Chris Formaggia, Principal, recently purchased a “Smarthy” Thermo-Hygrometer  made by TFA Dostmann GmbH and Co.KG.

This handy little unit is about the size and shape of a memory-stick and plugs into the earphone socket of your IPad or smartphone. Having downloaded the Smarthy App you turn your unit into a thermometer and hygrometer with data logging capability.

The hygrometer measures between 20% and 95% with a 1% resolution and has a stated accuracy of +/- 5%.

The thermometer measures from -20C to +60C with a resolution of 0.1C and and accuracy of +/-1C.

Features on the app include:

  • A graph section so you can data-log
  • A photo capture section that utilises your on-board camera and annotates temperature and humidity readings to your image –  Chris particularly liked this facility which adds scientific quality to report photographs
  • A site record facility which can be geo-referenced
  • thermal and humidity alarms for max/min ranges
  • Export by email

The unit retails for about £40-00 and is available from various online retailers in the UK. Chris has been using it on relevant ecological surveys such as Preliminary Roost Assessments and is really pleased with it – so much so we have bought one for all our ecological consultants.

Bat Surveys: TFA Smarthy