Of course, I could already check the outside temperature by looking at a weather app. So that wasn't really the issue. What interested me more was knowing the actual temperature outside my house, but also inside certain rooms. And while I was at it, I'd like to be able to monitor the humidity and CO2 levels without having to take out my phone every time.
This is where the SwitchBot weather station which the brand now calls SwitchBot E-Ink Home Dashboard.
And you'll see that this name is ultimately much more logical.
Because if you're picturing a classic weather station with a small outdoor probe included in the box, forget that idea. Instead, SwitchBot offers a central screen that displays information gathered by the brand's various sensors.
So I took the opportunity to install several modules in the house and use the whole system for a little over three months.
Let's see what happens.
My setup around the SwitchBot weather station
Before discussing daily use, let's take a quick look at my setup.
I deliberately distributed several sensors in different locations so that I could see, on the same screen, the outside temperature, the temperature of certain rooms, the humidity and the CO2 level.
Nothing too complicated, but that's precisely what makes the whole thing practical for everyday use.
SwitchBot weather station: the center of the installation
In the midst of all this, we find the Switchbot Weather Station, also sold under the name SwitchBot E-Ink Home Dashboard.
Its role is quite simple: to retrieve and display the information brought back by the various SwitchBot sensors.
For this, she relies on a large screen 7,5-inch E-InkAnd frankly, this type of display is particularly well-suited to this use. The information remains visible at all times without needing to leave a bright LCD screen on all day. SwitchBot advertises up to a year of battery life thanks to its integrated 5,000 mAh battery. And if needed, it can still be recharged or powered directly via USB-C.
The screen displays information such as indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, a five-day weather forecast, air quality, and sunrise and sunset times. But most importantly, the station can retrieve data from other SwitchBot sensors. With multiple sensors in the house, this is where the screen becomes truly useful: you simply choose which measurements you want to keep in view at all times.
SwitchBot Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer: My Outdoor Thermometer
To measure the outside temperature, I use the SwitchBot Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer.
It simply measures temperature and humidity and, unlike the other sensors in my setup, it doesn't have a screen. Everything is therefore handled through the SwitchBot app or the Dashboard. Its main advantage is that it can remain outdoors. Its casing is IP65 certifiedTherefore, it is resistant to dust and water splashes.
You simply need to avoid placing it in direct sunlight, otherwise you'll obviously get inaccurate temperature readings. The sensor is very small, and SwitchBot provides a wrist strap that makes it easy to attach. At my house, it simply serves as an outdoor thermometer. The readings are then sent to the app and displayed directly on the main screen.
SwitchBot Meter Plus: for the bedroom
In the bedroom, I installed the thermometer and hygrometer from the range, the SwitchBot Meter Plus.
Like the outdoor model, it measures temperature and humidity. But this time, it has a screen. 3 inches directly on the sensor. And surprisingly, it's convenient: no need to take out your phone or go look at the Dashboard to know what the temperature is in the room.
SwitchBot advertises an accuracy of ±0,2 °C for temperature and ±2% for relative humidity, with four updates per second.
At my place, it ended up in the bedroom, but it could just as easily be installed in an office, a cellar or any other room that you want to monitor.
The Meter Plus also stores up to 68 days of data locally. The app then allows you to view a longer history and even export measurements in CSV format if you want to explore further.
SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Monitor: the most interesting of the bunch
Le SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 Monitor is probably the sensor that I find the most original in my setup.
In addition to temperature and humidity, it measures the CO2 concentrationAnd that's mainly why I use it.
When the level starts to rise in a room, you quickly realize it's time to open the windows. It's exactly the kind of information you don't necessarily think to monitor... until the day you suddenly see it.
The screen also displays the temperature, humidity, time and a comfort indicator.
For CO2, the sensor covers a range from 400 to 9,999 ppm. By default, SwitchBot considers a level between 400 and 1,000 ppm to be good, between 1,000 and 1,400 ppm to be average, and above 1,400 ppm to be poor.
The Meter Pro operates on two AA batteries or can be powered via USB-C. This choice is important: when on batteries, CO2 measurements are taken by default every 30 minutes. Once connected via USB-C, the sensor automatically switches to one measurement per minute.
SwitchBot Hub Mini: the home relay
And finally, to conclude, I also use a SwitchBot Hub Mini.
This small box primarily serves as a gateway between SwitchBot devices that communicate via Bluetooth and your Wi-Fi network.
In particular, it allows certain devices to be accessed remotely from the application, but also to create automations between several devices.
The Hub Mini operates on 2,4 GHz Wi-Fi and can also serve as an infrared remote control for certain devices such as a television or air conditioner.
At my place, it mainly serves as a relay when the sensors start to get a little too far apart and allows me to consult the data even when I am not at home.
As long as the sensors remain within Bluetooth range, the Dashboard manages everything on its own. If they are too far away, the Hub takes over.
SwitchBot weather station installation
Good news : the installation of the SwitchBot weather station it's not complicated.
As is often the case with SwitchBot, everything is done through the brand's app.
Simply add the E-Ink Home Dashboard and then follow the on-screen instructions. The station must be connected to your 2,4 GHz Wi-Fi network.
The other sensors are then added in the same way.
Quick tip: take a few seconds to organize them into "rooms" right from the start. "Bedroom," "Outdoor," or "Office" are much more practical than three loose devices called "Meter Plus 48" when you start accumulating several.
Once the devices have been added, all that remains is to choose the information you want to display on the station.
The Dashboard can display up to three different sources of temperature and humidity.
For my part, I only display the measurements I actually look at. The goal isn't to transform the screen into dashboard by plane, but to be able to retrieve the useful information in two seconds.
You also need to pay some attention to the placement of the sensors.
Outdoors, obviously avoid direct sunlight. Indoors, placing a thermometer directly above a radiator or next to an open window doesn't make much sense either.
The station itself is easier to position. Thanks to its integrated battery and one-year battery life, It does not need to be installed next to an electrical outlet.So you can place it exactly where you want to consult it. And that's rather nice.
Use: a weather station that you actually consult
Once everything is configured, you quickly realize the main advantage of this installation: There's practically nothing left to do.And that's exactly what I expect from this kind of product. I don't particularly want to open an app on my phone just to find out the temperature outside or in the room.
I just look at the screen. And that's it. The large 7,5-inch E-Ink display shows a lot of information without becoming illegible. Outdoor temperature, humidity, data from multiple rooms, weather forecast… everything is visible without navigating through menus.
And now, when the children ask me if it's going to be hot today, I direct them to the weather station!
A perfectly adapted E-Ink screen
The E-Ink screen is clearly one of the product's major strengths. Readability is excellent. Information remains clearly visible, and the contrast is more than sufficient for viewing the station from several meters away.
Another advantage: you don't have an extra bright screen permanently on in the living room or bedroom.
Obviously, E-Ink also brings its own minor limitations.
The screen is quite slow to respond when it needs to switch content or completely refresh the display. But if you've ever used an e-reader, you know roughly what to expect. And for a weather station, it's really not a problem. You don't need a 120Hz display to know it's 24,8°C in your living room.
The only point that slightly disappointed me was the backlighting. It activates by pressing a button and allows you to view the screen in the dark. It works. However, The finished product looks a bit cheap compared to the rest of the device. The lighting isn't particularly elegant and somewhat detracts from the very clean look of the E-Ink screen.
Nothing dramatic, but it's a detail I noticed quite quickly.
Really very good battery life
The other big advantage of E-Ink is obviously its consumption.
SwitchBot advertises up to a year of battery life for the Dashboard with its 5,000 mAh battery. I haven't had enough time to fully verify this claim yet. However, after three months of useI have not yet needed to recharge either the station or the various sensors of my installation.
And frankly, that's exactly what I expect from this type of device: I install it and then forget about it. No weekly charging, no cable permanently plugged in next to the dashboard. The sensors do their job on their own, and I simply check the data when I need it.
Group everything in one place
And ultimately, that's the main reason I like this Dashboard: everything is in one place. Taken individually, the SwitchBot sensors already work very well. The Meter Plus has its own screen. The Meter Pro does too. The outdoor sensor sends its readings to the app.
But as soon as you start having several devices, displaying the main information on a single screen becomes much more practical. At home, I can see the outside temperature, what's happening in the bedroom, and other measurements I'm interested in within seconds, without having to walk around the house.
And most importantly, without taking out my smartphone.
It seems quite trivial, but it's probably what makes me actually look at this information. Data displayed constantly on a screen in a room will always be easier to access than a value hidden deep within an application.
More than just a weather station
SwitchBot doesn't limit its device to just weather information. The Dashboard can display different views, and certain parts of the screen can be customized. It's therefore more of a small information screen for the home.
Personally, I mainly continue to use it for temperature (especially outdoor temperature when choosing my outfit), humidity, and air quality. That's where I find it most useful. And that's also why the product becomes significantly more appealing when you already own several SwitchBot sensors.
Purchasing only the Dashboard without having to display anything on it inevitably limits its usefulness considerably.
A personalized page for the most tech-savvy
SwitchBot also offers a slightly more advanced function: the ability to send personalized content to the Dashboard via its API.
After enabling developer options in the application, it's possible to display text from a script or external service. This allows you to display reminders, home automation data, or other information that doesn't come directly from the SwitchBot sensors.
The function remains quite limited with approximately 300 bytes of text and does not allow the construction of a complex interface, but it still opens up some interesting possibilities for those who like to customize their installation.
It's clearly not essential, but it's a small bonus that confirms the product can go a little further than a simple weather station.
How much does my SwitchBot installation cost?
To give you an idea of the budget required, here is the price of the different devices used in my installation at the time of writing.
| Apparatus | Price |
|---|---|
| SwitchBot Weather Station | 109,99 € |
| SwitchBot Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer | 19,99 € |
| SwitchBot Meter Plus | 21,99 € |
| SwitchBot Meter Pro (CO2 monitor) | 69,99 € |
| SwitchBot Hub Mini | 35,00 € |
| Total installation | 256,96 € |
So we arrive at slightly less than €257 for my entire installation if all devices are purchased separately and excluding any promotions.
Obviously, you don't need to buy everything to enjoy the station. An E-Ink Home Dashboard with a simple outdoor sensor, for example, costs... 129,98 €The rest can then be added gradually according to the parts or information you wish to monitor.
And finally, how good is this Switchbot Weather Station?
If you're simply looking for a small weather station with an outdoor sensor, there are probably much simpler solutions available. However, if you already have several SwitchBot sensors (or if you want to monitor multiple rooms in your house), the Dashboard becomes much more relevant.
Highlights
- Excellent 7,5-inch E-Ink screen
- Very good readability
- Excellent battery life after three months of use
- Ability to group several sensors on a single screen
- Built-in battery
- Installation simple
- No cables required permanently
- A very complete SwitchBot ecosystem
- Numerous sensors available
- Instant access to information without a smartphone
Weak points
- The E-Ink screen is a little slow to respond
- The backlighting gives a rather cheap look.
- Limited benefit without other SwitchBot sensors
- The installation cost can quickly escalate with multiple modules.
- Some functions still require using the application.
After three months with this SwitchBot weather stationI ultimately see it much less as a weather station and more as a central screen for all my small sensors.
That's where it gets really interesting.
I find it much easier to check the outside temperature, the room conditions, or the CO2 level simply because all this information remains visible without needing to take out my phone. The E-Ink screen is perfectly suited for this purpose: it's readable, discreet, and consumes very little power. After three months, I still haven't needed to recharge any device. You just have to accept the (relative) slowness of E-Ink, a fairly average backlight, and a cost that can start to climb if you build the entire ecosystem around it.
But if you already own several SwitchBot products, the Dashboard really comes into its own. It gives real, everyday value to all that data that you might otherwise tend to overlook in the application.
