14 KiB
SuperSensor v2.x
The SuperSensor is an all-in-one voice, motion, presence, temperature/humidity/air quality, and light sensor, built on an ESP32 with ESPHome, and inspired heavily by the EverythingSmartHome Everything Presence One sensor and the HomeAssistant "$13 Voice Assistant" project.
Use SuperSensors around your house to provide HomeAssistant Voice Assist interfaces with wake word detection, as well as other sensor detection options as you want them.
Assist feedback is provided by a pair of common-cathode RGB LED. No speakers or annoying TTS feedback here! With an optional 3D Printed case and a clear diffuser cover, the LEDs can be turned into a sleek light bar on the bottom of the unit for quick and easy confirmation of voice actions, or just use it bare if you like the "PCB on a wall" aesthetic.
To Use:
- Install the ESPHome configuration
supersensor.yamlto a compatible ESP32 devkit (below). - Install the ESP32 and sensors into the custom PCB (if desired).
- [Optional] 3D Print the custom case.
- Power up the SuperSensor, connect to the WiFi AP, and connect it to your network.
- Install the SuperSensor somewhere that makes sense.
- Add/adopt the SuperSensor to HomeAssistant using the automatic name.
- Tune the SuperSensor values to your needs.
Note: Once programmed, the output LED will flash continuously until connected
to HomeAssistant, and a bit longer to establish if the wake word
functionality is enabled. This is by design, so you know if your sensors
are connected or not. If you do not want this, comment out the
light.turn_on block starting on line 38 of the ESPHome configuration
to disable this functionality.
For more details, please see my first blog post on the SuperSensor project and my update post on version 2.0.
NOTE: For those with v1.x hardware, see the repository for that code instead.
Major Changes from 1.x
-
Replaced the Bosch BME680 with the Sensirion SHT45 and Sensirion SGP30.
The BME680 proved to be woefully unreliable in my testing. Temperature was fairly accurate (internal heating and offset notwithstanding), but humidity was wildly off of what other thermometers/hydrometers would report. In addition, the AQ functionality of the sensor was a source of much frustration and I was never able to get it to work reliably, either with the official BSEC library or with my own attempts at self-configuration.
Thus, this sensor has been replaced with two Sensirion sensors which in my experience so far have been much more reliable and consistent, and the cost difference is negligible.
-
Replaced the SR602 PIR sensor with the AM312 PIR sensor.
The SR602 was, in my experience, prone to constant false misfirings even in completely empty rooms. In addition its orientation requirements are awkward (pins on the left or right side). While it's possible I just had a bad batch, this soured me significantly to these sensors, especially after reading many other similar reports around the internet.
Thus, this sensor has been replaced with the more reliable AM312. While the form factor fo the AM312 leaves a bit to be desired (sticking up by about 1cm more from the board), in the end I found this to be more of a positive than a negative for resposiveness and apperance.
-
Completely redesigned the custom PCB around the above sensor changes, which is now more compact in a 50x55mm almost-square configuration.
-
Significantly cleaned up the ESPHome configuration, to support the above sensors and remove a lot of cruft that was caused by the BME680. This includes a new set of custom AQ calculations based on the SGP30 and SHT45 sensors that, while not necessarily following the full EPA IAQI spec, should still give a reasonable view of the air quality conditions of an interior room and not deviate wildly and nonsensically like the BME680 did. Details of the calculation are provided below.
Parts List
| Qty | Component | Cost (2025/05 CAD, ex. shipping) | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GY-SGP30 | $5.73 | AliExpress |
| 1 | GY-SHT45 | $5.67 | AliExpress* |
| 1 | SR602 | $0.81 | AliExpress |
| 1 | TSL2591 | $4.59 | AliExpress |
| 1 | HL-LD2510C | $4.79 | AliExpress* |
| 1 | INMP441 | $2.93 | AliExpress |
| 1 | ESP32 HW-395 | $6.67 | AliExpress* |
| 2 | RBG LED | $0.09 ($9.12/100) | Amazon |
| 1 | 470Ω resistor | $0.08 ($7.99/100) | Amazon |
| 1 | Female pin header† | $1.59 ($15.99/10) | Amazon |
| 1 | Custom PCB (JLC) | $0.69 ($6.89/10) | GitHub |
| 1 | 3D Printed case | $?.??‡ | GitHub |
| TOTAL | $33.64 |
* Ensure you select the correct device on the page as it shows multiple options.
† This is optional and only required if you don't want to directly solder the ESP32 to the board, but I recommend it.
‡ Providing a price is impossible due to the wide range of possible fillament types and brands, but should be negligible.
Configurable Options
There are several UI-configurable options with the SuperSensor to help you get the most out of the sensor for your particular use-case.
Note: Configuration of the LD2410C is excluded here, as it is extensively configurable. See the documentation for more details on its options.
Enable Voice Support (switch)
If enabled (the default), the SuperSensor's voice functionality including wake word will be started. Disabling this defeats most of the point of the SuperSensor, but can be done if desired, for instance if you have multiple SuperSensors in a single room and only want one to respond to voice commands.
Enable Presence LED (switch)
If enabled (the default), when overall presence is detected, the LEDs will glow "white" at 15% power to signal presence.
Temperature Offset (selector, -10 to +5 @ 0.1, -5 default)
Allows calibration of the SHT45 temperature sensor with an offset from -10 to +5 degrees C. Useful if the sensor is misreporting actual ambient tempreatures. Due to internal heating of the SHT45 by the ESP32, this defaults to -5; further calibration may be needed for your sensors and environment.
Humidity Offset (selector, -10 to +10 @ 0.1)
Allows calibration of the SHT45 humidity sensor with an offset from -10 to +10 percent relative humidity. Useful if the sensor is misreporting actual humidity.
PIR Hold Time (selector, 0 to +60 @ 5, 0 default)
The SuperSensor uses an AM312 PIR sensor, which has a stock hold time of ~2.5 seconds. This setting allows increasing that value, with retrigger support, to up to 60 seconds, allowing the PIR detection to report for longer. 0 represents "as long as the AM312 fires".
Light Threshold Control (selector, 0 to +200 @ 5, 30 default)
The SuperSensor features a "light presence" binary sensor based on the light level reported by the TSL2591 sensor. This control defines the minimum lux value from the sensor to be considered "presence". For instance, if you have a room that is usually dark at 0-5 lux, but illuminated to 100 lux when a (non-automated) light switch is turned on, you could set a threshold here of say 30 lux: then, while the light is on, "light presence" is detected, and when the light is off, "light presence" is cleared. Light presence can be used standalone or as part of the integrated occupancy sensor (below).
Integrated Occupancy Sensor (Selector)
The SuperSensor features a fully integrated "occupancy" sensor, which can be configured to provide exactly the sort of occupancy detection you may want for your room.
There are 7 options (plus "None"/disabled), with both "detect" and "clear" handled separately:
PIR + Radar + Light
Occupancy is detected when all 3 sensors report detected, and occupancy is cleared when any of the sensors report cleared.
For detect, this provides the most "safety" against misfires, but requires a normally-dark room with a non-automated light source and clear PIR detection positioning.
For clear, this option is probably not very useful as it is likely to clear quite frequently from the PIR, but is provided for completeness.
PIR + Radar
Occupancy is detected when both sensors report detected, and occupancy is cleared when either of the sensors report cleared.
For detect, this provides good "safety" against PIR misfires without needing a normally-dark room, though detection may be slightly delayed from either sensor.
For clear, this option is probably not very useful as it is likely to clear quite frequently from the PIR, but is provided for completeness.
PIR + Light
Occupancy is detected when both sensors report detected, and occupancy is cleared when either of the sensors report cleared.
For detect, this provides some "safety" against PIR misfires, but requires a normally-dark room with a non-automated light source and clear PIR detection positioning.
For clear, this option is probably not very useful as it is likely to clear quite frequently from the PIR, but is provided for completeness.
Radar + Light
Occupancy is detected when both sensors report detected, and occupancy is cleared when either of the sensors report cleared.
For detect, this allows for radar detection while suppressing occupancy without light, for instance in a hallway where one might not want a late night bathroom visit to turn on the lights, or something to that effect.
For clear, this option can provide a useful option to clear presence quickly if the lights go out, while still providing Radar presence.
PIR Only
Occupancy is based entirely on the PIR sensor for both detect and clear.
Prone to misfires, but otherwise a good option for quick detection and clearance in a primarily-moving zone (e.g. hallway).
Radar Only
Occupancy is based entirely on the Radar sensor for both detect and clear.
Useful for an area with no consistent motion or light level.
Light Only
Occupancy is based entirely on the Light sensor for both detect and clear.
Useful for full dependence on an external light source.
None
Disable the functionality in either direction.
For detect, no occupancy will ever fire.
For clear, no states will clear occupancy; with any detect option, this means that occupancy will be detected only once and never clear, which is likely not useful.
AQ Details
The SuperSensor 2.x provides 2 base air quality sensors (numeric), from which 4 human-readable text sensors are derived.
The goal of these sensors is to track general comfort and livability in a room, not specific contaminants or conditions. Because the SGP30 can only track TVOC and eCO2, we do not track particulates, CO, NOx, or CH2O, all of which are required for a full EPA (I)AQI score. This means the best we can do is approximate (I)AQI roughly, and since a scale of 0-500 based on approximations seems pointless, I went with much simpler 1-4/5 scores instead. I feel this does a good enough job to be useful for 99% of rooms.
We also cannot really debate whether the BME680 is actually any more accurate in this regard, since their algorithms are proprietary and all that is exposed normally is a single resistance value, so in my opinion this is actually superior to that sensor anyways with two discrete datapoints (versus one), even if it does still seem limited when compared to dedicated AQ sensors. And that is to say nothing of the issues with that sensor (constantly climbing IAQ values over time, poor calibration, etc.).
Base Numeric Values
IAQ Index (1-5)
The IAQ index is calculated based on the TVOC and eCO2 values from the SGP30 sensor, to provide 5 levels of air quality. This corresponds approximately to the levels provided by the BME680 (0-50, 50-100, 100-200, 200-300, 300+).
5 is "great": the TVOC is <65 ppb and the eCO2 is <600 ppm. 4 is "good": the TVOC is 65-220 ppb or the eCO2 is 600-800 ppm. 3 is "fair": the TVOC is 220-660 ppb or the eCO2 is 800-1200 ppm. 2 is "poor": the TVOC is 660-2200 ppb or the eCO2 is 1200-2000 ppm. 1 is "bad": the TVOC is >2200 ppb or the eCO2 is >2000 ppm.
Room Health Score (1-4)
The Room Health Score is calculated based on the IAQ, temperature, and humidity, and is designed to show how "nice" a room is to be in. Generally a 4 is a nice place to be, especially for someone with respiratory issues like myself, and lower scores indicate more deviations from the norms or poor IAQ.
4 is "optimal": IAQ is >= 4 ("great" or "good"), temperature is between 18C and 24C, and humidity is between 40% and 60%. 3 is "fair": One of the above is not true, and IAQ is >= 3 ("fair"). 2 is "poor": Two of the above are not true, and IAQ is >= 2 ("poor"). 1 is "bad": All of the above are not true or IAQ is 1 ("unhealthy") regardless of other values.
Note that IAQ levels hold a major sway over this level, and decreasing IAQ scores will push the room score lower regardless of temperature or humidity. It is best used together with the individual sensors to determine exactly what is wrong with the room.
Derived Text Sensors
VOC Level
This reports the VOC level alone, based on the scale under IAQ Index, in textual form ("Great, "Good", etc.).
CO2 Level
This reports the eCO2 level alone, based on the scale under IAQ Index, in textual form ("Great, Good", etc.).
IAQ Classification
This reports the IAQ Index in textual form ("Great", "Good", etc.).
Room Health
This reports the Room Health Score in textual form ("Optimal", "Fair", "Poor", "Bad").