Enhancing Your METOS Station’s Capabilities

Use Cases for Virtual Sensors with HSE

As technology advances in precision agriculture, farmers and agronomists are always looking for ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and gain deeper insights from their existing systems.

The Hybrid Weather Station Extension (HSE) from METOS by Pessl Instruments is one such tool, offering a cost-effective upgrade to your METOS stations by integrating virtual sensors. These sensors enhance your ability to make data-driven decisions without the need for additional physical sensors.

In this blog, we’ll explore the key use cases for virtual sensors with HSE, demonstrating how this powerful tool can expand your METOS station’s functionality and ultimately boost productivity.

USE CASES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

1. Expand your station with ETo

If your station does not have physical solar radiation or wind speed sensors, you can add virtual sensors to enable ETo (Evapotranspiration) calculation. In the example below, station IMT200 was enhanced with virtual global solar radiation and wind speed data, enabling accurate ETo computation without additional hardware.

Benefit: This gives you the tools to manage irrigation efficiently, conserving water and ensuring crops receive just the right amount.

2. Add ETo to your soil moisture station

Even a basic device equipped solely with a soil moisture probe can be upgraded with virtual weather data. This allows the device to show all the main agrometeorological parameters and calculate ETo, improving irrigation decisions and crop water management.

Benefit: By combining soil moisture data with virtual weather inputs, you’ll improve your irrigation decisions, ensuring optimal water usage while avoiding over-irrigation or underwatering.

3. Disease models

Some disease models require specific environmental data inputs. Virtual sensors make it possible to run these models without the need for physical sensors, just some examples below:

  • Wheat and Potato require solar radiation data to model diseases such as Anthracnose and Phytophthora infestans.
  • Rapeseed and Soya need soil temperature data to model Sclerotinia.

These use cases demonstrate how virtual sensors can extend device capabilities, improve agronomic decision-making, and reduce hardware costs, making precision agriculture more accessible.

Benefit: you will be minimizing the risk of crop loss and reduce the need for costly pesticide treatments, ultimately improving crop health and yield.

QUICK RECAP

HSE with its virtual sensors opens up powerful new use cases for METOS stations by filling in missing environmental data, without any extra hardware required. Whether you’re optimizing irrigation, improving disease risk predictions, or enhancing overall decision-making, these tools bring more value to your existing setup.

✅Calculate ETo – Add virtual solar radiation and wind speed to any station
✅ Upgrade Soil Moisture Probes – Combine with virtual weather data for full irrigation insights
✅ Run Disease Models – Enable critical models like Phytophthora infestans or Sclerotinia with virtual solar radiation or soil temperature
✅ Flexible Expansion – Add value to your existing METOS station, without the need to add physical sensors to it

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH VISUAL SENSORS AND HSE

Integrating HSE into your METOS station is a simple and seamless process. With plug-and-play integration, all you need to do is add the virtual sensors to your system with a subscription, and they will begin working alongside your physical sensors via the FieldClimate platform. There’s no need for complex installations or upgrades, making this a user-friendly solution for farmers and agronomists at any level of expertise.

If you’re ready to expand your METOS station’s capabilities and get more out of your data, upgrading with virtual sensors through HSE is the way forward. Simply write to [email protected] with the serial number of the METOS station you wish to see enhanced and FieldClimate username.

Why Virtual Sensors Are a Game Changer for Precision Agriculture

Virtual sensors are transforming precision agriculture by enhancing existing weather station capabilities, without the need for additional hardware. These sensors provide valuable data points that complement your physical METOS weather station, offering greater flexibility and cost savings.

By expanding the functionality of your METOS system, virtual sensors give you the power to make smarter decisions – optimizing irrigation, improving water management, and enhancing disease prevention. While your METOS station continues to deliver the highest level of precision, virtual sensors offer an accessible way to add more insights, making your investment in advanced weather monitoring even more valuable.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What are virtual sensors, and how do they work?

Virtual sensors are digital tools that replicate the functionality of physical sensors without the need for additional hardware. They come from the best weather simulation model for the specific location and use nowcast data with inputs from measured station data. These sensors work seamlessly with METOS stations, providing enhanced functionality and improved decision-making.

2. Do I need to purchase additional hardware for virtual sensors?

No! One of the key benefits of virtual sensors is that they do not require extra physical hardware. By using data from existing sensors and virtual weather forecasts, you can unlock new capabilities for your METOS station without the need for costly physical upgrades. You only pay for the HSE subscription, which costs 96euros/annual/station.

3. Which METOS devices can be enhanced with HSE?

Virtually all METOS devices can be upgraded with virtual sensors, including nMETOS, miniMETOS, LoRAIN/LoRATH, METOS 5, METOS FWT, METOS STREMO, and so on. This allows for flexible expansion and ensures that your system can grow with your needs.

CONCLUSION

Virtual sensors are revolutionizing the way we approach weather monitoring and precision agriculture. By integrating HSE with your METOS station, you can access cost-effective, accurate, and actionable data that helps you make smarter decisions, optimize resources, and improve crop yields.

Whether you’re enhancing irrigation management, running disease models, or calculating ETo, virtual sensors are an essential tool for the modern farmer. Upgrade your METOS station today and unlock the full potential of your data with HSE.

Interested in HSE?

Get in touch today.

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