The answer, of course, is YES and NO.
Depends on where you sit, what your objectives are, and how diligent or paranoid you may be.
For longest life of
batteries, yes, it's good not to overstress them with the wrong charging voltages at high or low temps.
Calculating residual AH can be more accurate if you have temp sensing; but only marginally, since many other factors intervene. And, in a large house battery bank where, exactly, do you place the temp
sensor?
Sensing an overheated battery to prevent boiling or "thermal runaway" is theoretically possible, but temp sensors themselves are notoriously unreliable and can lead to problems.
What kind of problems? Well, if the temp
sensor under-reads, i.e., reports the battery temperature to be lower than it actually is, this could lead to overcharging and/or overheating/gassing, etc. If the temp sensor over-reads, this could lead to severe undercharging.
Consider this statement,
"According to
a report from Ward's Auto released last week, the global number of cars exceeded 1.015 billion in 2010, jumping from from 980 million the year before."
There are over one billion cars on the worlds roadways. All of them have lead-acid batteries. Virtually NONE of them has temp-sensing to change their alternator's charging profiles. It's 13.8VDC or, if newer, 14.4VDC charging voltage all the time, whether in sub-zero freezing temps or in 100 degree plus summer temps. Car batteries don't typically last quite as long as many
boat batteries, due to such treatment, but one would be hard-pressed to make the case that they really should have temp sensors :-)
Bottom line: for some folks in some situations temp sensing, properly implemented and monitored, may be a good idea. For others it's unlikely to be of much benefit, if any.
Bill