Weather Station Grades

Many manufacturers refer to their products as "research grade", or research quality, but are they? What is research grade?

It's important for you to understand that there are "no" unbiased organizations that define the standards for "research grade", or any weather station grade for that matter. The term "grade" is created by each individual manufacturer for their equipment, based on their own definition of "standards". The scientific community then evaluates products and systems for their specific needs and determines which equipment will be used based on the sensor specifications, equipment reliability data, support required and the reputation of the supplier.

Don't be fooled........this is an important quality and reliability issue, so get the definitions clearly stated before you purchase. One company actually promotes its products as "research grade", but when queried as to what that means, they have no standard other than the specification for that piece of equipment .....essentially, they use the term "research grade" solely as a marketing tool....it represents no real value.

We prefer to clearly define our "grades", with examples, so you can make a valid value judgment as you compare the WeatherHawk to other equipment.

Research grade

The most sophisticated, and usually the most rugged weather stations, are “research grade”. They consist of systems used for high specification data acquisition, with equipment costs ranging from about $6,000 to many hundreds of thousands of dollars per site. The higher cost is related to rugged robust components, extensive testing prior to delivery, and application engineering support. These weather stations are located in the Polar Regions, on high mountain peaks, or at airports across the country; where measurement precision and reliability are critical to good science, or human safety. The user interface for this precision equipment is typically at an engineering level, components are designed for the most severe weather conditions, and the sensors must be regularly calibrated to assure data quality.

Be suspicious of companies advertising “research grade” equipment if they indicate the systems do not require calibration, or routine maintenance.

Research grade weather stations are designed for use by professionally trained people. This web site has good examples of research grade weather stations: http://www.campbellsci.com/centers/climate.html

Industrial grade

The next group of weather stations is “industrial grade”. Industrial systems usually have specialized interfaces or software; they usually "look" like industrial equipment; and they are typically used for applications including home automation, commercial irrigation system control; or in production agriculture for crop management processes. The software for these systems is often specialized for a control network; or it may be a unique application for water management, plant disease prediction or pest management. Industrial grade equipment is rugged and reliable, with consistent performance and low maintenance requirements; and the cost is typically in the $3,000 to $6,000 range. The user interfaces to these weather stations often limit them to a single purpose, and they are usually not suitable for home use.

You often see industrial grade weather stations along the highway providing road condition information, or at golf courses controlling the sprinklers.

Some companies advertise Research Grade systems that are really an Industrial Grade product "in disguise". The difference is spelled S-U-P-P-O-R-T. Look below the surface to understand what grade of system you are really purchasing, then consider the company that must support that product. Does their support staff consist of qualified application engineers, or do they employ sales people that read from a script when they answer your questions?

This site has good examples of industrial grade weather stations: http://www.campbellsci.com/centers/ag.html

Consumer grade

The final group is consumer grade weather stations, and they range in price from the low hundreds of dollars to about $2,500. These stations are attractive to look at and they have simple display and control features. Most systems under $500 have inexpensive visual displays, they feature very short range wireless communications (20-40 feet), and may have sensors with short lifecycles. If these low cost systems have software, it is Windows based, with limited user interaction and minimal or no data management features. Low cost consumer grade systems often present specifications nearly as good a research or industrial grade systems; however, the components used in their construction usually degrade in a short period of time (18-24 months). This short life cycle means that your investment is lost as they are quickly out of Warranty and usually not repairable.

With "low cost" consumer grade weather stations you get what you pay for because robust industrial components are more expensive.

What is WeatherHawk?

The WeatherHawk is an industrial grade weather station, coupled to consumer based Windows or Mac OS X software. It is the best of both worlds because it has a robust, reliable outdoor weather sensor module, powerful wireless communications, AND easy to use, fully featured consumer software.