Author Topic: What would it be like if every household or at least 1 in 10 households...  (Read 1047 times)

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Offline WeatherEnthusiastNZ

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 What would it be like if every household or at least 1 in 10 households owned a Weather Station (a smart one that uploaded the data). It would be interesting theorizing the results. I think knowledge and understand of weather and weather metrics would drastically increase. I think that there would be huge amounts of data which could extremely accurately weather data around the globe. Maybe laws or resource allocation would change if their was widespread data collection on rain levels, pollution levels (assuming that the Weather Stations had a PM2.5 monitor), sunlight levels, etc. What else do you think would be pros and cons that would come as a result of a massive % of the world owning weather stations?

Offline WeatherEnthusiastNZ

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New Zealand has a population of 5,000,000 (5 million people). Now assume that there are 5 people per household. That is 1,000,000 households (1 Million). Now if 1/10 households had a Smart Weather Station, that would be 100,000 stations. Now if the stations cost about $200 USD apx. Then to cover New Zealand (at least the residential areas) would only cost 100K x $200. $20,000,000 ($20 Million). Now for the benefit that that would have on the country (if 1/10 households were happy to purchase a Weather Station, I think currently in NZ, it's less than 1%), having perfectly precise weather data in virtually all populated areas (and since multiple stations, rouge stations would easily be noticed) in NZ for the cost of only 20Million does sound pretty cheap for the amount of benefit it would provide. And let's say since so many weather stations were being mass produced and bought, it only cost $100 per station. And let's say only 1/100 households got it (apx 1 per street), which would still be pretty precise data. The total cost could be reduced to $1,000,000 instead of 20 Million. Anyway just some thoughts. :)

Offline ocala

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You have to consider the  accuracy of the data you are getting. Station A that costs $2000 dollars is going to be more accurate then station B that costs $200. Accounting for the difference in the quality of the data would a  factor.  The siting of a station is also very important.  A station that is sited over a reflective surface like concrete or a metal or shingle roof is going to be different then one sited over grass at the same location.
In order to do what you are saying you would need the the same type of station all sited in the same manner to get an accurate view of the climate in a certain area. That's generally cost prohibitive so the above scenario where you have different stations is the way to go but with the  caveat that all data is not created equally.   
The blues had a baby and they named it Rock & Roll

Offline BeaverMeadow

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Ventusky.com has selectable weather maps. See the attached screengrab for N.Z. temps at 2 m above ground below. I find that here in the U.S. in my area their temp maps accurately coincide with the average WU weather station data. I do not know how Ventusky derives this info but I would not think it is from WU pws data. Point is New Zelanders  probably wouldn't have to enrich pws manufacturers to the tune of millions of dollars just so this data is readily available.   

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Offline WeatherEnthusiastNZ

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Thanks for your responses. You both make good points.

Offline SoMDWx

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You can buy the most expensive station built but unless it is installed properly, its data is not worth getting.... EVen the cheaper stations can provide half-decent data that is valuable if sited properly and maintained...   :roll:

Offline Mattk

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The cheapest, the most expensive, not installed properly and if the data is manipulated like some Meteorology bureaus do then the data is misleading anyway

Offline leweatherobzver

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The frequency interferences though.
My weather station: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KNCRALEI695
Setup: AcuRite 5-in-1 with Direct to WiFi Display

 

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