You’ll soon be able to control all Sonoff smart switches, sockets, light bulbs, IP cameras, as well as Philips lighting solutions with the Sonoff NSPanel, a 3.5-inch HMI display supporting wall installation to US or EU standards.
The ESP32 based touchscreen display integrates a dual-channel wall switch, supports Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Yandex Alice voice assistants, and if you are not at home, you can still control your appliances with eWelink app for Android or iOS.
Sonoff NSPanel specifications:
- WiSoC – Espressif ESP32-DOWD V3 dual-core Xtensa processor @ 160 MHz with 512KB RAM, 2.4 GHz 802.11n/g/n WiFi 4, and Bluetooth 4.2/5.x
- Display – 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 480×320 resolution
- Power Input – 100-240V @ 50/60Hz up to 4A
- Power Output – 100-240V @ 50/60Hz up to 2A per gang, or 4A in total
- LED Load
- 110V – 150W per gang, 300W total
- 220V – 300W per gang, 600W total
- Dimensions
- NSPanel-EU – 86x86x41.7 mm
- NSPanel-US – 120x71x41.7 mm
- Materials – PC V0 fire-resistant plastic, CRS (cold-rolled steel), and toughened glass
- Certifications
- NSPanel-EU – CE, CQC (UK), SRRC (China), RoHS
- NSPanel-US – CE, FCC, RoHS
The company did not actually mention the processor and exact display use, but one backer claimed that “the preproduction units use an ESP32 and a Nextion screen” as seen in earlier videos. I could confirm ESP32 is indeed used from the FCC pictures, and while there are several 3.5-inch Nextion displays with 480×320 resolution, all of those rely on a resistive touch panel, instead of a capacitive touch panel, so it might be a new model. The UART pins to program the ESP32 are clearly visible from the internal photos, so people interested in installing ESPHome or Tasmota open-source firmware should be able to do so, once/if Sonoff NSPanel is supported.
Back to the default use case for “Sonoff NSPanel Smart Scene Wall Switch” with the main display showing a weather widget with outdoor temperature, WiFi status, time and date, as well as indoor temperature. Swiping the screen will bring you to a menu with user-defined scenes, so for instance, you can turn off all lights, change the thermostat’s settings when you leave home with a single touch, and switch to another scene when you come back home. Note the panel will itself be the thermostat controlling your heater or cooler via a SONOFF smart switch by turning it on or off depending on the selected temperature.
Besides voice assistants support, integration with SmartThings and IFTTT is also being worked on. Sonoff SNPanel only relies on the Internet to display the widgets, but the on/off, inching and power-on state can work through the local network (LAN), if for some reason your router is dead, you can still control the devices attached to the panel with the physical button. Another important detail is that the NSPanel smart switch requires both neutral and live wires to work.
ITEAD Studio will usually launch and sell their devices directly, but this time around, they decided to launch the Sonoff NSPanel through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter with a $5,000 funding goal. They raised over $70,000 in less than 24 hours, with rewards starting at $54 for one US or EU HMI panel, but you want also want to consider the $90 “Flash sale – NSPanel Duo Pack” reward to get two panels. You’ll also be able to add smart switches, smart plugs, LED stripes to your pledge. Shipping adds about 7 Euros to Europe, and $12 to the rest of the world. Backers should expect their perks to ship in December 2021, but as with any crowdfunding campaign do not assume you’ll get those before Christmas, it might happen or not…
Thanks to Hedda for the tip and FCC link.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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I don’t think you can talk to this. No visible mic or speaker. And it is known the ESP32 can not pass Alexa voice certification. That is why they are making the ESP32S3.
Only controlled by Alexa like a light bulb?
I think so too. It has two integrated relays so it is probably those that can be controlled via Google Assistant if you have a Google Home / Nest speaker
I will preorder two but wish they had included a simple presence / motion sensor as well as replaced the temperature sensor with a combo humidity and temperature.
An optional more expensive variant with OLED display would also have been appriciated for an extra fee.
In a video on another site there is a location on PCB and side of case where a components was not installed. Speculation is that they dropped the motion sensor or a light sensor.
Why would I run my home through a Chinese cloud?
What would keep them from turning it off at any time they want?
It can work without the cloud, except for the widgets.
It should also be possible to install alternative firmware like ESPHome or Tasmota, although we have to wait to find out if NSPanel will indeed be supported.
Not sure why you even ask about it. If you care about privacy – you must not use Alexa as Amazon already have number of scandals to record everything in room for some reason. Similar fear go to all other voice assistants – as they can’t recognize voice in real time and send it to Cloud. And – to all cloud services as they “free” for you and this way “you” is what they sell. At the end, one can only buy hardware to flash his own firmware which banned from internet at all. And this is what Sonoff known… Read more »
Will it support Tasmota in future?
It looks nice, but i doesn’t realy have a usseful function, why have a clumsy wall touch screen when you always have a phone on hand that can do the same?
Not all people have their phone in their hand all the time. Also there can be several people in the house who are less tech savvy, or guests. They can’t always download all the apps to their phones. Sometimes there are several apps in a phone that are used in a smart home, a panel aggregates them. No need for one switch for the light and one knob for the thermostat, it is all on the display. I hope there will be more displays to choose from, especially with the new Matter standard coming.
FYI, this device has now been hacked with Tasmota
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/sonoff-nspanel-smart-scene-wall-switch-by-itead-coming-soon-on-kickstarter/332962
https://templates.blakadder.com/sonoff_NSPanel.html
https://blakadder.com/nspanel-teardown/