Temperature and humidity sensor comparison
Remeasured
© Lead Image © Jian Fan, 123RF.com
Any application that collects a large number of measurements is bound to have some anomalous measurements, but good sensor breakouts should not output such values all the time. We tested eight temperature and humidity sensors for accuracy.
The data sheets of common temperature and humidity sensors tend to brag about accuracies in the range of a tenth of a degree. A closer look at 21 cases with eight different sensors shows which claims are true and which are just hot air from marketing.
It isn't complicated to wire up a sensor and read the values cyclically. If you've ever done so, you've probably had the feeling at some point that the numbers didn't add up. Deploying a second device only adds to the confusion, with deviations of up two units, which quickly gives rise to suspicions that your sensor lacks quality or was just too cheap, leaving you to wonder whether mysteriously high measured values are the result of a poor product or if the data sheets are incorrect.
I looked into both lines of thought and try to offer some recommendations. Up to four examples of eight common sensor devices lined up to face the test (Figure 1). Most devices are from BerryBase or Pimoroni and some of them have been around for quite a while. Table 1 shows an overview of the features, technical values, and prices.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.