ESPHome configuring multiple identical sensors with different IDs

ESPHome
1

I plan to use several proximity sensors. Obviously they will need unique names, but otherwise they are all the same type of device. Do I need to have a separate ESPHome .yaml for each one, even though the bulk of the config data is the same? I want to use “Ultrasonic Sensor 1”, “Ultrasonic Sensor 2”, etc. and that is the only config data that will change.

Here is the ESPHome yaml:

esphome:
  name: proximity_sensor
  platform: ESP8266
  board: d1_mini

wifi:
  ssid: "..."
  password: "..."

  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Proximity Sensor"
    password: "GGQdNE8ypHXa"

captive_portal:

# Enable logging
logger:

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:

ota:

# Example configuration entry
sensor:
  - platform: ultrasonic
    trigger_pin: D1
    echo_pin: D2
    name: "Ultrasonic Sensor"
    update_interval: 2s
1 Like
2

Yes, you should have separate yaml files with different name, as Esphome will assign these sensors hostnames in local network, based on that (proximity_sensor.local) and use that for (e.g.) OTA updates.

You might also want to move to MQTT in the future which means every sensor will need its own client_id and topic_prefix in mqtt section of the yaml.

3

Thanks! I’m still trying to grok the MQTT labeling. The dox say the topic prefix defaults to my node name plus the MAC address of my device. I left those blank but the mqtt messages don’t seem to follow that pattern. Here’s my ESPHome yaml for the device and the resulting messages; maybe you could help me understand what I’m seeing.

proximity_sensor.yaml

esphome:
  name: proximity_sensor
  platform: ESP8266
  board: d1_mini

wifi:
  ssid: "my_ssid"
  password: "my_pwd"

  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Proximity Sensor"
    password: "a_bunch_of_giberish"

captive_portal:

# Enable logging
logger:

# Enable Home Assistant API
#api: disable to native api and use mqtt
mqtt:
  broker: [broker ip]
  username: [broker username]
  password: [broker_pwd]

ota:

# Example configuration entry
sensor:
  - platform: ultrasonic
    trigger_pin: D1
    echo_pin: D2
    name: "Ultrasonic Sensor"
    update_interval: 2s

mqtt messages:

▼proximity_sensor

   debug = e[0;36m[D][sensor:092]: 'Ultrasonic Sensor': Sending state 1.34730 m with 2 decimals of accuracye[0m
   ▼sensor
      ▼ultrasonic_sensor
          state = 1.35
    status = online
▼homeassistant
   ▼sensor
      ▼proximity_sensor
         ▼ultrasonic_sensor
            config = {"unit_of_measurement":"m","icon":"mdi:arrow-expand-vertical","name":"Ultrasonic Sensor","state_topic":"proximity_sensor/sensor/ultrasonic_sensor/state","availability_topic":"proximity_sensor/status","unique_id":"ESPsensorultrasonic_sensor","device":{"identifiers":"84cca8b16622","name":"proximity_sensor","sw_version":"esphome v1.15.3 Jan 20 2021, 10:12:52","model":"PLATFORMIO_D1_MINI","manufacture…

Thanks!

4

Is there a reason to use MQTT? Your example in the first post doesn’t, why the change in plan?

5

I’m using MQTT because it allows me to view the comm traffic independent of HA. That way I can use an MQTT sniffer to see if the device is working properly without relying on HA integration.

6

You should look into ESPHome substitutions and packages to avoid redundancies in your config files.

https://esphome.io/guides/configuration-types.html#substitutions

1 Like
7

Hi, came across the same issue. It seems (it worked) you can define all sensors under one ‘sensors’ definer. providing you give them all seperate id’s

Here’s my example script below - I have a battery monitor and a dht instance, all working

sensor:

  • platform: dht

    pin: GPIO3

    id: “DHT”

    temperature:

    name: “Living Room Temperature”

    humidity:

    name: “Living Room Humidity”

    update_interval: 60s

  • platform: adc

    pin: VCC

    id: “LIION”

    name: “Battery Voltage”

    update_interval: 15s

    accuracy_decimals: 2

  • platform: template

    name: “D1003_Battery_Percentage”

    unit_of_measurement: ‘%’

    update_interval: 15s

    accuracy_decimals: 0

    lambda: |-

    return (id(LIION).state /3.3 * 100.00);