Since many are interested I will consider the option of opening a store on Tindie. Since I’m still studying and free time is quite limited, I still have to evaluate how to do it, I’ll let you know.
@Richard.Huish I tested both BME680 and CCS811 to measure CO2 with poor results in the past, so I opted for this more expensive sensor and I am very happy with it.
I still have to check for component costs, but if I remember correctly it was about $13 for all components plus $17 for the CO2 sensor, so around $30 for everything.
I was considering whether to assemble two versions, a cheaper one without the CO2 sensor (same PCB, only without sensor mounted) and a more expensive version but including the CO2 sensor.
@5310 BLE device tracking can be added very easily with ESPHome, more info here.
Awesome project - I currently have multiple ESP8266 boards that all have a subset of these sensors half-heartedly soldered onto them. So replacing them with one or two of your PCBs in a pretty 3D printed case sounds great
Just an observation, but neither my LG phone nor my wife’s Moto appear to be supported as they do not get seen in the scan which leads me to believe that BLE device tracking using ESPHome isn’t really a viable solution for ‘The Masses’.
Note that BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is different from normal Bluetooth.
The device tracker component of ESPHome looks for BLE advertisements that are generated from bluetooth trackers like Tile or iBeacons. Smartphones generally don’t broadcast these announcements by default, you can read more here.
I’d be very keen on the designs to print my own PCB and populate myself. Not personally too keen on the CO2 sensors; but might populate a single device as to get some information.
Been toying with the idea of having a sensor-set per room as well. Must-haves for me include temperature, ambient light sensor and in some cases the IR Tx feature. I do however think the IR Rx could be used for lots of things.
I like this idea for an simple basic board per room (temperature, ambient light sensor) IR is not useful in all rooms.
Just 1 basic board to keep the cost down and then some optional add-on like IR or CO2 sensors that you could plug in.
@5310 It’s going to be powered via the USB connector on the side with a generic 5v usb adapter.
@prosty I will share schematics and everything else after testing the boards so that you can work on your version.
I also thought of making a version without a CO2 sensor since the cost of the sensor exceeds the cost of all other components altogether. For now I think I’ll just use the same PCB without soldering the CO2 sensor, maybe later on I could design another board but for now I’ll use this as it is already very small.
@elRadix I agree with the possibility of having the CO2 sensor as an option as it is very expensive and not necessarily useful for everyone. I think that if I start assembling the boards and sell them through tindie there will be the option to buy one without the CO2 sensor (you can always buy it later and solder it if you change your mind), while for infrared I do not think it is worth creating an option without it as the cost is around $ 0.40 for receiver and transmitter.
@Nico Even though everyone has their own ideas of what should go onto the board, I guess one should be able to populate only what you want. As you mentioned ; one without a CO2. I’d say the rest of the components would work the same. Don’t populate an IR LED if you don’t need one and don’t populate the power LEDs or buttons if you think you can get away without them…
Once ready, might be good to again list the recommended components for the board and where you sourced them.
@prosty Maybe you didn’t understand exactly what I meant, when I was talking about options I meant that when I will probably open a Tindie store I will create two versions, a complete one and a cheaper one without the CO2 sensor.
Sure everyone is free to produce the board as they prefer, I shared the project exactly for this reason. In the future I will share the gerber files and the BOM for the PCB but also the schematics so that it can be taken and modified at will.
@Nico Curiosity question… I haven’t played with CO2 sensors yet, but from the little I have read they use infrared to detect the CO2 level. Working with ESP32, especially if they are BLE scanning, they produce some heat during operation.
I’m wondering, not being a party pooper here… Could the heat from the ESP32 affect the CO2 sensor, I know, depending on the board layout and the case that it can affect the temperature sensor.
I’m very curious what you thoughts are. Frankly, I wonder if it is even a problem?
@ronytomen This is actually a good observation, for the CO2 sensor there should be no problems because it contains a temperature sensor for automatic compensation.
For the temperature sensor, I placed both the ESP and the voltage regulator on the opposite side of the board exactly for this reason, also the ground planes are connected on both sides to help dissipate the heat. I will still have to test everything as soon as the boards arrive and if necessary find a better solution.
I also know that it is possible to enable a power saving wireless mode on the ESP to reduce the heat to be dissipated, but frankly I have not yet looked much into this.
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