Hi folks
I thought I’d add some words about an ESPHome project I’ve had during 2021. Nothing fancy really but fun to do. We got an opportunity to “adopt” 8 chickens from a friend and while I was building the cage and chicken coop I thought to myself, this calls for some automation. I mean, manually opening and closing a chicken coop door is so 2010. 
As I like to fiddle with most things technical the project grew from the initial requirement of controlling the coop door to something…else. This is the result taken from the Home Assistant dashboard, pardon the Swedish labels. The whole setup is powered by a 12v 18ah AGM battery charged by a 200W solar panel.
*I had to have a camera in the coop and I had a Raspberry Zero lying around for another project. Raspberry pi zero w + camera module + protective case camera box diy kit Sale - Banggood.com completed the setup and I moved all the pieces into a dust proof case.
*I also had a spare 433mhz temperature sensor which was already set up in HA with rfxcom, only took a rename and a good location to get good data.
*Now for the fun part. It’s basically an end-stop cover setup with my complete ESPHome code below. The servo driving the coop dor is a continuous drive servo.
*Two 433mhz door sensors are used, “Hönsgården” for the cage door and “Hönshusdörr” for the entrance to the coop (for people).
*The last two switches in HA are actually helpers controlling the camera and 12v LED strip.
*I dug up a guide on how to measure battery voltage using a divider curcuit and input A0 on the Wemos, I use this to drive some automations in HA.
*Last piece are status of the actual relay switches for the camera and LED strip.
cover:
- platform: endstop
name: "CoopDoor"
id: coopdoor
#assumed_state: false
#optimistic: false
device_class: garage
open_action:
- servo.write:
id: my_servo
level: 60.0%
- logger.log: "Cover opening"
- lambda: id(coopdoor).publish_state(COVER_OPEN);
open_duration: 10sec
open_endstop: top_endstop
close_action:
- servo.write:
id: my_servo
level: -60.0%
- lambda: id(coopdoor).publish_state(COVER_CLOSED);
- logger.log: "Cover closing"
close_duration: 10sec
close_endstop: bottom_endstop
stop_action:
- delay: 100ms
- servo.write:
id: my_servo
level: 0%
- logger.log: "Motor stopped COVER"
- servo.detach: my_servo
max_duration: 15sec
binary_sensor:
#TopSwitch
- platform: gpio
name: "topStopSwitch"
pin:
number: D5
inverted: true
mode: INPUT_PULLUP
id: top_endstop
on_press:
then:
- logger.log: "Motor stopped TOP"
- lambda: id(coopdoor).position = COVER_OPEN;
- cover.stop: coopdoor
#BottomSwitch
- platform: gpio
name: "bottomStopSwitch"
pin:
number: D6
mode: INPUT_PULLUP
inverted: true
id: bottom_endstop
on_press:
then:
- logger.log: "Motor stopped Bottom"
- lambda: id(coopdoor).position = COVER_CLOSED;
- cover.stop: coopdoor
#Open door
- platform: gpio
name: "door_openButton"
pin:
number: D3
inverted: true
mode: INPUT_PULLUP
id: coopdoor_open
on_click:
then:
- logger.log: "Openbutton"
- lambda: id(coopdoor).publish_state(COVER_OPERATION_OPENING);
- cover.open: coopdoor
#Close door
- platform: gpio
name: "door_closeButton"
pin:
number: D4
mode: INPUT_PULLUP
inverted: true
id: coopdoor_close
on_click:
then:
- logger.log: "Closebutton"
- lambda: id(coopdoor).publish_state(COVER_OPERATION_CLOSING);
- cover.close: coopdoor
servo:
- id: my_servo
output: pwm_output
output:
- platform: esp8266_pwm
id: pwm_output
pin: D1
frequency: 50 Hz
sensor:
# - platform: wifi_signal
# name: "WiFi Strength"
# update_interval: 60s
# - platform: uptime
# name: "Uptime"
- platform: adc
pin: A0
name: "VCC Voltage"
id: VCC
update_interval: 30 seconds
- platform: template
name: KalibreradVCC
id: VCC2
lambda: return id(VCC).state * 33.30;
unit_of_measurement: V
accuracy_decimals: 2
switch:
- platform: gpio
name: "Camera"
pin: D8
- platform: gpio
name: "LED-strip"
pin: D7
Below are the related automations in HA.
*To save battery I turn off the camera at night, battery drain goes from 0.4A to 0.2A
alias: CoopCameraOff
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: time
at: '23:00'
condition: []
action:
- service: switch.turn_off
target:
entity_id: switch.camera
mode: single
*If the battery has enough volts, I turn on the camera again in the morning.
alias: CoopCameraOn
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: time
at: '07:00'
condition:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
above: '11.8'
action:
- service: switch.turn_on
target:
entity_id: switch.camera
mode: single
*I want the entrance to turn on the LED strip, but only if there is enough power in the battery and turn it off again when the door is closed…but not if the LED has been commanded ON by the helper. I’m thinking the poor critters will need light during the winter. (I live in Scandinavia)
alias: CoopDoorLED
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.dorrsensor2
condition: []
action:
- choose:
- conditions:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
above: '11.7'
- condition: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.dorrsensor2
state: 'on'
sequence:
- service: switch.turn_on
target:
entity_id: switch.led_strip
- conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.dorrsensor2
state: 'off'
- condition: state
entity_id: input_boolean.manualled_strip
state: 'off'
sequence:
- delay:
hours: 0
minutes: 0
seconds: 10
milliseconds: 0
- service: switch.turn_off
target:
entity_id: switch.led_strip
default: []
mode: single
The last one is a bit of a doozy. I want some things done depending on the battery volts. Turn off the LED first, since its using the most power, and disable the input selector. Then turn off and disable the camera. Do everything in reverse when the battery has charged enough.
alias: CoopVoltageActions
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
condition:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
below: '12'
action:
- choose:
- conditions:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
below: '11.8'
sequence:
- service: switch.turn_off
target:
entity_id: input_boolean.manualled_strip
- service: python_script.set_state
data:
data_template: null
entity_id: input_boolean.manualled_strip
state: unavailable
- choose:
- conditions:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
below: '11.7'
sequence:
- service: switch.turn_off
target:
entity_id: input_boolean.manualcamera
- service: python_script.set_state
data:
data_template: null
entity_id: input_boolean.manualcamera
state: unavailable
- conditions:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
above: '11.8'
sequence:
- service: python_script.set_state
data:
data_template: null
entity_id: input_boolean.manualcamera
state: '{{states(''switch.camera'')}}'
- choose:
- conditions:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kalibreradvcc
above: '11.9'
sequence:
- service: python_script.set_state
data:
data_template: null
entity_id: input_boolean.manualled_strip
state: '{{states(''switch.led_strip'')}}'
default: []
default: []
mode: single
Some photos of the end result.
I realise there are alot more to write but this is a quick start. Expect some editing later.
Peace out and thank you for a great forum.
/Fredrik
projects like this.