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The SHTC3 temperature sensors

Typical current

100µA (active)

Price

Weak

Maximum precision

±0,3 °K

Measurement range (°C)

−40 / +125

Resolution

16 bits

Power supply voltage

1,62→3,6V

Sampling rate

1 to 10Hz

I²C Address

0x70

The SHTC3 is a digital humidity and temperature sensor from Sensirion, a direct successor to the SHTC1, and a more energy-efficient alternative to the SHT31.

It maintains excellent accuracy while reducing power consumption by a factor of 10.

Its compact design and wide voltage range (1.62 V to 3.6 V) make it an ideal choice for battery-operated applications, smartwatches, environmental IoT, or miniaturized embedded sensors.

The SHTC3 integrates:

  • a capacitive sensor for humidity,
  • a measurement diode for temperature,
  • both converted by a 16-bit ADC and digitally compensated before being sent via I²C.

Official Sensirion formulas:

SHTC3 probes

💡 The measurements are factory calibrated — no external compensation needed.

Raw measurement (hex)
 Temperature (°C) Humidity (%)
0x0000 −45,0 0,0
0x8000 +42,5 50,0
0xFFFF +130,0 100,0

🧮 Resolution: 16 bits on each channel (T and RH).

+3.3V
 │
[SHTC3]
 │ SDA ─────────┐
 │ SCL ─────────┤── [I²C Microcontroller]
 │ GND

💡 Fixed address: 0x70 — therefore, there can only be one SHTC3 per I²C bus.

⌚ Wearables and connected objects

🧠 Environmental IoT sensors

🔋 Battery-powered devices (smart tags, watches, portable stations)

🏠 Home automation and ambient control

⚙️ Compact embedded applications

Smooth tube probe

Should I choose an SHTC3 sensor?

Here are 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses to help you make your choice.

Strengths points

  • 🔋 Ultra low power consumption
         → Less than 0.5 µA in standby, ideal for IoT or long-lasting battery products.
  • ⚙️ Compact and simple to integrate
         → Miniature DFN package, standard I²C protocol and direct equations.
  • 🎯 Good accuracy despite its compactness
         → ±0.3 K and ±2 % RH: more than sufficient for most embedded applications.
  • 🧠 Integrated automatic compensation
         → No external calibration or correction required.
Waterproof probe

Weak points

  • 🌡️ More robust than the SHT31
    → No integrated PTFE coating, more susceptible to condensation and contaminants.
  • 📡 Fixed I²C address (0x70)
    → It is impossible to connect multiple devices on the same bus without multiplexing.
  • 💧 No independent temperature sensor
    → The two measurements (T and RH) are always linked in the I²C sequence.

Useful information

Here is some useful information regarding the SHTC3 sensors.

Command (hex)
 Description
0x3517 Wake up (exit sleep mode)
0xB098 Sleep (sleep mode)
0x7866 High precision measurement, stretched clock
0x58E0 High precision measurement, without stretched clock
0x609C Low power measurement, without stretched clock
0xE000 State register lecture
0x5D Soft reset 
i2c_start();
i2c_write(0x70 << 1);
i2c_write(0x78);
i2c_write(0x66); // High precision mode
delay(15);
i2c_start();
i2c_write((0x70 << 1) | 1);
MSB_T = i2c_read_ack();
LSB_T = i2c_read_ack();
CRC_T = i2c_read_ack();
MSB_RH = i2c_read_ack();
LSB_RH = i2c_read_ack();
CRC_RH = i2c_read_nack();
i2c_stop();

S_T = (MSB_T << 8) | LSB_T;
S_RH = (MSB_RH << 8) | LSB_RH;
temp = -45 + (175.0 * S_T / 65535.0);
rh = 100.0 * S_RH / 65535.0;

✅ Example:

S_T = 31,000 → T = 37.8 °C

S_RH = 41,000 → RH = 62.5 %

1.8V–3.3V ────────┐
                   │
                  [SHTC3]
                   │ SDA ─────┐
                   │ SCL ─────┤── MCU (IoT, STM32, ESP32…)
                   │ GND

💡 Pull-up resistors of 10 kΩ on SDA/SCL are required if not included on the module.

Bit Name
 Description
15 Reset detected Indicate a restart
4 Heater active Internal heating ON
0 Command status 0 = OK, 1 = CRC error
💡 The internal heating can be activated to temporarily expel the condensation.
Temperature (°C) Error (K) HR Error (%)
−40 ±0,5 ±3,0
0 ±0,3 ±2,0
50 ±0,3 ±2,0
100 ±0,4 ±3,5

💡 The SHTC3 prioritizes low power consumption over industrial robustness, but its accuracy remains excellent for IoT.

The SHTC3 is optimized for mobile and connected devices due to its low power consumption and high accuracy.


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