IHC-200

I have read some other reviews about how difficult this was to setup. I found it very easy and familiar to other instruments (temperature sensors, flow meters, pressure sensors, etc.) that I have setup in an industrial processes. Read the owners booklet, and go thru the menu and make your selections. I thought it was very well explained. I especially like the ability to adjust/calibrate the relative humidity indication to make it accurate. You can change it plus or minus 10%. I used a wet/dry bulb thermometer instrument (built one with parts here on Amazon) to read an accurate current (real world) relative humidity (RH) to use to match this instrument to. However, right out of the box, the Inkbird matched with my wet/dry bulb thermometers were indicating for RH so no initial calibration was needed (zero for this value in the menu settings is no offset/adjustment). You can use this instrument for both decreasing humidity (connecting it to a dehumidifier) or for increasing humidity turning on a humidifier). OR even for controlling the desired humidity of an environment by connecting it to both, and the instrument will turn on the humidifier when the RH is below what you set, and it will turn on a dehumidifier when the RH is above what you set. Be sure to have enough of a gap between your upper and lower limit to prevent your equipment from cycling. This is called the deadband/hysteresis. When I do a product review, I always like give the pros and the cons. For this one I had to be really picky to find anything bad: It uses the initials SV which stands for Setting Value. Typically instruments use SP instead, which stands for Set Point The 3 variables in an instrumentation control system are: PV (process value) the value of the temperature; pressure; flow; RH that the instrument is indicating. SP (set point) the value you want your PV to change to. CV (control value) the signal the instrument is sending to the device you are using to change your PV For example... your house heating thermostat. The PV is the room temperature The SP is what you have the thermostat set for. (like you want your house to be 68 degrees) The CV is the signal your thermostat is sending to your heater. It could be 0 or 1 (on / off) which would turn your heater on or off. Note: some modern home furnaces have variable heat. As the temperature in the room (PV) is farther away from your SP it makes the furnace fire more (like turning up the flame on a gas cooking range)

This is one of the best products I've bought for environmental control inside. I like to control precisely the humidity in spaces where I do water damage repair. Most devices, such as the Sonoff TH16 Wifi Temperature and Humidity Sensor seem to only sample once every 5 minutes or so. THERE IS A BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE - ABOUT 10 MINUTES. This device samples seemingly many times a second (I can't find the spec but when I dump a humidifier to it, it counts up right away). The options are essentially endless, including a delay for the compressor on a dehumidifier, which can be damaged if toggled while under full pressure. Also you can adjust what RH it is reading compared to actual (if it isn't spot on, you can make it be). Additionally, you can decide how much "float" you have before you add humidity or remove it (each has an individual setting). Avoid the Sonoff TH16 Wifi Temperature and Humidity Sensor if you care to sample more than once every 10 minutes or so. I've had two of them and they both failed within 2 months of use. This item is the real deal and the extra cost goes towards it being pre-wired, functional, and well built rather than the Sonoff which is tricky (to say the least) fitting wires under the screw on wiring cover. The sonoff also fails often. I bought two that both failed within 2 months of use each. I haven't written my sonoff review yet as I don't like slamming companies but they need to be at this point.

Giving this 4 stars with conditions. The unit is a must have for a grow room and not much else available at a reasonable price. After using this unit thru one grow (4 months) and starting the next it started malfunctioning saying humidity was 22% when it was actually 84% by hygrometers in room. After reading found that many had problem with sensor going bad. Amazon sells a replacement sensor or probe for $14.99 so didn't have to buy a whole new unit for $42.99. This is the review on the replacement probe I posted so you can see what is involved in replacing it. This come just like the picture with 4 wires sticking out of sensor which means that the housing doesn't clamp on the wires because the outer insulation is not there. I took apart the old sensor using a razor knife to gently pry apart housing but still managed to crack it getting it apart. The old wires actually have a crimp fitting on the end that plugs into the unit (4 of these). Using hemostats was able to unplug them hoping to reuse all the old wire. Thought I should try plugging them back in before trying to disassemble new unit. They didn't want to plug back in very well so at this point just decided to leave new unit as is and not disassemble and just splice wires. Wires are tiny and hard to strip but doable. Soldered connections and used shrink tubing and electrical tape to finish the job. All worked out and replacement is working fine. From what I have read these sensors don't last that long and glad they sell the part for 15 bucks instead of having to replace the whole controller for 42.99. Would be nice if they had the sensors set up with an outside plug so replacing would just amount to unplugging old one and plugging in new one. The inkbird IHC-200 is a must have for a grow room and I have a complete spare unit in case of a malfunction. Will probably buy another sensor to have on hand in case they decide to quit selling replacement probes.