery quickly drops from 100% to very low levels. This is a drawback, as it makes the battery life indicator unreliable.