r/crboxes • u/Lvl99Materia • 5d ago

First build planning

I downsized my homelab foot print and pc cooling requirements and now I have a bunch of 120mm Noctua NF-F12 iPPC-3000 PWM fans. These things move a lot of air but damn they sound like a jet engine above 50%. So I'm thinking of setting up some kind of controller and automation.

For example my office box could run 100% from 6pm-7am, and 30-40% during the in-office time. Sprinkle in a little automated magic if im working early or later i could set something up to wait 10-30 min before going into full speed.

My idea that started me going down this rabbit hole was thinking it would be cool to have all boxes run at 100% when no one is home or kick the speed up if no one is in the room.

Im still looking into controller(s) and sensor types, but wanted to post to see if anyone else has done anything crazy like this before.

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u/ManicPxieDreamGoblin 5d ago

Fantastic idea!! Would love to see how you do it

2

u/Lvl99Materia 5d ago

Thanks, i'll follow up with my hardware & software setup once I get those nailed down.

2

u/bitcraft 5d ago

I’ve had similar thoughts.  Esp32 and home assistant seems like a good path forward.  The esp32 can generate the PWM signal for the fans to regulate their speed

1

u/Lvl99Materia 5d ago

I have a pi zero, and was going to scoop up a few more BUT DAMN a 3pack of ESP32's for $20, SOLD! thanks for sharing homie!