A temperature reading is of the ambient air temperature. If you've had an outdoor thermometer you will know that if you sit it in the sun it will not record an accurate temperature, but will over-state the temperature, often to a very large degree on a hot sunny day. For this reason, if you have an outdoor thermometer and want accurate readings, you need to position it in a location that is always in the shade and not too close to hot surfaces. Under a big shade tree for example.
So how does my Acurite 5-In-1 manage to record a temperature that can be considered an accurate air temperature reading when it is located in the sun?
(Get your own AcuRite-Pro 5-in-1 from Amazon)
If you look at this video below you will see that my weather station is situated in the sun, well above the ground, but also reasonably close to the roof tiles.
However, to compensate for these conditions, the Acurite weather station has two fans inside the unit that are driven by the two solar panels on the south-facing front of the weather station (left side of the unit in the video). The fans blow air over the temperature sensor eliminating heat buildup.
You can also asses that the readings from my weather station are within expected range by comparing the readings from other members of the Weather Underground in my area. These are typically amateur enthusiasts like me, and different members will take more or less care in the positioning of their units. However, you can disregard any that seem too high or too low compared to the others in the area. My unit has consistently been within reasonable range compared to neighboring units.
A map of the temperature readings being reported for my area on Weather Underground. The reading for my station will be within a circle at the center of the map.
An even better "gold-standard" comparison can be made with the readings from the US National Weather Service (NOAA) for their station at John Wayne Airport which is less than 5km from my unit. Again, my readings compare well. Of course they will not be exactly because of the distance apart and because there are more obstructions to wind in my location, and they of course will have far better and calibrated equipment. A link to the readouts from John Wayne Airport can be found below.
NOAA John Wayne Airport Weather (metrics)
NOAA John Wayne Airport Weather (US units)
So how does my Acurite 5-In-1 manage to record a temperature that can be considered an accurate air temperature reading when it is located in the sun?
(Get your own AcuRite-Pro 5-in-1 from Amazon)
If you look at this video below you will see that my weather station is situated in the sun, well above the ground, but also reasonably close to the roof tiles.
However, to compensate for these conditions, the Acurite weather station has two fans inside the unit that are driven by the two solar panels on the south-facing front of the weather station (left side of the unit in the video). The fans blow air over the temperature sensor eliminating heat buildup.
You can also asses that the readings from my weather station are within expected range by comparing the readings from other members of the Weather Underground in my area. These are typically amateur enthusiasts like me, and different members will take more or less care in the positioning of their units. However, you can disregard any that seem too high or too low compared to the others in the area. My unit has consistently been within reasonable range compared to neighboring units.
A map of the temperature readings being reported for my area on Weather Underground. The reading for my station will be within a circle at the center of the map.
An even better "gold-standard" comparison can be made with the readings from the US National Weather Service (NOAA) for their station at John Wayne Airport which is less than 5km from my unit. Again, my readings compare well. Of course they will not be exactly because of the distance apart and because there are more obstructions to wind in my location, and they of course will have far better and calibrated equipment. A link to the readouts from John Wayne Airport can be found below.
NOAA John Wayne Airport Weather (metrics)
NOAA John Wayne Airport Weather (US units)
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