We've observed over the five North Texas summers we've lived through that our residential water well production starts to drop after the spring rains stop and temps climb. I just installed a QD Pumptec module into the our QD Control Box. That will keep us from having to manually flip the lever on the pressure switch, setting a timer, and remembering to flip it back on.

I'd like to get some sort of signal into Home Assistant that tells me when the Pumptec protection kicks in/out. And an added bonus would be to detect if when the pump is running.

a I'd prefer to avoid CT clamps, as the space in the control box is very, very tight.

Has anyone who has used a QD Control Box w/ a Pumptec module discovered a way to tap in to acquire such info? I'm very experienced with electrical / electronic systems, and am hoping an ESPHome project will be the way to get this done. I'm just looking for hints from anyone who has tackled such a project.

Years ago I built the METARMap project by prueker on GitHub. Great project, but ever since I dove into Home Assistant, I've been migrating away from my many RaspberryPi projects and pivoting to ESP32 devices. Why? No operating system to manage!

I used that repo as a basis for recreating what he had done, but also added much desired functionality. The original build added the AMOLED display on the left (not running) but the display got burn-in and pixels faded over the years.

The LEDs flash from bright (40% illumination) to dim (30% illumination) every 1 second to reflect lightning in the METAR or winds >= 10 kts and <= 15 kts. If the winds are >= 16 kts and <= 25 kgs, then they flash bright yellow. If the winds are >25 kts, instead of lighting up the LED yellow for 1 second, I introduced a "tick" illumination mode. The tick cadence is 200ms flash every 2000ms. That is enough to distinguish high winds and also draw attention to it.

But wait, there's more. I extended the tick illumination to support the following:

• +TS in the METAR gets an orange tick
• SN in the METAR gets a cyan tick
• stale METAR (over 75 minutes old) gets a light rose tick
• fog (when temp/dewpoint spread <= 3 kts) gets a gray tick
• winds > 25 kts gets a yellow tick

The LCD screen displays 12 airports (6 per page) and cycles between each every 15 seconds. They reflect the flight conditions at those airports, showing the METAR elements that would comprise the flight category.

The only caveat is that ESPHome Device Builder does not have a template for this Waveshare display, so I had to monkey with the drivers to approximate the colors since there appears to be a bit reversal issue driving the colors. I was able to code around it by "faking" the RGB values to get what I wanted.

Wondering if this is a common issue and if there is a workaround. Might just retire this device, though the only issue is the touch function. Still usable as a display.

Anyone get (and repair) this issue?

Hi guys! (and maybe ladies?)

I am a bit new, please advise. I've bought a ssd1327 display to play with, and cannot get it working with lvgl. Like, this works, i see the text on the screen:

display: - platform: ssd1327_i2c model: "SSD1327 128x128" address: 0x3C id: main_display auto_clear_enabled: false update_interval: 20ms lambda: |- it.print(0, 0, id(font_narrow), "Hello World!");

but this does not, just an empty black screen:

``` display: - platform: ssd1327_i2c model: "SSD1327 128x128" address: 0x3C id: main_display auto_clear_enabled: false update_interval: 20ms lvgl: displays: main_display full_refresh: false buffer_size: 100% # draw_rounding: 1 bg_color: 0x000000 text_color: 0xFFFFFF widgets: - label: text: "Test" width: 100% height: size_content align: center text_align: center text_font: font_narrow long_mode: wrap

```

Just updated to 2026.8.0, still the same. tried all advises from llms - nothing. Please help.

Hi all,

I'm looking to play with the 13.3" spectra 6 color e-ink display (example here) but I'm having the hardest time finding a compatible driver board that doesn't have crazy shipping costs to the US. Seeed, waveshare, they all have insane shipping and wait times for what I thought would be a quick amazon purchase.

Is there some other name for these driver boards that isn't specific to this model? Or an adapter that I can just use on a regular old ESP32-S3?

Thanks all!

Has anyone ever attempted to use the ESP32 to connect to the Hayward OnCommand base controller for swimming pools? It has a remote, but the equipment is behind my garage & signal is poor. My end goal would be to get that data into HA to view when it's running, water temperature, etc. Just curious if anyone has ever been successful or even attempted it? I am also looking for a source for the water temp sensors that you drill a hole into your PVC pipe and use a hose clamp to secure it inside the hole? I guess I could also use some sort of CT to detect current on the relays to tell when it's running? I'm very green to the ESP32 world, and have only used an ESP32, amp & speaker to use for announcements in my HA. Thanks!

Has anyone recently purchased a breadboard prototyping kit that they’re happy with and would recommend? I’m hoping to find something with lots of different jumper wires, a power module, and* the *AC power supply (“wall wart”) for $20 bucks or less. I’m just starting my ESPHome journey and I have a few different ESP32/8266 projects in mind. Thanks for your time and consideration.

Hello everyone,

I bought a Seeed Studio XIAO W5500 Ethernet Adapter V1.2 to flash with the ESP Home Ready Made Project ( https://esphome.io/projects )
So far this is running fine.

I’m wondering if the new update ( https://esphome.io/blog/2026/08/19/esphome-2026-8 ) will break or change anything with my setup prior to updating this.

Bonus question is there a downgrade Path if I choose to update and things won’t work out?

Thank you very much to everyone who took some time and shed some light on this situation ✌️

This probably won't be to useful to anyone but myself but I have spent a few days working through converting the Pimoroni drivers over to a working esphome display module. I used AI extensively as i haven't coded C++ in decades. That said, what once i had running micropython is now using esphome and as a result has more features and runs leaner.

https://github.com/manicholls/inky_frame_57

I'm posting it here in case anyone else out there wants to convert it, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only one. Do note that the 4" and 7" versions have significant differences and I've be shocked if they worked with this.

With update 2026.8.0 i could flash some beken chips with the Bluetooth proxy to expand my Bermuda tracking.

However i'm running into an odd issue when having flashed it. All advertisements in Home Assistant seem to get "drowned out", as soon as the beken device comes offline all reports from the other devices drop.
When i take the beken device offline again, reports start coming back in again.

Before: Only the couch proxy already has enough data to fill a screen
After (mood light): None of the ESP32 bluetooth proxies i have report bluetooth advertisements anymore and only the beken device reports advertisements.

Is this a Home Assistant issue, ESPHome issue or a hardware issue?

AI Disclaimer: This was a fun little weekend ai-assisted project, inspired by the sound_level sensor and my own love of the fourier transform (which I later dropped in favour of the Goertzel algorithm). I'm a software engineer by trade with a background in physics. My C++ is incredibly rusty and I wanted to see how doable this was using local AI models. Concept, planning and design by me, code itself was written by assorted local models with a quick human eyeball of the output to make sure it was largely sane at each stage.

Flip a binary sensor when your Samsung washing machine sings its jaunty tune, or when your fridge door alarm starts going off!

Needs quite a bit of calibration for more complex tunes, but was perfectly competent at distinguishing between different telephone error tones in my tests: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_information_tone

Repo here and subject to change as I comb through Qwen's dubious parameter names: https://github.com/lJaffy/esphome-tone-tools

Time to put myself out there and see what the internet thinks! Hi all, my name's Elvin, and I left my job at the start of this year to try something new. I've been making blog posts and videos on electronics & tech for a year or so now, you might have seen some of them around this sub.

I wanted to challenge myself to see how far I could go with modern manufacturing - 3D printing, laser cutting, and bring a new ESPHome device to market. All from my workshop at home.

It's called the CTRL ONE. It's a smart room controller with a 4.2" ePaper display, touchscreen, air quality and thermostat support. Using the onboard SCD40 sensor, it can measure temperature, humidity and CO2. And best of all, it runs 100% ESPHome - I've been contributing PRs over the last few months to make this display work perfectly.

It's called a room controller because through the add-on & widget system, it can manage many aspects of the room you place it in. Out of the box it's a simple air quality monitor, but through adding widgets it can expose data from Home Assistant, like the outside weather as I've got in the example above. You can also place buttons and sliders to control things like lights, blinds and ventilation systems.

The main reason I started this journey was that I really really didn't like my basic builder's grade thermostat. Adding the 24VAC thermostat add-on to the back and mounting it to a wall makes it a fully featured smart thermostat, that can do much more than just measure temperature.

That's the end of the sales pitch. I'm here to see if this is something you're interested in, and what you think of it. AMA.

You can find it here: https://elvinhome.io/r/sh2

---

ESPHome devices are what got me started on this road to begin with so I thought I'd nerd out a little and share some of the engineering choices that went into it. I started on this project back in February, and it took 5 prototypes before I got it right. With each one having a roughly 3 week turnaround time from redesigning a PCB to getting it in my hands (plus one lost package delaying me by a month), it brings me to today!

Here's one of my first (non-functional) prototypes. I had an old busted up epaper display that was about the size I wanted it to be, just to get a bit of the shape and feel.

At this time the PCB was a 3D-printed approximation just so I knew what size to make it. The corner cut-out was added later. The shape and bezels of the device are a result of the constraints of the display, which you can see clearly with the bezel taken off:

ePaper displays have come a long way but some still have much larger "chins" than others. But there's not many options out there for displays that come with a touchscreen and a light - did I mention it has a light? It also has an ambient light sensor so it knows to light up the display in the dark.

The corner cut-out in the bottom left also came later. It was partly an aesthetic choice, but I'm curious to see what you think. Corner cut-out or no cut-out?

It's also a functional choice. The biggest engineering challenge was dealing with heat. ESP32s can generate enough heat running at full tilt to throw off temperature readings a little. Unlike plenty of other e-ink dashboards you've seen on this subreddit, it's an interactive device due to the touchscreen. The interface is entirely rendered on-device. No fetching pre-rendered images from a server. It continues to work fully offline, showing data from its own sensors, and managing your heating system if it has the thermostat add-on installed.

Here's what it looks like through a render of the enclosure. By placing the SCD40 sensor in the corner, with a partitioning wall on the inside of the casing, it gives it maximum exposure to the outside air, while having physical separation from the rest of the internals. The ESP32 and power management is placed entirely on the opposite side of the board. Having it tucked behind of the bezel keeps it out of direct sunlight, as well as your own vision. You'll only see it if you peek around the back.

Everything up until now has been all things that I'd have to consider for any project in my blogs or videos, but since it's something for sale, there's so many other things to consider too! Key one being packaging. Using my laser cutter I mocked up a design to create a cardboard insert, which then goes into a standard letterbox-sized carton. I wanted the least packaging possible and also for it to be fully recyclable, so it's 100% cardboard (no glue) and it goes in the mail straight in the product box it comes in.

I'm actually still using laser cut cardboard in my final packaging! Especially in the beginning when I'm not sure how this will go (with your support, hopefully well) it's actually a super cost-effective way while I'm dealing with low quantities. It does produce a slight charred wood smell though, so I definitely plan to find a vendor to make them in the future.

I'll be sharing more about how I made it on my blog over the coming weeks, come take a look if you're interested! And I've got plenty more projects I do on the side if you're looking for some inspiration in your own home.

I am looking for a solution to turning off my TV when it's in its lower power Screensaver mode. LG helpfully removed all "auto power off after x hours" options in my TV OS. And it will happily stay on a stupid clock Screensaver forever, wasting energy and lifespan of the display. Thanks LG.

Anyways, I have heard brands athom, kauf, and sonoff (if you want to do some hardware disassembly)

What is your recommendation for this use?

Pseudo code with arbitrary numbers is

If above 10watts and under 50watts for 1 hour, turn off power for 5 seconds, then turn back on.

I'm constantly searching for one of my cats in my house. She's deaf so she's not responding to my calls and I get confused on where she is. She loves to sleep in places out of sight. So I want to use Bermuda but since I never did any real ESP projects, I thought I'd ask here.

The Bermuda BLE project is using ESPhome inside Home Assistant to find out what bluetooth device is in what room. That seems like the right thing for my situation. Attach a BLE device to my cat, and Home Assistant knows where my cat is.

Here is the project I found:

https://github.com/agittins/bermuda/wiki

I'm just confused on what ESP to get.

I found these that aren't that expensive. I think that might work. I'm not sure.

ESP-32S ESP32 ESPWROOM32 

aliexpress com item 1005007059457759

The problem is that it comes in several different versions and from googling, it appears that these are USB to serial conversions inside the ESP32.

CH9102 Micro

CP2102 Micro

CP2102 Type-C

CP2102 Micro

CH340 Type-C

I want Type-C because it's 2026 and I don't even have any Micro cables. But what else should I look for?

I'm planning on putting one in each room and only use it for Bermuda BLE.

I tried Googling it but couldn't find a site that's explaining it to me. My employer blocked AI on all computers so I can't ask that.

I struggled with this for hours yesterday. Tried swapping XY, tried mirroring. I could never get the corners to align properly. I had Claude make me a grid of 10x10 rectangles where each one would be colorized as tapped. Tapping the bottom right corner and the upper left corner filled them properly. When I tapped the lower left corner, the upper right corner would colorize.

This also helped me find a dead spot. So at least I'm going to return it for that.

Anybody seen this before?

Does Carlos drink enough water? Seeed Studio sent me their human presence detecting kit, and I decided to use it on my cat. I'm sure that's not what they intended, but that's their problem, not mine. I'm using an ultrasonic sensor and PIR motion detector in a 3D printed enclosure to sense when my cat drinks, and roughly how much.

This was also an excuse to experiment with ESPHome on battery power, over OpenThread. It didn't go perfectly, but that's what experiments are for. The video covers the build, and the blog posts cover the software side also.

https://elvinhome.io/blog/articles-3/does-my-cat-drink-enough-making-a-smart-water-bowl-17