Altimeter Barometer Anemometer

I live in Florida, where summer heat turns the inside of a car into an oven. Most Floridians don’t have remote start. I don’t. To start my vehicle to turn on the air to cool the vehicle down, I must physically sit in it with my foot on the brake while turning the key for the ignition to engage. My leather-look seats become so hot, they can literally burn exposed skin. I’ve utilized sun visors, and makeshift fabric seat barriers, but juggling them while getting in and out is a hassle and frustrating (especially when they slide or fall out the door). Time for a better solution. I purchased three cooling seat covers (all under $100) to test cooling ability and comfort of each to find one that would work best for my needs. I used this anemometer to test airflow speed of each and then tested each for comfort. This anemometer was very easy to use and made determining wind speed at various locations on each cooling seat cover, simple and accurate. It is made of sturdy plastic. You can feel the quality construction as you hold it in your hand. It takes standard AAA batteries that can easily be purchased in the local area or online. There are various speed measurement types to choose from (knots, mph and other). I used it on the mph setting. It is very easy to change between settings. There are lower-cost anemometers available for purchase and more expensive. I wanted quality, accuracy and durability. This device checked those boxes for me. The purchase was initially made for the windspeed test identified above. Ongoing, I will utilize it to measure wind speed when we have an approaching tropical storm or hurricane, just because it is of interest to me and I can.

I am a ham radio operator that volunteers to spot storms for SkyWarn through my county's ham club ARES team. This anemometer is part of the ARES kit I keep in my truck. Most people vastly overestimate wind speed when guessing based on observation. It's not uncommon for a thunderstorm to produce 25 to 30 MPH wind, which the NWS categorizes as a "strong breeze." A 30 MPH gust will move patio furniture and trash cans but isn't a serious threat to most buildings and vehicles. 40 MPH is when you start to see minor damage (e.g., small branches breaking off of trees) and anything 50 MPH and above starts to get dangerous. Since reporting conditions accurately is critical when storm spotting, having an anemometer to get an accurate reading helps a lot. When I am able to report "30 sustained with 42 MPH gusts, measured" the SkyWarn Net Control and NWS have useable information. Try it yourself: guess at the wind speed then measure. Don't feel bad if you overestimated wind speed! That and hail size are the two most frequently misreported parts of storms. This anemometer is a good size, fits in an adult hand, and is easy to use. The display is easy to read and the backlight helps at night. It reads wind speed from either direction so you don't need to turn around to face into the wind. Runs on 2 AA batteries (included) and there is room in the included carrying case for a set of spare batteries. (And a small ruler for measuring hail.) There is a tripod mount on the bottom for continuous monitoring but I use the included wrist strap so I don't need to worry about dropping it. I haven't compared the readings with a known calibrated unit but I do get readings within a few percent of measured wind speed reported by NWS and other spotters. If you need to accurately measure wind, this is an affordable tool.

Immediate Bluetooth connection to my phone. It's simple to use and works great.

For those not in the HVAC profession this low cost device is good enough to satisfy your curiosity for measuring airflow. Not sure of its accuracy when measuring wind speed but I imagine its within ballpark. Tricky thing to measure airflow in any case because it depends on location and placement of the device. I can say air temperature readings are 2-3 degrees off when comparing to dial thermometer I used simultaneously. Device was useful and low cost enough for what I required.

Very simple tool... The temperature doesn't seem to be very accurate!

Big vanes, so it's able to spin even at very low wind speed, 0.4 mph. That makes it too big for a pocket however. Good quality instrument at a low price.

I knew I had a duct or two that was either partially or fully disconnected. Didn't want to crawl around all under the house, so I was able to pinpoint the two floor registers with low air flow and RECONNECT THE DUCTS.

I found a small tripod at the thrift store that is perfect for this. I have used it a few times and it works just as advertised. It registers the slightest breeze. I have had it out in gusts up to 18mph so far.