What to look for in a HVAC outdoor air temperature sensor

Outdoor air temperature sensors (OAT) should possess the following qualities:

• Robustness - radiation shield mount should ideally be made of corrosion resistant metal for strength and longevity and white in color to prevent overheating of the OAT sensor on sunny days.

• Easy mounting - sensor and radiation shield mount should permit easy pole mounting and wall mounting. The mount should position the OAT sensor at least 8 inches (20 cm) from the mounting surface or wall.

• High-quality radiation shield - quite a bit of money can be saved on temperature sensor cost by spending a little extra on a very good radiation shield. A high-quality radiation shield is especially important on hot sunny days since it determines the air temperature a sensor will measure.

The trade-off between high-cost or a high-quality OAT sensor lies in the understanding that a temperature sensor will measure temperature only of air inside the radiation shield. In low-quality shields, even the most accurate and expensive sensors will measure unrealistically high air temperatures due to influences of wall heat radiating onto the shield or due to heating from direct or reflected sunlight. 

Overall system savings can be maximized by using a helical solar shield as written about in Meteorological Industry News and HVAC & Refrigeration Insider®.

Can new technologies make urban weather stations accurate?

While accurate meteorological measurement in an urban environment was until now practically impossible, a new technology promises change that. 

MeteoHelix® is a new type of weather station based on a patented helical solar shield design which forms a continuous helix. The manufacturer, BARANI DESIGN Technologies, claims to have achieved the never before possible combination of unobstructed airflow to the internal sensors while simultaneously providing 360-degree protection from reflected light and radiating heat from nearby walls.

Independently verified, the helical shape delivers the most accurate air temperature measurement available without fan assisted airflow in a solar shield. In testing involving strong light reflections from the ground, it proved to be more accurate than many fan-aspirated radiation shields. 

MeteoHelix® wins silver as part of SURVIA's Grand Prize winning precision agriculture solution at TECHAGRO 2018

Standing above the crowd in a field where evaluation of farm fields using drones has become standard practice fueled by the advancements in sensor and drone technology is not easy. One such company from Czechia has manged to do just that, by capturing the Grand Prize at one on the biggest agricultural technical exhibitions in Europe.

While many companies claim to provide real value, SURVIA s.r.o. seems to actually deliver.  Focused more on research and development than on plain profit, SURVIA has shown it can deliver the know-how necessary achieve real money saving results.

Proper evaluation of crop growth variations and disease risks is delivered through a sophisticated data analysis and qualified by local agronomist know-how, which is crucial to achieving real results. Each plot of land is different and has to be treated individually as not only soil compositions vary but also micro-climates. To quantify these differences, soil samples are analyzed and when possible weather variations are monitored by placing micro-weather stations as densely as possible.

Since quality meteorological data has always been costly to obtain and sensor life due to contamination in the dusty agricultural environment has never been satisfactory, SURVIA as chosen to partner with an innovative company from Slovakia and USA whose micro-weather station MeteoHelix® and its helical radiation shield technology seems to be breaking this old prejudice.

BARANI DESIGN Technologies s.r.o. known for its professional line of meteorological sensors has taken the leap to deliver a truly affordable professional micro weather station. With a price tag of under 500 EURO, the wireless MeteoHelix® IoT Pro and its little brother the MeteoHelix IoT Home are seemingly in a class of their own in terms of measurement quality for money spent and have been awarded the silver prize at TECHAGRO 2018. They are allowing farmers to monitor weather over multiple fields affordably with minimal financial risk from weather station damage or theft.

For more information contact:

Survia s.r.o.
Habrová 1445
363 01 Ostrov
Czechia
www.survia.cz

BARANI DESIGN Technologies s.r.o.
Klincova 35
821 08 Bratislava
SLOVAKIA
www.baranidesign.com