Aqara Climate Sensor W100
The Climate Sensor W100 is a high-precision temperature and humidity sensor with a display, supporting both Zigbee and Thread dual protocols.
Finally, we once again have a temperature and humidity sensor with a display, in the form of the Aqara Climate Sensor W100!
After the Aqara TVOC sensor was discontinued, our only temperature sensor was the Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor T1, a tiny device without a screen. With this sensor, the only way to see the current temperature and humidity sensor in the room was through the app. While that’s enough for some applications (such as warehousing, wine chillers – just to name a few), it can really be useful having a temperature display. That’s where the W100 comes in.
Large Screen Display
The Aqara Climate Sensor W100 takes the principle of having a screen, and improves on it. We have the temperature and humidity occupying a large portion of the screen for a clear reading, but that’s not all.
Status Indicators
This portion shows if your sensor is connected to your smart home system, battery life, etc.
Temperature and Humidity Display
The bulk of the display, this shows the temperature and humidity being picked up by the sensor.
Linked Air-con Control Display
If you have a linked air-conditioner to your climate sensor (as set in the Aqara Home app), this portion shows the controls of the air-conditioner – much like how your air-con remote’s screen work. We’ll cover this linked aircon function later.
Secondary Sensor / Outdoor Temperature and Humidity Display
You can link another temperature sensor to this one through the Aqara Home app, and that sensor’s readings will be displayed in this portion. For example, you could link a temperature sensor that’s placed outside to measure and display outside temperature. Or you could link a temperature sensor placed in the baby’s room so you can see that temperature from the Climate Sensor W100 placed in the living room. If you don’t link any sensors, this secondary display will show the local outdoor temperature (data pulled from weather sources).
Linking Air-conditioners to Control with Buttons
First and foremost, please meet the large buttons on the W100:
On the right side of the device, we have three large buttons. The top one is marked with a + symbol and the bottom one with a – symbol.
While these buttons can be exposed as wireless buttons in Apple Home, we much prefer using them in Aqara Home as part of a linked air-conditioner control.
Within the Aqara Home app, you will be able to configure the W100 to be linked to a smart air-conditioner device. To be clear, this means an Aqara Smart Air-conditioner Controller, which means one of these three products: Aqara Hub M3, Aqara Hub M2, and Aqara Camera Hub G3. Once linked, you’ll be able to use the W100 to control your air-conditioner through the smart IR functions.
Controlling Your Air-Con
By pressing the middle button, you’ll be able to cycle through the different function settings (see 11 above), which include:
Operation mode – toggles through cool, heat, and auto
Fan speed – toggles low, medium, high, and auto
Temperature – in steps of 0.5 degrees
The selected function setting will blink. When selected, pressing the top + or bottom – button will change the setting.
After not pressing anything on the W100 for a few seconds, the setting will be confirmed, and your smart air-con controller will then send the command.
To turn your air-conditioner on or off, press and hold the middle button for more than 3 seconds.
Applications
We don’t really consider temperature and humidity readings to be a core part of smart homes, especially in Singapore where it’s just hot all year round, and temperature doesn’t vary much through the year, or even the day.
However, the introduction of both the secondary reading and the linked air-con control makes this a useful device, even if temperature readings aren’t all the important to you.
You’ll now be able to compare the temperature inside and outside your home, which can be useful information on how much your air-conditioner is working, or to know what the situation is like outside.
Linking aircons basically make this device yet another remote control, which can be helpful in easy-to-reach places such as your desk, or on a wall.
Zigbee vs Thread
The Aqara Climate Sensor W100 is on Thread mode out of the box. We recommend anyone who uses Aqara Home to immediately switch it to Zigbee mode instead for more functionality.
Conclusion
Besides all the functionality we’ve mentioned, one important thing is the battery life – the W100, despite its always-on screen, has a battery life of more than 2 years, which is much improved over the TVOC sensor. While the TVOC sensor’s e-ink display is nice (the W100’s display is LCD), we much prefer the longer battery life.
We also haven’t touched on the mounting options, which is a nice touch. There’s an included stand to put it on a table top, or a magnetic wall bracket for wall mounting.
If you’re already in the Aqara ecosystem, and you’re already using Aqara smart air-conditioning control, the Aqara Climate Sensor W100 is an easy choice to add to your home.
Aqara Climate Sensor W100
The Climate Sensor W100 is a high-precision temperature and humidity sensor with a display, supporting both Zigbee and Thread dual protocols.