EnviroMonitor vs Vantage Pro 2 ranges

With the launch of EnviroMonitor, Davis is creating a major new product range. There will, inevitably, be questions about how EM relates to the existing Vantage Pro 2 and Vue ranges.

The basic answer is that all three ranges (EM, VP2 and Vue) will continue to be marketed because each range serves a distinct market sector:

• The new EM range services the requirement for comprehensive remote monitoring of larger or more intensively monitored sites and allows for many more individual sensors and sensor types in an installation, along with a modern, cloud-based data platform;
• The VP2 range provides professional quality weather monitoring along with a limited set of supplementary soil and other sensors; the standard VP2 also includes a local display console;
• Vue is an entry-level product for those with basic weather-monitoring requirements or on a limited budget;

EM is therefore a major new range in its own right and not a successor product to the VP2, which will continue to be manufactured and which will presumably continue to evolve technically as a separate product. (But – and this is purely speculation – it would not be a surprise if some or all of the relevant features of the EM branch of the Weatherlink.com website also became available in time to other existing users of Weatherlink.com – Davis might prefer to maintain just a single unified web platform.)

There will clearly be some users who are uncertain whether to look at the VP2 or EM ranges and it may be worth reviewing both. Here are some of the key differences:

• EM provides much more flexibility in the number and choice of sensors, especially for soil and pressure/flow sensors;
• Only EM currently has access to the modern, web-based data platform;
• Only the VP2 offers a local display console and local PC/router connectivity; EM uploads its data solely over the mobile phone network;
• For users needing remote monitoring but with limited sensing (e.g. of only weather parameters) then a VP2/Connect station will probably continue to be the most cost-effective option; but remember also that an EM system will always offer better future-proofing to users who may wish to have maximum flexibility for adding extra sensor types at some later date;
• For users with an existing EM account, it may make more sense to implement a new field site as EM rather than VP2 even if the monitoring requirements at the new site are straightforward. This way, all sites can be viewed and managed from within the same EM account;

If an EM system might be of interest for your application then be sure to contact us for further discussion – we will be delighted to advise further.