home assistant News - Page 2 of 12 - CNX Software

May 19, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 7 Comments

FLIP_C3 ESP32-C3 board takes up to 60V DC input, ships with ESPHome firmware

Voidbox FLIP_C3 is an open-source hardware board powered by an ESP32-C3 WiFi & BLE microcontroller that takes up to 60V DC power input feeding a 5V/2A DC-DC step-down converter and flashed with ESPHome firmware by default for Home Assistant support. The board incorporates a push-in spring release connector which means stranded (ferrules or tinning are suggested) and solid wires can be used in deploying the device in off-grid/battery-powered systems with up to 16s LiFePO4 delivering 48V through the 6-60V input port on the ESP32-C3 board. The onboard WS2812B LED can be used as a null pixel/level shifter for longer strings of addressable pixels. The ESP32-C3 – due to its support for Wi-Fi and BLE connectivity – is a popular SoC for IoT solutions and powers home and industrial automation devices such as NanoCell v2.1, Spark Analyzer, LOLIN C3 Pico, and the LILYGO T-RSC3. It is built for home automation applications […]

May 10, 2024May 9, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

SONOFF ZBMicro Zigbee USB smart adapter adds any USB device to your Smart Home setup

SONOFF Micro Zibgee USB Smart adapter, or SONOFF ZBMicro for shorts, is a Zigbee 3.0 USB adaptor to remotely control USB devices via your smartphone app or home automation solution based on Home Assistant or other solution to turn on/off the device, set timers to control charging times, configure smart scenes, or control with voice commands. The new home automation device from ITEAD is based on a Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 multiprotocol SoC, works with the usual eWelink app, as well as Home Assitant and OpenHAB open-source solutions when the server is fitted with a compatible Zigbee 3.0 USB dongle SONOFF ZBMicro specifications: Wireless MCU – Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ 80 MHz Memory – 96KB SRAM Storage – 352KB flash, 1024KB ROM for protocols and library functions Wireless – Zigbee 3.0 USB – USB 2.0 Type-A port Misc User Button – single press: Turn on/off […]

May 7, 2024May 8, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

NanoCell V2.1 battery-powered ESP32-C3 IoT board runs ESPHome for Home Assistant integration

The NanoCell V2.1 is a development board built around the Espressif ESP32-C3 SoC (system-on-a-chip) preloaded with ESPHome firmware for low-power applications and improved Lithium battery management. The development board is a white printed circuit board with gold-plated contacts and a battery fuel-gauge IC, designed by Frapais’ lab in Greece. As the name suggests, the NanoCell V2.1 is the latest in a series of iterations of ESP32-C3-based devices targeted at low-power applications. Compared to earlier versions, it offers a better user experience and improved power efficiency. It features a buck-boost converter that reduces standby current consumption to 66uA (excluding the current consumed by the ESP32 module). The battery management system (BMS) integrated circuit supports accurate capacity measurement and protects connected Lithium batteries from overcharging and other harmful scenarios. Also, two LEDs on the board serve as power and charging indicators to relay the board’s status. It is based on the same […]

May 3, 2024May 3, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 3 Comments

Sonocotta’s ESParagus “Media Center” is a series of ESP32-based, open-source audio streamers (Crowdfunding)

ESParagus Media Center is a line of audio streamers from Sonocotta, all powered by an ESP32 microcontroller module. It includes the ESParagus HiFi MediaLink, Loud ESParagus, and the Louder ESParagus. The ESP32-based audio centers can be used to power old stereo speaker systems that lack streaming capabilities. They are completely open-source, consume little power when not in use, and boot up in seconds. The ESParagus Media Center products are based on the ESP32-WROVER microcontroller module with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and an onboard PSRAM chip. They are fitted with an external Wi-Fi antenna and the top-end model – the Louder ESParagus – is fitted with a W5500 LAN chip for Ethernet networking. All three ESParagus Media Centers run squeezelite-esp32 firmware which supports Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay, and Logitech Media Server. Integrations with Home Assistant are possible and can be useful for multi-room configurations. The Louder ESParagus is quite similar to […]

May 3, 2024May 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Enabling Zigbee in Bluetooth LE temperature and humidity monitors from Xiaomi and Qingping using Telink TLSR8258 WiSoC

XIaomi temperature humidity monitors Zigbee

Qingping CGDK2 and Xiaomi LYWSD03MMC Bluetooth LE (BLE) temperature and humidity monitors based on Telink TLSR8258 can be switched to Zigbee thanks to a custom firmware flashed over-the-air. Telink TLS8258 is a multi-protocol wireless microcontroller supporting Bluetooth LE 5, Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee, RF4CE, Thread, 6LoWPAN, HomeKit, ANT, and 2.4GHz proprietary and found in boards such as the LILYGO T-Zigbee and various products. Some products only enable one wireless protocol, for example, Bluetooth LE as in the just-mentioned Qingping and Xiaomi monitors, but “SmartHomeScene” has found out that it was possible to switch from BLE to Zigbee on those by simply updating the firmware. The Telink TLS8258 devices mentioned above will publish data over BLE every 10 minutes (unless humidity or temperature changes, in which case data is transmitted immediately) with the default firmware, but Zigbee can be enabled by using the pvvx custom firmware for the following models: Xiaomi LYWSD03MMC […]

April 29, 2024April 30, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - No Comments

Review of SONOFF SNZB-06P human presence and SNZB-04P door/window Zigbee sensors

SONOFF has been gradually refreshing its Zigbee product lineup since August 2023, and CNX has recently written about the Temperature/Humidity Sensor (SNZB-01P), Switch/Button (SNZB-02P) and Motion Sensor (SNZB-03P), and the SONOFF SNZB-06P human presence sensor. I’ve now had the opportunity to review both the SONOFF SNZB-06P and the new Door/Window Sensor (SNZB-04P). After we keep trying them out for a few weeks, we think reliability is much improved, especially with the Door/Window Sensor, the materials made as well as the appearance look better than the previous models. As for the Human Presence Sensor, it’s the first generation, which is quite impressive considering its price and features. Let’s take a closer look. Door/Window Sensor (SNZB-04P) review Unboxing Obviously, the rounded design differs from the previous rectangular version. It integrates better with the surroundings than the previous model. Additionally, the lithium battery capacity is larger (CR2450 @550mA vs. CR2477 @1000mA), resulting in […]

April 23, 2024April 22, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

The Open Home Foundation will manage Home Assistant, ESPHome, Zigpy among over 240 open-source Smart Home projects

The Open Home Foundation is a non-profit organization that will manage over 240 Smart Home projects, standards, drivers, and libraries including Home Assistant, ESPHome, Zigpy, Piper, and Improv Wi-Fi with the goal of “fight[ing] for the fundamental principles of privacy, choice, and sustainability for smart homes”. The non-profit was introduced during the “State of the Open Home 2024” (see video embedded at the end of this article) with Nabu Casa – the for-profit company behind Home Assistant – transferring all their projects to the new entity, and the Open Home Foundation will also help with the development of critical external projects such as Z-Wave JS, WLED, Rhasspy, and Zigbee2MQTT. The foundation further explains the goal of teaming multiple projects together in a stronger structure: We’ve done this to create a bulwark against surveillance capitalism, the risk of buyout, and open-source projects becoming abandonware. To an extent, this protection extends even […]

March 20, 2024March 19, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 4 Comments

SONOFF POW Ring Review – A WiFi CT Clamp power meter tested with eWelink and Home Assistant

The trend of measuring the energy usage of household electrical devices has become increasingly popular among Smart Home users in the past few years. We have received the new SONOFF POW Ring Smart Power Meter Switch device for review from ITEAD. Unlike SONOFF’s existing energy monitoring devices such as POW Elite, SPM, DualR3, POW3, and POW Origin, this new device, also called POWCT, utilizes a current transformer (CT) to measure the current flow, or total power being consumed. This method provides no physical contact with live wires and reduces the risk during installation. Additionally, it can measure currents of up to 100A, which is significantly higher than previous models. This makes it suitable for measuring electricity usage at the main circuit breaker, energy generated from solar panels, or even for Electric Vehicle (EV) home chargers. The SONOFF POW Ring, which we are testing today, is not only a Smart Power […]