Integrating KNX with Home Assistant (HA) is the “gold standard” for professional-grade smart homes. While Wi-Fi and Zigbee are great for hobbyists, KNX offers a hardwired, decentralized backbone that works even if HA is offline. To bridge these two worlds,…
This guide compares ESP32 and STM32 to help you choose the right MCU for your project based on connectivity, real-time needs, power use, and tooling. When people say “ESP32 vs STM32”, they’re really comparing a Wi-Fi SoC (ESP32) with a…
Both ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3 are “second-wave” ESP32 chips: they add native USB and more modern security features compared to the original ESP32. But they target slightly different use cases: If you’re deciding what to base a new board or project…
This guide compares ESP32 (original, ESP32-WROOM / WROVER) vs ESP32-S3, and ends with practical “choose this if…” scenarios. Espressif’s ESP32 family has exploded with variants, but for most makers and IoT projects the real question is simple: Should I use…
Understanding the Adafruit_PCF8575 Button Example Microcontrollers never seem to have enough pins. That’s where the PCF8575 comes in: a simple I²C 16-bit GPIO expander that gives you 16 extra digital pins using only 2 wires (SDA/SCL). The Adafruit example you…
The BME280 is a tiny environmental sensor that measures: From pressure, you can also estimate altitude, which is exactly what the Adafruit example you posted does. In this guide we’ll: 1. What is the BME280? The Bosch BME280 is a…
This guide shows how to wire an ADS1115 to an ESP32, choose the right gain, and understand the Adafruit ADS1X15 example so you get accurate voltage readings. The ADS1115 (16-bit) and ADS1015 (12-bit) are very popular external ADC chips. They…
Build an ESP32 air quality station for Home Assistant using SCD41 or SCD30 for CO₂, SGP40 for VOCs, and SDS011 for PM2.5, with clear wiring, ESPHome setup, MQTT alternatives, dashboard examples, and practical automations for healthier indoor air. If you…
Learn how to use ESP32 with LoRa for long-range remote sensing in Home Assistant, with practical node and gateway design, MQTT topics, YAML sensors, and reliability tips for garden, well, or shed monitoring Wi-Fi is great indoors, but it often…
A huge amount of serious home energy hardware speaks Modbus RTU over RS-485: With one ESP32 and a cheap MAX485 (RS-485) transceiver, you can build a gateway that: This guide covers: 1. Modbus RTU & RS-485 in 2 minutes 2.…