Weather Plugins Suggestions and Service Pricing

[TC1]

lhfarm & tenholde - Thanks! I'll take a look at it. I'm kind of focused on support, functionality, and stability right now. I don't think NOAA lets you pull data more than once an hour if I remember correctly. Temperature can change pretty fast in Colorado and it can end up being 10 degrees off from the currently temp when weather is moving in.

I'd just pull data from a sensor, but want to see wind chill as well. I also depend on forecast high and lows to determine setting the thermostat in the morning for the day and when to start cooling down the house in the evening in all seasons. I really need 99% uptime.

While I enjoy doing it most of the time, I'm getting a little tired of the overall constant maintenance required of several things involved in keeping my system running. At some point I just want things to work without rebooting or upgrading...at least for 3-4 months at a time..30 days would even be nice.

How much is your time worth? I ask this question because like you I wanted to use as much data as possible in order to go beyond simple static thermostat schedules. I was going to start writing scripts to do predictive modeling like you describe... then I stopped myself. My time is valuable. Hence why I invested in some EcoBee3 lite thermostats for my zones (plus my local utility gave a rebate, so they cost almost nothing). Based on your comfort targets, they learn the heat coefficient of your house versus the outside weather. So If i want the house to be 70F at 6am in the morning, the EcoBee knows exactly when to start the heat overnight depending on the current weather conditions. I get heat at almost exactly 70F every morning without wasting extra fuel. And by adding EcoBee room sensors, I get automatic Home/Away savings plus temperature averaging across the rooms in a zone.

Well worth the investment which eventually pays for itself, IMO.

[jon00]

jon00 - You may just be right for the current temps. I'm think many let you pull data for the forecasts that I depend on for controlling my thermostat as well. I did look into some of the popular brands a while back and stopped after reading some reviews. Also, being cheap was a deterrent . If I'm now looking at buying both another plugin and likely paying a reoccurring charge for service, it might be time to look again...though I think reoccurring services from them may cost as well.

Thanks for the input though as that's why I posted this...I'm looking for specific suggestion on what to do, For instance, which of them integrate best or just are flat out better? Can I get by with just a plugin? I feel I should since the data is available from several providers and a pure plugin approach keeps me out of another constant hardware upgrade loop for yet something else.

(PS - Your stuff is great!)

If you want a PWS, many people here recommend a Davis. I personally have the Vantage Pro which is designed to last (spare parts etc) and calibrated. Its expensive but IMO worth the investment. The is also the Vantage VUE as an alternative. You can see the differences here: https://wxobservation.com/davis-vant...-vantage-pro2/

How PWS interface depends on software. I use Weather Display software but you can also use Cumulus (free but EOL) and I provide interfaces to Homeseer for both. They always list which weather stations are supported so if you want to go down a cheaper route, I'm sure you will find something suitable for your price range.

Supporting Weather plugins in HS is a mammoth task as data feeds come and go like the wind. There is no guarantee how long the feeds will be available for even if it is a subscription service. Look at Dark Sky which was taken over by Apple.

[jon00]

OK, so I have an Ambient Weather station and post to Weather Underground. Given that the data is in HS3 and Ambient, what is the most practical way to send maps and data to a Personal Web Page?

You need to put that as a general question to all. I was just responding to TS1234 who wanted accurate data for temperature/Windchill etc which you get when you use a PWS.

[ts1234]

jon00 - You may just be right for the current temps. I'm think many let you pull data for the forecasts that I depend on for controlling my thermostat as well. I did look into some of the popular brands a while back and stopped after reading some reviews. Also, being cheap was a deterrent . If I'm now looking at buying both another plugin and likely paying a reoccurring charge for service, it might be time to look again...though I think reoccurring services from them may cost as well.

Thanks for the input though as that's why I posted this...I'm looking for specific suggestion on what to do, For instance, which of them integrate best or just are flat out better? Can I get by with just a plugin? I feel I should since the data is available from several providers and a pure plugin approach keeps me out of another constant hardware upgrade loop for yet something else.

(PS - Your stuff is great!)

[ewkearns]

Sounds like you need to get your own personal weather station. Most software calculates the windchill and loads of other metrics.

OK, so I have an Ambient Weather station and post to Weather Underground. Given that the data is in HS3 and Ambient, what is the most practical way to send maps and data to a Personal Web Page?

[jon00]

I'd just pull data from a sensor, but want to see wind chill as well. I also depend on forecast high and lows to determine setting the thermostat in the morning for the day and when to start cooling down the house in the evening in all seasons. I really need 99% uptime.

Sounds like you need to get your own personal weather station. Most software calculates the windchill and loads of other metrics.

[ts1234]

lhfarm & tenholde - Thanks! I'll take a look at it. I'm kind of focused on support, functionality, and stability right now. I don't think NOAA lets you pull data more than once an hour if I remember correctly. Temperature can change pretty fast in Colorado and it can end up being 10 degrees off from the currently temp when weather is moving in.

I'd just pull data from a sensor, but want to see wind chill as well. I also depend on forecast high and lows to determine setting the thermostat in the morning for the day and when to start cooling down the house in the evening in all seasons. I really need 99% uptime.

While I enjoy doing it most of the time, I'm getting a little tired of the overall constant maintenance required of several things involved in keeping my system running. At some point I just want things to work without rebooting or upgrading...at least for 3-4 months at a time..30 days would even be nice.

[tenholde]

I have also implemented rnbWeather and it is working okay for me. This is an early release, and I am not seeing much in a way of responses from the author on the forums. A little nervous where this is going.

[lhfarm]

I was a long time WeatherXML user until it started crashing on me. I've been testing the mbWeather plugin and awaiting the first release with NOAA data. I've sent a couple of notes but haven't had a response. So not sure of the status. Looking forward to seeing what comments you receive.

Barry

[ts1234]

I was hoping to hang with WeatherXML as long as possible for several reasons. I think the time has come to run a new weather plugin. I have 3 q's if anybody would be kind enough to comment.

1) Any feel for direction on which plugin I may want to use. My needs are basic... current conditions and 7 day forecast...moon phase/visibility/humidity etc would all be nice
2) I'd love to be able to pull data at 10 minute interval (one of my complaints about NOAA)
3) Though I have a tough time thinking I may need to pay for it if pulling every 10 minutes ...I mainly just want stability and fairly current readings, Any recommendations on a service from that perspective?


Thanks!