With a few exceptions, smart temperature sensors are usually similar, being able to measure the temperature of areas of your home and little else, but today we are going to discover an exception, the THS-317-ET Zigbee wired temperature sensor from Owon.
Why is OWON THS317-ET priced like this?
THS-317-ET is a unique Zigbee wired temperature sensor, as it can measure temperatures between -40°C and +200°C (from the launch of the V2 version in 2024).
THS317-ET : a Zigbee sensor that you can use anywhere
This THS-317-ET Zigbee temperature sensor not only measures air temperatures (fridge, freezer, cold room, garden, greenhouse and more) but also temperatures in water (aquarium, jacuzzi, swimming pool and more) and in contact with a material (pipe and more).
Advantages and disadvantages of the Owon THS-317-ET sensor
Advantages
- Zigbeetechnology: It is very interesting to have a sensor of this type that uses Zigbee technology since it can be joined to our installation with other Zigbee devices in the same hub and be able to create different routines.
- Compatibilities: This wired temperature sensor respects the Zigbee standard so it is compatible with universal Zigbee hubs such as Domoticz, Jeedom and Home Assistant (ZHA and Zigbee2Mqtt).
- Versatility: Thanks to its wide measurement range and the fact that the sensor cable can be placed in water, air or on top of a material, we have many options of uses: swimming pool, fridge, freezer, aquarium and any other environment where you need to measure a temperature.
- Price: For less than 20 euros, we have a sensor that can make our life easier to create different routines in our home.
Disadvantages
- Not waterproof: You must isolate the electronic part if you want to use the sensor outdoors or in extreme conditions of temperature or humidity. Only the deported cable can be exposed.
- Cannot be used in salt water: If you have salt water, this device cannot be used.
- Fragility of the cable: The deported cable is not of high quality.
Tutorial for using the Owon THS317-ET temperature sensor
To begin with, this temperature sensor uses Zigbee wireless technology which is currently the most popular technology in the smart home market as you can unify your entire installation in your home with this technology.
This THS-317-ET temperature sensor is powered by 2 AAA batteries which are not included.
So this sensor can be easily installed in any environment and you can fix it on the wall or other surface with an adhesive or with two screws and plugs.
Works with different home automation hubs:
- Domoticz
- Jeedom
- Home Assistant
- Zigbee2mqtt
- Eedomus
- Fibaro
- EWeLink (SonOff)
- Zigate
- Amazon Alexa: Echo Hub, Echo 4, Echo Show 8 and 10 and Echo Studio.
Although with an Amazon voice assistant, you will only have temperature measurements with positive values, i.e. above 0 degrees Celsius, as Alexa currently does not report negative temperature values.
And it is worth noting that if you have a Tuya home automation hub, be careful when choosing, Owon has a model that is specifically compatible with Tuya.
The big difference to most other smart temperature sensors is that this Owon sensor uses a deported cable.
And this is key in different environments, for example for outdoor use in your garden or as a Zigbee pool thermometer.
It was precisely the device that was installed in the skimmer of the user’s pool to measure the water temperature from its deported sensor and of course the electronic part of the sensor is protected in a waterproof box so as not to damage the device.
However, the sensor with a cable can be exposed to extreme conditions, from -40°C to +200°C according to the manufacturer’s specifications, and can therefore be used outdoors all year round.
This Zigbee THS-317-ET sensor placed on the pool skimmer allows us to follow the water temperature throughout the year thanks to a history and by adding an intelligent module, it allows us to automatically optimise the pool filtration according to the temperature measurements.
And this is unique with this Zigbee technology as no other temperature sensors with this same deported cable function can be found.
Another interesting use case in a household is to be alerted if there is a breakdown in a fridge or freezer.
It could be practical to avoid food losses either because of a failure of the fridge or freezer or because there was a power cut in the area where you have this fridge or freezer and you can define an alert like for example, if the temperature becomes higher than -7 degrees Celsius in the freezer or higher than 10 degrees Celsius in the fridge, then you will receive an alert.
If you want to use it with a fridge, a very simple way would be directly with an Amazon Alexa voice assistant that integrates Zigbee technology.
When you have this THS-317-ET sensor in your hands, you can simply say to your voice assistant:
- “Alexa discovers new devices.
- Set your Owon temperature sensor to inclusion mode at this time.
- Once included, you can always ask: “Alexa, what’s the temperature in the fridge?
And as routines you can imagine for example receiving an alert if a high temperature is detected in the fridge such as above 10 degrees Celsius.
Note, as I mentioned, Alexa does not yet know how to read negative values so I would recommend using this sensor with Alexa for use cases where it measures positive values such as a fridge, your pool water, a pipe but of course, if you want to use it in environments where it measures negative values, then you can use it with a home automation hub such as Home Assistant and Jeedom.
Regarding negative values, you should be careful not to expose the sensor to values that could equal or exceed -40 degrees Celsius as you could have erroneous communications in this case.
Another use case could be to measure the indirect temperature of water in a pipe allowing you to monitor it in real time and over time and to optimise your heating system.
We could also simply use it as a Zigbee outdoor temperature sensor in our garden to know the outdoor temperature and optimise the heating or air conditioning of our house according to the measurements.
In short, unlike a temperature sensor that we usually have in the smart home market that measures the temperature of an area of our house, this Owon THS-317-ET temperature sensor also measures the temperature of the water, outdoors, in very cold or very hot environments, being very useful when customising your installation.
Frequently Asked Questions about the THS 317-ET Sensor
Can I expose my THS-317-ET sensor directly outdoors?
Your sensor cable can be exposed outdoors, but the electronics must be 100% insulated in a waterproof enclosure.
Can I use my Zigbee Owon deported temperature sensor in salt water?
No, this sensor is not designed for use in salt water.
Technical characteristics of THS-317-ET
- Battery: DC 3V (2X AAA not included)
- Display: LED 2 colours (Red, Green)
- Temperature measurement: Remote probe – 2m
- Measuring range: -40°C to +200°C (from January 2024).
- Accuracy: ±0.5°C
- Environment: Temperature: -10℃ ~ +55℃
- Humidity: ≤ 85% non-condensing
- Dimensions: 62(L) × 62 (W) × 15.5(H) mm
- Connectivity: Zigbee 3.0
- RF Characteristics – Frequency: 2.4GHz
- Range (Outdoor/Indoor): 100m / 30m – Internal Antenna
