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ESPHome

esphome.io

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Re: ESPHome

#81

Post by sen »

dnchdnd wrote: post #15
sen wrote: post #5

I've got 20+ devices running ESPHome, about 3/4 of them are part of my Home Assistant network, and maybe 6 or so that are standalone and just using ESPHome to talk to MQTT for other stuff (cheap Chinese weather station that I replaced the insides of with an ESP32, etc). I've got my rain water tanks monitored, my soil moisture in my greenhouse, the temperature and humidity in all different parts of the house, air qual…

can you share details of the weather station please? ive been looking into gathering wind data on the cheap...

I bought a $60 weather station from Amazon where the base station generates a JSON file which it then wants to send to its own cloud servers. I firewalled it on its own, and have an ESP32 reading the JSON file off it and then sending the individual sensor readings into Home Assistant for a visual dashboard, and into Postgres which I use for my own weather-data-wrangling (eg hasn’t rained in a couple days and no rain expected from my local weather API? turn the watering system on for the gardens)

Re: ESPHome

#82

Post by sen »

throwaway290 wrote: post #39
sen wrote: post #5

I've got 20+ devices running ESPHome, about 3/4 of them are part of my Home Assistant network, and maybe 6 or so that are standalone and just using ESPHome to talk to MQTT for other stuff (cheap Chinese weather station that I replaced the insides of with an ESP32, etc). I've got my rain water tanks monitored, my soil moisture in my greenhouse, the temperature and humidity in all different parts of the house, air qual…

Could you recommend a good component for security purposes? Like if someone enters my flat without breaking in (I rent). The docs list a bunch of options... do I go for motion & presence or binary presence detector? Which sensor is better (and most cost effective)?

For home security I use PIR motion sensors in the main rooms feeding into Home Assistant which has a presence service, Eg it knows if we’re home or not based on whether our phones are connected to the home wifi. If we’re not home + it detects motion, it pings me.

Re: ESPHome

#83

Post by kkielhofner »

8A51C wrote: post #75
kkielhofner wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a VERY low-effort hardware person (even soldering is um, not my favorite) but for years my approach has been: 1) Go to Amazon and buy a three pack of ESP32 dev boards with headers[0]. They're always some random seller, etc but I've probably had one DoA/failure after buying dozens from random sellers over the years. 2) Get a dupont wires variety pack[1]. 3) Optionally (but good to have) get some breadboards [2].…

I had a solar powered project setup with environment sensors in my shed. After a while the bugs moved into the elctronics, corrosion ensued and caused shorts which killed everything. The lesson I learned is to seal project boxes up really well. The whole boxing something up and getting power to it thing is the hardest and least enjoyable bit of hardware projects for me.

Good point and batteries, solar, exterior environments, etc are what I would consider "advanced" use cases with significant additional challenges and considerations. All of my use-cases are interior environments with the most "challenging" being garages.

Generally speaking with any kind of lower-level electronics like this frying and bricking stuff is part of the learning experience and a rite of passage.

Re: ESPHome

#84

Post by brewtide »

8A51C wrote: post #75
kkielhofner wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a VERY low-effort hardware person (even soldering is um, not my favorite) but for years my approach has been: 1) Go to Amazon and buy a three pack of ESP32 dev boards with headers[0]. They're always some random seller, etc but I've probably had one DoA/failure after buying dozens from random sellers over the years. 2) Get a dupont wires variety pack[1]. 3) Optionally (but good to have) get some breadboards [2].…

I had a solar powered project setup with environment sensors in my shed. After a while the bugs moved into the elctronics, corrosion ensued and caused shorts which killed everything. The lesson I learned is to seal project boxes up really well. The whole boxing something up and getting power to it thing is the hardest and least enjoyable bit of hardware projects for me.

I read this as I'm standing next to my bare esp32 with dht22 temp sensor hanging off it with DuPont wires...

Nevermind the ones in the schoolhouse, basement, chicken coop...

So, yeah, I fully agree. One day I'll buy a 3d printer but until that day, wires and some tape. Everything seems cheap enough to be sacrificial if that's the end result.

Re: ESPHome

#85

Post by ThrowawayTestr »

hendry wrote: post #33

Requires nerves of steel to navigate Aliexpress.

The only problems I've had with AliExpress is the anxiety of choosing a seller where a cheaper one exists. All the hardware I've ever bought has been exactly what I ordered.

Re: ESPHome

#86

Post by Nextgrid »

stavros wrote: post #14
jhogendorn wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The web interface has an 'update all' button thats just as convenient. I find if theres ones i want to not update i just temp break their yaml file with an unexpected keyword and it fails to compile and then update.

Hm, I wasn't aware of this web interface. Is it some sort of management panel? Do I have to deploy it on prem?

I think he's talking about the ESPHome web app - it's a Python app you run on a server which provides a web-based IDE to manage your ESPHome devices.

To be clear, it is not hosted by the ESPHome devices themselves, it's a separate component.

Re: ESPHome

#87

Post by HankB99 »

baq wrote: post #35
lostlogin wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with everything here, except the $10 of hardware. You must be running some very fancy chips! For extra savings the ESP8266 might be as low as $4us. It really is amazing.

ESP8266 is not recommended for new projects though. Its age is starting to show.

Is that an Espressif or an ESPHome recommendation?

Were I designing a product that uses one of these I would certainly not use the ESP8266. For hobby projects, if I can buy them on Amazon, eBay or elsewhere, the 8266 remains a valid choice (for me.)

Re: ESPHome

#88

Post by Nextgrid »

bsoft16385 wrote: post #37
djbusby wrote: post #6

Anyone got this to replace their thermostat? Like sensors in zoneA signal and a device connected to the HVAC triggers ON? Maybe they're on WiFi or Ethernet connection?

I have 7 Mitsubishi heat pump head units being controlled using ESPHome running on D1 mini clones (ESP8266). The D1 mini clones are powered by and interface with the head units with Mitsubishi's CN105, which is just 5 volt UART. The total cost was maybe $30 of parts on AliExpress. I use 433Mhz Acurite temperature sensors with a software defined radio (rtl433) running on my Home Assistant box to have remote temperatur…

Are you doing temperature control by yourself or are you feeding them to the Mitsubishi units as a remote temperature reference?

I know the Mitsubishi "wired controllers" (basically the official thermostats) can provide remote temp to the unit and the unit has DIP switches to select between thermostat-reported temp and internal return air sensor temp.

I'm not sure if CN105 has a way to provide this temp ref - if so, you could try it. Just make sure to set your wired controller (if any) as a "secondary" controller (otherwise it will also send its temp every second and overwrite the one you sent) and then set the proper DIP switch.

Re: ESPHome

#90

Post by blagie »

balloob wrote: post #28

One of the people leading ESPHome here. Let me know if there any questions. Last Saturday we announced that ESPHome is now owned by the Open Home Foundation. The Open Home Foundation fights for privacy, choice, and sustainability for smart homes. And for every person who lives in one. Learn more at https://www.openhomefoundation.org/blog/announcing-the-open-...

The ESPHome project is unusually competent, user-centric, and almost uncanny in how well it works.

I'll tell you what I want, though. I'm not sure this is in-scope for ESPHome, or how it's possible to even implement cleanly:

I want to be able to make devices which have tight feedback loops and more complex on-board algorithms

What I really want is e.g. a light sensor controlling lightbulbs. Here, I want the lightbulbs changing almost continuously by almost imperceptible amounts, things like Kalman filters, and similar, to keep a fixed light level and light temperature based on time-of-day.

I'd like to have my air filters, ventilation, heating, humidification, dehumidification, and cooling continuously controlled such that:

1) All run at the right level continuously to keep environmentals and power optimized.

2) Ventilation reduces CO2 / TVOC levels, but increase PM2.5 levels and lets in external temperature

3) Cooling / heating / ventilation impact humidity in complex ways

4) Space heaters cost a lot more than baseline heating, but are sometimes necessary on very cold days

5) This is all less important when I'm not home, and some things change. When I'm home, I want liveable humidity. When I'm not, I want to minimize humidity.

... and so on.

(A second thing I want is ESPHome to allow me to make Zigbee, rather than just wifi, devices)

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