How to Choose a Davis Weather Station

Your weather is not just like anyone else’s. It’s unique, as are your data and information needs. Some weather buffs just want the basics of temps and wind speeds and rain. Others want piles of data they can analyze and share. You may live where extreme weather poses threats, or where your outdoor activities are dependent upon weather. Some need a system to help growing gardens or acres of wheat, while others want ways to make their home “smarter.”

That’s why Davis offer a range of choices in your weather station. They give you unlimited options for flexibility in stations and add-on sensors. But sometimes those options make choosing a station more difficult, especially if you are new to owning a weather station.

First of all, you will notice that even the term “weather station” has some flexibility. Is it the outdoor sensors? The data viewing method (console, website, or app), or is it all of these?

For our purposes, a weather station includes sensors and a way to collect and view that data. Our complete Vantage Pro2 with WeatherLink Console and Vantage Vue with WeatherLink Console stations come with an outdoor sensor suite that sends data via radio to an indoor console. For the most useful, secure, and sharable means of collecting and viewing  data, add a WeatherLink Live, which pushes your data to the WeatherLink.com cloud platform and allows you to access, analyze, store, and share your data on your phone or computer.

Both Vantage Vue and Vantage Pro2 systems have industry-leading specs with super-fast updates (as fast as 2.5 seconds), ability to measure wind speeds as high as 200 mph (322 km/h), and effective standard radiation shields for accurate temperatures. Both are extremely accurate, durable, and reliable; both sensor suites are abundantly powered by solar panels and include back-up batteries; both have information-packed consoles; both can report to WeatherLink Live.

So, which should you choose?

Why choose Vantage Vue?

If you are a hobbyist, backyard gardener, or just a weather and data geek, this is the one for you.

• Affordable: A whole lot of weather station that won’t break your bank.
• Small profile: Designed to minimize visual impact in your yard or on your roof.
• Easiest set up: Sets up in minutes

Why choose Vantage Pro2?

If you need a professional, industrial-grade station for serious weather observations of your home, business, farm, or venue, Vantage Pro2 fills the bill.

• Still affordable: While more expensive that the Vantage Vue, Vantage Pro2 with WeatherLink Console, is still the most affordable weather station in the professional home weather station realm. It is the choice of many meteorologists, growers, educators, researchers and other professionals around the world.
• Flexible siting: NOAA siting standards call for wind speed and direction to be measured at 30’ (10 meters) above ground, while temperature and rain should be at 6’ (2 meters). Vantage Pro2's sensor suite includes a 40’ cable between the anemometer and the sensor interface so you can mount the anemometer on the roof, while the rest of the sensor suite remains lower to the ground. This not only makes it more appropriately sited for NOAA standards, it also makes maintenance of the rain collector easier. (It is important to remember that siting the wind sensors at 6’, or the temperature and rain on the roof does not make the data inaccurate. NOAA siting standards are a way to make your data comparable to other stations’ data. Growers might be interested in wind at canopy level, while a resident of a high-rise building may want rainfall data at the roof level.)
• Expandable: You can accessorize and add on to your Vantage Pro2 system. Choose the Vantage Pro2 with Standard Radiation Shield, or up your game with a Vantage Pro2 Plus with WeatherLink Console  that includes solar radiation and UV sensors. Growers can choose a Vantage Pro2 GroWeather, while those in arid and calm wind areas can choose a fan aspirated radiation shield. You can even add a Leaf Wetness and Soil Moisture Station to your Vantage Pro2 system.
  You really can’t go wrong with either system. But whichever station you choose, we recommend pushing your data to the WeatherLink cloud platform with WeatherLink Live, which receives the data from the sensor suite and then automatically uploads it via Wi-Fi. (Learn about the importance of sharing your weather data here.)