Joshua M. Boniface
e906872383
Permits the user customization of the parameters of the Room Health Score, enabling fine-grained control over this metric instead of hardcoding values that may not be suitable for each person or room.
318 lines
16 KiB
Markdown
318 lines
16 KiB
Markdown
# SuperSensor v2.x
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The SuperSensor is an all-in-one voice, motion, presence, temperature/humidity/air
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quality, and light sensor, built on an ESP32 with ESPHome, and inspired
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heavily by the EverythingSmartHome Everything Presence One sensor and the
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HomeAssistant "$13 Voice Assistant" project.
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Use SuperSensors around your house to provide HomeAssistant Voice Assist
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interfaces with wake word detection, as well as other sensor detection options
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as you want them.
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Assist feedback is provided by a pair of common-cathode RGB LED. No speakers
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or annoying TTS feedback here! With [an optional 3D Printed case and a clear
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diffuser cover](/case), the LEDs can be turned into a sleek light bar on the bottom
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of the unit for quick and easy confirmation of voice actions, or just use
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it bare if you like the "PCB on a wall" aesthetic.
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To Use:
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* Install the ESPHome configuration `supersensor.yaml` to a compatible ESP32 devkit (below).
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* Install the ESP32 and sensors into the custom PCB.
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* Power up the SuperSensor, connect to the WiFi AP, and connect it to your network.
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* Install the SuperSensor somewhere that makes sense.
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* Add/adopt the SuperSensor to HomeAssistant using the automatic name.
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* Tune the SuperSensor values to your needs.
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For more details, please [see my first blog post on the original SuperSensor project](https://www.boniface.me/posts/the-supersensor/)
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and [my update post on version 2.0](https://www.boniface.me/posts/the-supersensor-2.0).
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**NOTE: For those with v1.x hardware, see [the repository for that code instead](https://github.com/joshuaboniface/supersensor).**
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## Major Changes from 1.x
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1. Replaced the Bosch BME680 with the Sensirion SHT45 and Sensirion SGP41.
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The BME680 proved to be woefully unreliable in my testing. Temperature was fairly accurate (internal heating and offset notwithstanding),
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but humidity was wildly off of what other thermometers/hydrometers would report. In addition, the AQ functionality of the sensor was a
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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
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at self-configuration.
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Thus, this sensor has been replaced with two Sensirion sensors which in my experience so far have been much more reliable and consistent.
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There is a slight cost increase due to these sensors, but not signfigant enough to outweigh the benefit of reliable monitoring they confer.
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2. Replaced the SR602 PIR sensor with the AM312 PIR sensor.
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The SR602 was, in my experience, prone to constant false misfirings and hard to enclose due to its shape. In addition its orientation is
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awkward (pins on the left or right side) which made building around it difficult. Thus, this sensor has been replaced with the nicer,
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more straight AM312 PIR design. This does add vertical height to the sensor but I consider this a good tradeoff, and think it looks neat.
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Note that like all cheap PIRs, the AM312 is prone to misfiring if exposed. For this reason, [the case](/case) is recommended for any serious
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PIR use-cases.
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3. Completely redesigned the custom PCB around the above sensor changes, which is now more compact in a 50x55mm almost-square configuration.
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4. Significantly cleaned up the ESPHome configuration, to support the above sensors and remove a lot of cruft that was caused by the BME680.
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## Parts List
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| Qty | Component | Cost (2025/05 CAD, ex. shipping) | Links |
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|-------|--------------------|----------------------------------|-------|
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| 1 | GY-SGP41 | $11.08 | [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006746827606.html) |
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| 1 | GY-SHT45 | $5.67 | [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008175340220.html)* |
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| 1 | AM312 | $1.97 | [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008067324301.html) |
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| 1 | TSL2591 | $4.59 | [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008619462097.html) |
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| 1 | HL-LD2510C | $4.79 | [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006000579211.html)* |
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| 1 | INMP441 | $2.93 | [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002902615623.html) |
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| 1 | ESP32 HW-395 | $6.67 | [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006019875837.html)* |
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| 2 | RBG LED | $0.09 ($9.12/100) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09Y8M2PKS) |
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| 1 | 470Ω resistor | $0.08 ($7.99/100) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08MKQX2XT) |
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| 2 | Female pin header† | $1.59 ($15.99/10) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08CMNRXJ1) |
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| 1 | Custom PCB (JLC) | $0.69 ($6.89/10) | [GitHub](https://github.com/joshuaboniface/supersensor) |
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| **TOTAL** | | **$41.74** | |
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`*` Ensure you select the correct device on the page as it shows multiple options.
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`†` One of these sets is optional, and is useful if you do not want to solder the individual sensors directly to the board (see below).
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### To Solder or Not To Solder
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I strongly encourage anyone building one of these units to leverage sockets for all components. First,
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this provides good spacing between components which can help with general better performance. It can
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also allow for quick swapping if any turn out to be defective or if future changes are warranted.
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**If you use the [case](/case), it is sized assuming socketed components!** So for case users you
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must socket all components.
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Note that due to the PCB design, you *must socket at least one* set of components - either the ESP32
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or the sensors on the front. Due to the positioning and overlap, it would be impossible to solder
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everything directly to the board, as the ESP covers several of the solder points of the front
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sensors and vice versa.
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You can use the provided 40-pin female headers exclusively if you wish, and cut them to length for
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the individual sensors as needed, or you can use individually-sized female headers in the following
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quantities should you wish for a slightly neater finish:
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* 3x 3-pin (AM302, INMP441 x2)
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* 2x 4-pin (SGP41, SHT45)
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* 1x 5-pin (LD2410C)
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* 1x 6-pin (TSL2591)
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I will leave it up to the reader to source these specific sizes if they desire (I found all except
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a 5-pin on Amazon, and just used a 6-pin with one pin removed).
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I still directly solder the RGB LEDs and resistor to the board for simplicity as these very small
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leads are not easily socketed, and these components are so inexpensive as to be effectively
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disposable along with the PCB should that be required.
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### Part Swaps
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To save a little money, it is possible to swap out the two Sensirion sensors for their less-feature-
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rich peers, with no code changes:
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* SGP41 -> SGP40 - removes the NOx functionality
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* SHT45 -> SHT40/41/43 - less accuracy
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Personally, I do not find the minimal cost savings to be worth sacrificing the extra potential
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functionality, so I recommend using the provided models, but this is up to the builder to decide.
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No other parts can be easily swapped without code or PCB design changes.
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## Air Quality Handling
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The SuperSensor 2.0 features an SGP41 air quality sensor by Sensirion. This is a powerful AQ
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sensor which powers several commercial devices including the AirGradient One, which gave
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us a lot of our configuration via their sharing of algorithms.
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The sensor provides two base readings: a VOC Index, and a NOx Index. These values are both
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floating references centered at 100 (VOC) and 1 (NOx), where that value represents "normal"
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air over the previous 24 hours. These sensors are very useful for any sort of quick-change
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automations, e.g. turn on a fan if levels spike due to cooking.
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In addition, we leverage AirGradient's published forumulas to convert the VOC index into
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actual VOC quantities, in both µg/m³ and ppb. While this may drift due to the sensor's regular
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internal recalibration, I feel that following what AirGradient does is sufficient enough
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for any real-world home usage. Further, we use a very rough conversion of the aforementioned
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VOC quantity into an eCO2 reading, using Isobutylene as a reference gas. These sensors are
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more useful for display purposes, to show the current levels in a room in a dashboard or
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other such place, for human consumption. Note that no such conversions are done for NOx as
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there are no (that I can find) published empirical calculations for this conversion, unlike
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for VOCs via AirGradient.
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Note however that like all MOx sensors, the SGP41 does not differentiate gasses, and as
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such cannot tell the difference between normal, everyday natural VOCs like those in
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breath or from e.g. ripening fruit, and dangerous VOCs from e.g. construction materials.
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It also reacts strongly to heavy humidity, resulting in higher values in such environments.
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These should be used only as a general indication of air quality over short periods, rather
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than an absolute reference over long periods (much to my own frustration but inevitable
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begruding acceptance).
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## Room Health
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The SuperSensor 2.0 leverages the outputs of the SHT45 and SGP41 sensors to calculate a
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"Room Health", expressed as a percentage, which represents how "healthy" i.e. comfortable
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a room is for a person to be in.
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The room health is calculated based on the VOC level, temperature, and relative humidity.
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First, the raw value is converted to a per-sensor 100-0 scale as follows:
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* For VOC levels, there is a set of linear scales based on common VOC level
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mappings, such that less than 200 ppb is 100, 200-400 maps to 100-90,
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400-600 maps to 90-70, 600-1500 maps to 70-40, 1500-3000 maps to 40-0, and
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greater than 3000 is 0.
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* For temperature and humidity, there is a single linear scale based on a
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configurable penalty value, such that a value between the configurable
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minimum and maximum is 100, and each degree C or %RH outside of that range
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decreases the value by the penalty value.
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Next, each indivdual per-sensor value is applied to the total 100-0 value by a configurable
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weight, with the defaults being 40% to VOC level, 30% to temperature, and 30% to humidity. The
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values can never total more than 100% or total to 0% but are otherwise normalized (i.e. decrease
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others before increasing one, or the values will not be accepted; and at least one weight
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must be >0).
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The final result is thus a 100-0% range that, in broad strokes, describes the overall
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health of the room. For some examples, assuming all of the default values below:
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* Perfect: Temp 23C, humidity 50%RH, and VOC level 150ppb = 100% health
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* A little warm: Temp 25C (+1), humidity 50%RH, and VOC level 250ppb = 97% health
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* Dry: Temp 22C, humidity 30%RH (-10), VOC level 150ppb = 91% health
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* Dirty air: Temp 23C, humidity 50%RH, VOC level 800ppb = 85% health
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* Hot & humid: Temp 28C, humidity 70%RH, VOC level 250ppb = 84% health
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* All-around bad: Temp 30C, humidity 30%RH, VOC level 2000ppb = 52% health
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These are then mapped to textual values as well with the following bands:
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* 100%-95%: Great
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* 95%-90%: Good
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* 90%-80%: Fair
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* 80%-60%: Poor
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* 60%-0%: Bad
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As mentioned above, most portions of this are configurable; see the section below for
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specific details of each configuration value.
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## Configurable Options
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There are several UI-configurable options with the SuperSensor to help you
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get the most out of the sensor for your particular use-case.
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**Note:** Configuration of the LD2410C is excluded here, as it is extensively
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configurable. See [the documentation](https://esphome.io/components/sensor/ld2410.html) for more details on its options.
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### Enable Voice Support (switch)
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If enabled (the default), the SuperSensor's voice functionality including
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wake word will be started, or it can be disabled to use the SuperSensor
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purely as a presence/environmental sensor.
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### Enable Presence LED (switch)
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If enabled (the default), when overall presence is detected, the LEDs will
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glow "white" at 15% power to signal presence.
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### Temperature Offset (number, -30 to +10 @ 0.1, -5 default)
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Allows calibration of the SHT45 temperature sensor with an offset from -30 to +10
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degrees C. Useful if the sensor is misreporting actual ambient tempreatures. Due
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to internal heating of the SHT45 by the ESP32, this defaults to -5; further
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calibration may be needed for your sensors and environment based on an external
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reference.
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### Humidity Offset (number, -20 to +20 @ 0.1)
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Allows calibration of the SHT45 humidity sensor with an offset from -10 to +10
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percent relative humidity. Useful if the sensor is misreporting actual humidity
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based on an external reference.
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### PIR Hold Time (number, 0 to +60 @ 5, 0 default)
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The SuperSensor uses an AM312 PIR sensor, which has a stock hold time of ~2.5
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seconds. This setting allows increasing that value, with retrigger support, to
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up to 60 seconds, allowing the PIR detection to report for longer. 0 represents
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"as long as the AM312 fires".
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### Light Threshold Control (number, 0 to +200 @ 5, 30 default)
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The SuperSensor features a "light presence" binary sensor based on the light
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level reported by the TSL2591 sensor. This control defines the minimum lux
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value from the sensor to be considered "presence". For instance, if you have
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a room that is usually dark at 0-5 lux, but illuminated to 100 lux when a
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(non-automated) light switch is turned on, you could set a threshold here
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of say 30 lux: then, while the light is on, "light presence" is detected,
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and when the light is off, "light presence" is cleared. Light presence can
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be used standalone or as part of the integrated occupancy sensor (below).
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### Integrated Occupancy Sensor (selector)
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The SuperSensor features a fully integrated "occupancy" sensor, which can be
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configured to provide exactly the sort of occupancy detection you may want
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for your room.
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There are 7 options (plus "None"/disabled), with both "detect" and "clear"
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handled separately. Occupancy is always detected when ALL of the selected
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sensors report detection, and occupancy is always cleared when ANY of the
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selected sensors stop reporting detection (logical AND in, logical OR out).
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* PIR + Radar + Light
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* PIR + Radar
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* PIR + Light
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* Radar + Light
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* PIR Only
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* Radar Only
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* Light Only
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* None
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### Room Health Sensor
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#### Minimum Temperature (number, 15 to 30 @ 0.5, 21 default)
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The lower bounds of a fully comfortable temperature; temperature values below
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this value will begin decreasing the room health score.
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#### Maximum Temperature (number, 15 to 30 @ 0.5, 24 default)
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The upper bounds of a fully comfortable temperature; temperature values above
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this value will begin decreasing the room health score.
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#### Temperature Penalty (number, 1 to 20 @ 1, 10 default)
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The penalty value per degree of temperature deviation from ideal levels, applied
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to the pre-weighting value for temperature.
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#### Minimum Humidity (number, 20 to 80 @ 1, 40 default)
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The lower bounds of a fully comfortable relative humidity level; relative
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humidity values below this value will begin decreasing the room health score.
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#### Maximum Humidity (number, 20 to 80 @ 1, 60 default)
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The upper bounds of a fully comfortable relative humidity level; relative
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humidity values above this value will begin decreasing the room health score.
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#### Humidity Penalty (number, 1 to 10 @ 1, 5 default)
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The penalty value per % of relative humidity deviation from ideal levels, applied
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to the pre-weighting value for humidity.
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#### VOC Weight (number, 0.0 to 1.0, 0.4 default)
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The weighting value of the VOC score relative to the other two for calculating
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the total room health.
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Note: Cannot exceed 0.4 without first decreasing one of the other weights (total max of 1.0).
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#### Temperature Weight (number, 0.0 to 1.0, 0.3 default)
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The weighting value of the Temperature score relative to the other two for
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calculating the total room health.
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Note: Cannot exceed 0.3 without first decreasing one of the other weights (total max of 1.0).
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#### Humidity Weight (number, 0.0 to 1.0, 0.3 default)
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The weighting value of the Humidity score relative to the other two for calculating
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the total room health.
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Note: Cannot exceed 0.3 without first decreasing one of the other weights (total max of 1.0).
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