ESP32 boards are inexpensive, tiny, and easy to work with, which makes them the perfect choice when you need to DIY a solution to a problem. Because they’re so widely supported and work with so many components, you can often build something that doesn’t have an off-the-shelf counterpart, giving you the flexibility to create something unique that suits your needs.
Create a tiny network monitor
You’ll always know your network downtime
Sometimes, when your internet is malfunctioning, it isn’t immediately obvious what the problem is. Is it your PC or phone? Is it your router? Maybe your ISP is down.
Using an ESP32, you can create a small device that will intermittently ping a series of addresses, like Google DNS server (8.8.8.8), Cloudflare’s DNS server (1.1.1.1), or some other reliable web server. Using the information it collects while pinging the server, it can give you information about latency, packet losses, or whether the internet is connected at all.
It removes a lot of the uncertainty when you’re troubleshooting your network. You can instantly know if the problem is your device or the internet itself, and you’ll usually be able to determine if the issue is your router.
Because it is such a low-power device, you can leave it running all the time to build a log of your internet’s performance.
Build an air quality monitor
Your lungs and brain will thank you
Using an ESP32 and a few sensors, you can build a small device that will detect carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter like smoke, and more. With that information, it can be used to ping you and remind you to open a window to circulate some fresh air, or remind you to run your air filter when there is smoke from a forest fire blowing in.
You can also collect that information over weeks, months, or even years to help you identify trends that could be relevant to your health. After all, chronically breathing in excessive particular matter isn’t good for you.
If you want to connect the DIY air quality monitor to Home Assistant, you can even use it to automatically open windows to circulate air when CO2 levels get too high, or turn on an air filter when particulate matter is high.
There are a ton of air quality sensor GitHub projects out there. I’d recommend finding one that matches what you want and starting there.
A presence detector
Bluetooth-based presence detection
Many services rely on GPS or background apps that keep pinging your phone for presence detection. Those solutions work, but if you have a weak GPS signal it’ll be unreliable, and even if it is working, GPS tends to quickly use up battery life.
An ESP32-based solution, which uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, can be both more reliable and more power-efficient.
With one of these little boards in the living room, you’ll instantly know if someone is inside, and by placing several around your home, you can even determine whether someone is in a specific room. That precision allows you to create automations that would be difficult to achieve otherwise. You could program lights to come on as soon as you step into a room, or, if you have heat or AC that can be controlled in individual rooms, start adjusting the temperature only once you enter.
As an added bonus, everything stays local. There’s no external cloud service tracking your movements and no data to leak. ESPresense is a good place to start.
A door or window sensor
Forget to close a window?
One of my favorite ESP32 projects is a simple door and window sensor. By hooking up a magnetic reed switch to the ESP32’s GPIO pins, you can instantly know whether a bedroom window is still open or a back door is left open. The ESP32 can even be configured to push a notification straight to your phone.
That means you’re no longer left wondering if you left a window open when it starts to rain.
Did the mail come?
The same concept can also be tweaked to work with a mailbox. Attach the sensor to the mailbox’s door, wire up the ESP32, and you have a mailbox that can send you a message whenever the mail arrives.
Make a dumb appliance smart
Even a dumb washer can text you thanks to an ESP32 board
One of my favorite uses for small, low-power ESP32 boards is upgrading a device I already own.
For example, instead of replacing a washer with a “smart” washer, you could use an ESP32 to monitor the activity of the device using vibration, power draw, or sound, and then send you a notification when your wash is done.
You could modify a bathroom fan so that it automatically kicks on when the temperature and humidity reach a certain level so that the steam from a shower doesn’t contribute to mold growth in your bathroom. DIY smart coffee makers are another popular choice.
It is one of the most satisfying ways to put an ESP32 to work, and you’re only limited by your imagination and the time you’re willing to put into it.
One project will turn into ten
One of the strengths of the ESP32 platform is how flexible and extensible it is. After you build one project, you’ll start seeing opportunities everywhere. And because ESP32 boards are so affordable, you’ll often be able to do it cheaper than the off-the-shelf equivalent.
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