Where to put a Hama outdoor sensor
Updated: October 2026
The outdoor number looks wrong before you have finished the tea: 28 °C on a grey morning, or a blank line as soon as the probe leaves the kitchen. Hama outdoor sensor placement is a short list: shade, a height around head and shoulder, shelter from wet, and a distance through the house closer than the catalogue's open-air figure. Pairing order is on the [set-up](/hub/climate-measuring/hama-weather-station/sub/hama-weather-station-set-up) page. Which base to buy is the [buying guide](/hub/climate-measuring/hama-weather-station/sub/hama-weather-station-buying-guide). Prices are on the [Hama weather station comparison](/hub/climate-measuring/hama-weather-station).
The outdoor number looks wrong before you have finished the tea: 28 °C on a grey morning, or a blank line as soon as the probe leaves the kitchen.
The outdoor number looks wrong before you have finished the tea: 28 °C on a grey morning, or a blank line as soon as the probe leaves the kitchen. Hama outdoor sensor placement is a short list: shade, a height around head and shoulder, shelter from wet, and a distance through the house closer than the catalogue's open-air figure. Pairing order is on the set-up page. Which base to buy is the buying guide. Prices are on the Hama weather station comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Stated range | Extra channels | What the listing is | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Hama Hama Action | Not stated | Up to 3 | Link drop in reviews | 8.0 | about £17.54 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Hama Hama Black Line Plus | Up to 50 m | Two more | Open-air claim | 7.8 | about £44.00 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Hama Hama Touch | Up to 30 m | Two more | Open-air claim | 7.2 | about £23.64 | View offer |
On this page
Shade before distance
Put the probe on a north side if the house has one, out of the midday sun, and not on a south wall that has been warm since lunch. Hama's set-up article says shade, under a roof overhang where you can, at about 1.25 to 2 metres. The Royal Meteorological Society's siting note says sun and heated walls spoil the reading, at a height of about 1 to 1.5 metres. A sensor on brick the sun has baked will run high. That gap is the wall.
Keep it off a tumble-dryer vent, a boiler flue and a dark fence panel. A far, sunlit fence is a worse site than a near, shaded overhang, even when the box says 50 metres.
Shelter it; do not call it waterproof
None of these Hama listings prints an IP rating. Hama says protect the sensor from moisture. Outdoor on the title is not a waterproof claim. An overhang matters: a north eave or a porch soffit that does not take the prevailing wet.
Black Line Plus owners in this category added a cover or sealed the sensor. That is user practice, not a Hama instruction. Do not put the probe in a plastic bag and call it Hama's method. If the sensor has been soaked, or the cells have leaked, stop. The base stays indoors.
Trust 10 metres through a house
The Touch listing says up to 30 m. The Black Line Plus says up to 50 m. Those are the stated ranges in this comparison's amazon.co.uk files. The Zakynthos prints no range, so a 50 m figure from another model is not used here.
Hama support says about 10 m once walls intervene, on a 433 MHz link. Brick, foil-backed plasterboard, a steel lintel and a fridge on the path all count. One Zakynthos reviewer failed to pair at about five metres. A short indoor failure is pairing or interference. A failure only at the back fence is range. Extra channels on the Touch, the Action, the Zakynthos, the EWS-200 and the Black Line Plus are not three probes in the box. Pair on the table first, then walk the probe towards the overhang.
When placement is not the fault
A reading that is high in the sun is placement. A reading that vanishes after months, with a dry, shaded, nearby probe, is something else. Action reviews describe the link dropping in light frost or after months. Leaked batteries are a fault. On the Touch, a UK review shows LL instead of outdoor humidity. The review does not define the letters. Do not invent a percent.
If a re-pair on the table restores the number, the wall was never the cause. If the sensor never speaks on the table, another nail will not help. A Meteotime forecast outage does not explain a silent outdoor line. Returning mould, after you have ventilated and heated, is a job for someone who inspects buildings.
Common questions
North wall or south wall?
North, or another shaded wall, if you can. A south wall in sun heats the sensor and the reading stops being the air. If the only overhang is south-facing, keep the probe in its shade. Do not chase a north wall that is 40 metres away through three brick walls.
How high off the ground?
Hama's guide says about 1.25 to 2 metres. The Royal Meteorological Society's note is about 1 to 1.5 metres, clear of heated surfaces. Knee height on a sunlit patio is too low and too hot. Head height under an overhang is the practical compromise.
Will rain ruin it?
These listings do not state an IP rating, so do not call the sensor waterproof. Hama says protect it from moisture. An overhang is the method in the support article. A plastic bag is not. If water has entered the battery compartment, stop using that probe.
Does 50 m mean the end of the garden?
Only as an open-air claim on the Black Line Plus. The Touch's line is 30 m. Hama support says about 10 m once walls are in the way. Walk the probe out from a successful table pairing and stop where the reading holds.
Why is the outdoor temperature higher than the forecast?
The forecast is a region. The probe is one spot. Sun on a south wall, a dark surface or a vent will lift the number. The listing's ±1 °C, or ±2 °C on Meteotime, is a manufacturer line, not a promise that sunlit brick will match that forecast. Move the probe into shade before you compare them.
Can I add a second sensor for a greenhouse?
Only if that listing says further sensors can be connected. Here, the Touch, Action, Zakynthos, EWS-200 and Black Line Plus mention extra channels. The box still contains one sensor unless the components line says more. A greenhouse probe still wants shade and its own channel.
The number vanished after a few months. Is that placement or a fault?
If the probe is still in shade, within about 10 m of real walls, and the batteries have not leaked, start with a re-pair on the table. A link that fails only at the far fence is range. A link that fails on the table is no longer a hanging problem. Light frost is mentioned in Action reviews as a moment when the outdoor link drops.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK and manufacturer sources used for this comparison, plus the amazon.co.uk listings for the eleven models. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
- PTB, dissemination of legal time, DCF77 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Find a Tender, NPL time broadcast (MSF, 60 kHz) (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Hama support, Meteotime forecast outage (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Meteotime, transmission problem, 30 June 2026 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Meteotime, forecast data still unavailable, 30 July 2026 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Hama support, setting up the weather station (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Centre for Sustainable Energy, home temperature and humidity (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 20 October 2026)