Ambient Weather WS-2902 Review
Ambient Weather WS-2902 Rating
Connectivity 
Weather Instruments
Accuracy / Freqeuncy
Affordability
Overall Rating
Quick Review
PROS
The Ambient Weather WS-2902 is one of our favorite solar-powered wireless weather stations. By including wifi connectivity and solar radiation and UV sensors, it’s hard to beat the package Ambient has put together here. On top of this, it is one of the more affordable home weather stations available.
CONS
The biggest drawback to the WS-2902 is its color film LCD display. It’s been noted that it can be hard to see from certain angles. In addition, the wifi connectivity only works on the 2.4 GHz band, which probably isn’t a big deal for most people.
SUMMARY
THE VALUE THE CONSUMER GETS WITH THE WS-2902 IS CRAZY GOOD! It comes standard with more sensors, wifi built-in, and even smart home connnectivity options, yet it is one of the most affordable units reviewed on this site. We think it’s the best home weather station available and highly recommend buying the Ambient WS-2902 for your backyard!
Thanks for visiting our Ambient Weather WS-2902 review!
This WIFI weather station has all the features you come to expect from Ambient Weather, a real innovator in this space that is starting to put out some really “connected” products. Most recent advancements allow the user to connect directly to your home wireless network and even interface with many your smart home devices. The WS-2902 is called a 10-in-1 professional weather station, hinting at the fact that it measures and records data from ten different sensors which we’ll discuss in more detail below.
Ambient Weather WS-2902 vs WS-2902a Update
Some have asked what the difference between the Ambient Weather WS-2902 and the WS-2902a is. In reality, not a whole lot. If given the option, buy the Ambient Weather WS-2902a as it adds direct console internet connectivity. On the WS-2902, you are required to use the AmbientTool mobile app to connect to your router. Either way, it’s really not a big deal, but the WS-2902a is slightly more convenient if you are connecting to the web. If you’re not, there’s virtually no difference. Consider this also our Ambient Weather WS-2902a review.
Connectivity
As mentioned already, the Ambient Weather WS-2902 is a WIFI-enabled weather station. It connects directly to your home wireless network on the 2.4 GHz Frequency and can be up to 80ft away from your router. This is very handy as many of the other competitive brands require extra hardware and/or software in order to connect your personal weather station to the internet. This of course makes things more complex and costs more money also. Additionally, the data transmission from the weather sensors to the console is also without wires. This wireless weather station can transmit the data up to 300 feet with a clear line of sight, but averages more like 100 feet in real-world conditions.
Smart Home Compatible
Like other Ambient weather station reviews we have done, the WS-2902 is capable of connecting to many smart home devices. Some of the more popular types include Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. This means that you can connect your personal weather station to the network and request a weather report or inquire about indoor conditions from compatible devices without even looking at the display.
Additionally, you can connect the Ambient WS-2902 to IFTTT. If you’re unfamiliar with IFTTT, it can be used to connect and control other devices based on an event. IFTTT stands for “if this, then that”, meaning you could set up conditional functions like: if the indoor temperature is above 75 degrees, close the blinds, or something similar.
AmbientWeather.net
On top of being connected within your own home, the WS-2902 can also easily be connected with the world outside your home. Ambient Weather features their own weather station network called AmbientWeather.net that you can use for uploading your weather data to the web so you can view it from anywhere on your phone, tablet, or computer. The platform is easy to use and provides graphs and gauges on all of your data. You can also download the data to your PC for recording if you’d like.
Best Weather Station for Weather Underground
In addition, the Ambient WS-2902 is also capable of connecting to the world’s most popular personal weather station network and community. In fact, I believe it’s the best weather station for Wunderground due to it’s ease of connectability, wifi, etc. Here you can upload and share your data for your neighbors to see. You can also see other’s weather data for comparison and accuracy checks. The ability to connect easily to Weather Underground is a must-have these days. Even if you don’t chose to join now, you might want the functionality in the future. It’s an opportunity to join a community of like-minded people with similar passions for weather as you.
Weather Display
As you can see in the image above, the weather display has a dark screen with vibrant colors. It is a color film LCD display, so it is not a high-end screen, but it gets the job done. The display is powered with an AC adapter, but also can be powered by battery (3x AAA), which is important during a power outage event.
Weather Instruments
The Ambient Weather WS-2902 uses the Osprey Sensor Array that is approximately 15” x 11” x 10”. Between the Osprey Array and the indoor console, you get a total of ten sensors recording measurements. Here they are listed out:
- Indoor Temperature
- Outdoor Temperature
- Indoor Humidity
- Outdoor Humidity
- Indoor Barometric Pressure
- Wind Speed (Anemometer)
- Wind Direction (Wind Vane)
- Rainfall (Self-Emptying Rain Collector)
- Solar Radiation
- UV Sensor
In addition, the WS-2902 Osprey also has a bubble level for mounting and a solar collector for powering the outdoor sensors. Solar power is the primary power source for this unit and it charges a super capacitor. There is a battery backup for periods of little sunlight (2x AA), however Ambient expects the batteries to last at least a couple of years since they aren’t the main power source. You’ll be hard-pressed to find this many instruments with any other solar powered weather station for home at this price level.
Ambient Weather WS-2902 Mounting
Unfortunately, the Ambient WS-2902 weather station does not come with an installation mounting pole when you buy it. However, it does include a U-Bolt kit, allowing the Osprey sensor to mount to any 1″-2″ diameter pole (pole not included). To get a WS-2902 mount, you’ll need to make your own or select one of the many Ambient weather station mounting solutions they offer. There are several off the shelf options supplied by Ambient Weather, including those shown below. You can also check this Amazon page for other potential options.
Ambient Weather WS-2902 Mounting Solutions / Installation Mounts
Accuracy
The accuracy of the WS-2902 weather station sensors are as follows. They are neither the best nor worst of the weather stations reviewed on this site. They fall close to the average and are probably sufficient for most amateur weather watchers buying a household weather station.
- Temperature: ± 2° F
- Humidity: ± 5%
- Barometric Pressure: ±0.08 inHG
- Rain: ± 10%
- Wind Direction: ± 1°
- Wind Speed: 2.2 mph
- UV ± 1
- Solar Radiation: ± 15%
Update Frequency
The sensor data updates the weather display console every 16 seconds with real-time information. Information being sent to the internet is updated every 60 seconds. There are some commercial and professional weather station models that are quicker than this. However, for a home weather station, this frequency should be adequate for gathering good weather data including averages, highs, and lows. See the Ambient Weather WS-2902 manual for more details on the specifications.
Affordability
As mentioned briefly above, there are a number of weather instruments included on this model that you won’t see on competitive models to the Ambient brand. Despite that and including WIFI connection without additional hardware, the WS-2902 is still one of the most affordable home weather stations available. You do get a lot of bang for your buck with this model!
What Actual Users are Saying
From the feedback we saw during our research for this Ambient WS-2902 review, it is apparent that users are thrilled with this product on the whole. One common theme we heard over and over was about the value you get with this weather station. It was compared with $500+ models that had the same features. Another fan favorite was the WIFI connectivity that makes it so easy to view your weather data from anywhere. Easy to setup and user friendliness were also topics discussed. Here’s a short WS-2902 setup guilde one user posted to Youtube.
Ambient WS-2902 Weather Station Pros & Cons
PROS
Many weather instruments
Solar-powered
Affordable
WIFI included
Best weather station for Weather Underground
CONS
Display can be hard to see at some angles
Only works on 2.4 GHz WIIF frequency, not 5.0 GHz
Ambient Weather WS-2902 Review: Final Word
The WIFI capabilities, along with its affordable price tag (check current price), make this wireless weather station a very popular model. The options for connectivity to the internet, Weather Underground, and all the smart home devices it’s compatible with make it easy to integrate into a weather station that fits your individual needs.
The display screen is not great, but by using the color film LCD technology, Ambient was able to price the WS-2902 affordably. They actually priced in such a way that it’s comparably priced to other home weather stations that don’t even come with a display. Quite frankly, it is nice to have a display, but with technology and the fact that everyone now has a smartphone in their pocket at all times, it is just as easy to pull it out and have all your weather data at your fingertips.
For the reasons listed here, I feel good suggesting the Ambient Weather WS-2902 to anyone who is looking for a home weather station and plans to upload data to a PC or the web. It has tons of features for everyone, and in our opinion, is one of the top weather stations for Weather Underground. It’s probably obvious at this point, but we highly recommend buying the Ambient WS-2902 WIFI weather station.
Is the Ambient Weather WS-2902 not quite what you’re looking for?
You may also be interested in our other Ambient Weather Station Reviews…
Ambient WS-2902 Rating
Connectivity
Weather Instruments
Accuracy / Freqeuncy
Affordability
Overall Rating
Quick Review
PROS
The Ambient Weather WS-2902 is one of our favorite solar-powered wireless weather stations. By including wifi connectivity and solar radiation and UV sensors, it’s hard to beat the package Ambient has put together here. On top of this, it is one of the more affordable home weather stations available.
CONS
The biggest drawback to the WS-2902 is its color film LCD display. It’s been noted that it can be hard to see from certain angles. In addition, the wifi connectivity only works on the 2.4 GHz band, which probably isn’t a big deal for most people.
SUMMARY
THE VALUE THE CONSUMER GETS WITH THE WS-2902 IS CRAZY GOOD! It comes standard with more sensors, wifi built-in, and even smart home connnectivity options, yet it is one of the most affordable units reviewed on this site. We think it’s the best home weather station available and highly recommend buying the Ambient WS-2902 for your backyard!