Test of Homekit Eve Weather and Eve Room sensors: temperature, humidity, pressure and air quality within reach of iPhone!

Home automation is
more and more connected and at Apple, it is HomeKit which ensures the management and
coordination of different devices, as well as the link with Siri for
voice commands. As a result, theHomeKit compatible accessories
are preferred when the home is more Apple than Android.

Among the first accessory manufacturers to embrace HomeKit,
the German Elgato continues the development of a complete range with
Eve products. Among these, besides
the ordered Eve Energy socket already tested and appreciated here, two sensors
are proposed, one for the exterior called "Eve Weather", which will serve as
weather station, the other named "Eve Room", to measure
indoor temperature and humidity, which also checks
air quality.

Today we will discover in detail their use and an opinion
after several months of use.

Presentation

The two sensors are completely similar, they are completely different boxes.
simple, without buttons, with just a place for the batteries. In practice,
this is not visible, but an LED is also present, it is camouflaged
under the top cover and only comes on in very rare cases.

The exterior sensor requires 2 AAA format batteries, while the interior
uses 3 batteries.

Getting started

Both devices communicate via Bluetooth with the iPhone and others
devices in the home, especially the Apple TV or an iPad used as
hub. They are the ones that allow access when you are closer, via
la 3G/4G.

These accessories can be added to the network via the application.
iOS “Home” (vue
here in pictures)or with the Eve iOS application. This one
is free hereand of very good quality, very regularly updated
jour.

To add, this is done by scanning the identifier with the application,
then assigning the device to a room of your choice. He is also
possible to rename the sensor.

Utilisation

The principle of HomeKit proposed by Apple consists of integrating all of the
compatible accessories within a database made available to
applications to which access is authorized. The main app is from Apple
of course, named “Home” as well as in the control center
in the HomeKit section, but the Eve range benefits from a dedicated application
incredibly produced and updated very regularly. Via the support of
HomeKit is therefore also compatible with other accessories.

It's free here

We were able to discover it in
our test of the HomeKit Eve Energy socket here

This application provides access to the various information reported
by Eve sensors. She tells the stories and offers graphics with the
values for the day, the week, and more.

This logging is carried out by wireless download launched
automatically when starting the application. The sensors have a
memory which allows them to retain approximately 2 weeks of data. But the
Are instantaneous values available without launching the application, via the
HomeKit panel of the control center for example, via the application or via the
watch.

But that's not all, since, still via HomeKit support, it
becomes possible toask Siri to find out the temperature of
this or that piece, or from the outside: “Hey Siri, what
is the temperature of the living room » will give the last temperature reported by
the sensor associated with the room named “Living room” via the Eve application
or via the iOS Home app. The response is generally relatively quick,
a few seconds at most.

Finally, another access, for those who have an Apple Watch,
the sensor can be interrogated orally from the watch of the same
way, but also via the Watch House application which retrieves
also the values of temperature, air quality or even pressure
to display them on the screen.

Finally, you should know that this information is transmitted locally via
Bluetooth. This theoretically requires being within a short range of the sensor. In
practical, it depends on the thickness of the walls and the size of the house.
That's to know. Particularly for the exterior sensor, which may need to be
bring together to transmit the data.

But it's not just local transfer, and the magic of HomeKit and these
Compatible sensors are also expressed when you are far from home. For
This requires a hub, either an iPad or an Apple TV, connected to the
Internet network. They are the ones who collect the data and allow
to interrogate its sensors remotely, retrieve temperatures and others
variables, even from the other side of the world, and it works!

Finally, Eve sensors make it possible to report measurements, to
view, hear, temperature, pressure, air quality, humidity,
depending on the model, but here again the integration with homeKit offers the possibility of
create scenario triggers, daring automations
on these values! An example: if the temperature drops then
trigger a scenario (this could be to order an outlet on
which an auxiliary heater is connected) or if the humidity becomes too
important, then turn on the living room lamp in red, etc. All this is done
while being guided by the application.

But let's now see in more detail what each of these two allows.
sensors, one intended for the exterior, the other for the interior!

The Eve Weather outdoor sensor

This first sensor is intended to be used outdoors, it is for this
resistant to light rain and harsh weather.

It measures several types of values:the temperature (from -18 to
+55), humidity level and atmospheric pressure. He issold for around 43 euros here.

In practice, it is very easy to use since you just need to put it
outside (under a shelter) and takes his measurements. In practice, it has been
Used for over a year without problem. Powered by its 2 AAA batteries, it has a
autonomy which turned out to be rather satisfactory, more than 6 months without problem.
It takes measurements every 10 minutes, stores them for several
weeks if necessary then when queried by the application, they are
transmitted and then saved in the application.

Transmission is dependent on the distance and type of pure from the house
or the apartment, therefore to ensure good transmission, it is
better to put it near a window.

The sensor in our case turned out to be reliable and practical, without any
connection problem. Temperature is the parameter that is most
interesting on a daily basis, to know for example if it froze during the
nuit.

The Eve Room indoor sensor

This sensor is physically very similar to the previous one. He offers the
measurements of temperature and humidity level and added that of quality
air. In practice, this involves the measurement of volatile organic compounds
(VOC: alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, organic acids, amines, as well as
aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons), details are available
in this
document PDF. Please note, the sensor does not measure carbon monoxide
(toxic gas released during combustion)

The Eve Room sensor ison sale here for 69
euros

In practice the three types of measurement are logged and displayed in
application after transmission. Air quality is also available
in the form of a status: normal, bad, etc.

The transmission is going well (it remains Bluetooth therefore within a
house, this again depends on the thickness of the walls, the location of the
sensor and distance to the hub (Apple TV or iPad). The measurements of
temperature appeared to be correct and the presentation as well as the
access is convenient. The humidity level measurement remains a value that
will undoubtedly be of interest in certain cases. As for the quality values of
air, we actually see peaks after cooking with gas, or when
many people are in a room, thus encouraging ventilation.

In terms of regrets, this sensor disappointed with its battery consumption. HAS
unlike the previous one which lasts 6 months and even more, this one does not have
autonomy over the year it was used, only approximately 3 months. The council, to
less need to know the air quality, is to use a
Eve Weather sensor but… indoors!

Otherwise, you should know that this sensor was joined relatively recently
by an aluminum model, which is enriched with an LCD display, theElgato
Eve Degree,available here at the price of 63
euros. But this only measures humidity and pressure
atmospheric, not air quality.

Conclusion

In the end, we have two robust, reliable accessories accompanied by a
very good quality application, updated very regularly to
maintain compatibility with Apple's HomeKit system. The whole is in
further integrated into a complete home automation ecosystem via HomeKit, allowing
use it in scenarios as a trigger. On the other hand, we retain a
preference for the exterior sensor (Weather) for those who do not need
monitor indoor air quality, as it turns out to be cheaper and less
Battery-intensive in use. Otherwise, both allow you to have accessories
HomeKit quality and reliable over time, monitored by the manufacturer in terms of
update.