Roadtrekking in our 210P via Lily Pads

This is our Trek in our Roadtrek 210P. Hint: Scroll to a list of "Topics and Destinations" on the right. Our RT is a portal to a much larger world and we have established "lily pads" from which we travel and we'll post about those, too. Life is a Journey of discovery in our Motorized Alpaca, a "tiny cabins on wheels". It has been said that "Life Begins at the end of our Comfort Zone." Content and photos are original unless noted. Click photos to enlarge. Copyright and disclaimers apply.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Remote Temperature and Humidity Monitoring

I've been experimenting with a remote internet based temperature and humidity monitoring system. This is currently in a remote 'home' about 1,800 miles from where we are. I may also use it to monitor the Roadtrek when it is "stored"via a Verizon jetpack.

I'll post more info including manufacturer's data after I'm satisfied with the performance and reliability. After a month, looks good so far.

The system consists of battery powered sensors with wi-fi connectivity and a wi-fi/internet gateway. For this to work one must have a good internet connection. The data is pushed into the "cloud" and can be accessed with an android or apple smart phone, from virtually anywhere.

The reliability seems good. That's one of my concerns. But after a month there have been no data disruptions. The sensor does work from within an operating refrigerator. However, colder temperatures reduce battery life. One of the uncertainties is sensor battery life, which is reputedly a year or more under normal "ambient" conditions. Battery life is reduced under colder conditions. I would like to get 5-6 months.

I'm currently monitoring the kitchen temperature, the refrigerator internal temperature, and the temperature of a heated storage room which is about 60 feet from the wi-fi gateway. The amount of data per sensor is about 20 days. That's fine for me.

The system includes smartphone alerts for settable alarms. For example, I've set the refrigerator temperature alerts at higher than 46F. I don't care about the "low" temperature and so I did not set a "low temperature" alert.

I'll publish more data after a few months and I would like to determine the battery life before posting again. Here are a few photos of the smartphone screen: