Some Thoughts
I’ve tried Home Assistant and ESPHome.
But each time, I didn’t use them for long because I couldn’t find suitable enclosures.
For example, with the DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor, the Dupont wires connecting the ESP32 and the sensor were always exposed.
This was extremely unsightly and prone to accidental contact with spilled water or other electrical wires.
Each time, I had to be careful to prevent the Dupont wires from loosening or other USB devices from touching them, which could potentially cause a fire.
Soldering
These past few days, I’ve solved the enclosure problem for the DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor, the SGP30, and the LD2420 human presence sensor.
But it’s still not quite there.
My original intention was to keep the ESP32 and sensors separate, so if a sensor broke, I could easily replace it by just plugging in a new one with Dupont wires.
However, Dupont wires still take up a lot of height within the enclosure, pushing the enclosure to its closing limits.
The next optimization direction is to use pinless ESP32s and pinless sensors.
Connecting them directly via soldering.
This way, as long as there’s no forceful handling, there should be no issues with poor contact.
And because there are no pins adding height, the ESP32 can be placed much more easily inside the enclosure, with significantly more space.
Other Sensors
Currently, I haven’t found a suitable enclosure for the ESP32-CAM.
It’s not a critical need right now.
Similarly, a light sensor could reuse the LD2420’s enclosure, but it’s also not a critical need.
I’ve always wanted to detect rain in real-time because I don’t trust weather forecasts anymore; they’re becoming increasingly inaccurate.
I want to know precisely when it starts raining and how heavy the rain is.
I tried detecting rain using AI from doorbell photos and audio.
The results were not accurate; it was pretty bad.
Optical rain sensors cost at least $80, and they are bulky and inconvenient.
I’ve researched rain drop sensors, and they are only suitable for learning purposes because they corrode from raindrops and are not durable.
Furthermore, making one yourself with proper waterproofing is a very difficult problem.
Currently, there’s no good solution.
But it is the most critical need. My electric bicycle needs rain protection. I need to dress for rain when I go out. I need rain protection for drying clothes. I need to close windows to prevent heavy rain from splashing into the bedroom. And there are other scenarios that require rain protection.
There are commercial rain intrusion sensors, but I find them disgusting; they’re not well-made but expensive.
Later, I plan to try again; if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to buy an expensive finished product.