home assistant News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 13, 2026May 15, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

SONOFF Hydro DUO – A dual-channel Zigbee 3.0 smart water valve with flow meter

SONOFF Hydro DUO is a dual-channel Zigbee 3.0 and Bluetooth 5 LE smart water valve with up to 12 customized watering schedules, a flow meter, and alerts for frost risk, leakage, low battery, and water shortages. Paisit previously reviewed the SONOFF SWV smart water valve, but the company has now launched the Hydro series with various improvements, including a brass inlet instead of a plastic one, weather-based skipping, real-time alerts, flow metering, and dual Zigbee + BLE so it can work even without a Zigbee gateway. The single-channel Hydro models were introduced earlier this year, and now the Hydro DUO offers a variant with two outlets to manage two watering zones. SONOFF Hydro DUO (SWV-ZF2U/SWV-ZF2E) specifications: MCU – Telink TLSR8258 (TLSR8258F1KAT32) multiprotocol microcontroller @ 48 MHz with BLE 5 and Zigbee 3.0, RF4CE, Thread, 6LoWPAN, HomeKit, ANT, and 2.4GHz proprietary connectivity Inlets SWV-ZF2U model – NH (National Hose) pipe thread […]

May 7, 2026May 7, 2026 by Debashis Das - 4 Comments

HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a 7-inch wall-mount Home Assistant dashboard with MQTT support

HAUI 3Gang 7-inch Display Wall Mount Dashboard WiFi

The HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a wall-mount smart home control dashboard designed specifically to run Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Domoticz, or any other web-based home automation dashboard. Built around a Raspberry Pi 3B+ since it’s one of the cheapest options following Pi 4/5 price hikes, the HAUI (Home Assistant User Interface) replaces standard wall switches and fits into a standard single-gang electrical box, while its front panel spans roughly a three-gang footprint, hence the “3Gang” name. It runs a customized version of FullpageOS Linux distribution with a Chromium browser in kiosk mode and includes built-in MQTT integration along with SSH access for advanced users. HAUI Touch Display specifications Main Controller – Raspberry Pi 3B+ Display – 7-inch capacitive touchscreen Connectivity – Wi-Fi on Raspberry Pi (configured via initial setup wizard) Power Input Voltage – 120 VAC ±10% Maximum Current – 1 A Internal USB charger module (Line/Neutral wiring, no ground […]

April 29, 2026April 29, 2026 by Debashis Das - 11 Comments

MiciMike’s open-source drop-in PCB converts Google Home Mini into a local voice assistant (Crowdfunding)

The MiciMike Home Mini Drop-In PCB is an open-source replacement mainboard designed to convert a 1st Gen Google Home Mini into a fully local, privacy-focused voice assistant running Home Assistant Voice. Built around an ESP32-S3 MCU and an XMOS XU316 audio processor, it removes cloud dependencies without any case modifications or soldering. The board offers on-device wake word detection, echo cancellation, and noise suppression via two MEMS microphones, and comes pre-flashed with ESPHome for easy Home Assistant integration. The PCBA fully supports local voice processing, optional cloud LLM integration, media playback, and Snapcast. It’s released as open hardware under the CERN-OHL-S v2 license, with complete design files available, making it suitable for privacy-focused smart-home automation, DIY voice assistants, and hardware-reuse projects. MiciMike Home Mini Drop-In PCB specifications: Compatibility – Google Home Mini 1st generation Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Xtensa LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 […]

April 29, 2026April 29, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 – A 86-Type Smart Home control panel with two relays, dual-band WiFi, Zigbee 3.0, Matter support

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 is an 86-type Smart Home control panel featuring a 3.95-inch touch display, two relays supporting up to 10A, and dual-band WiFi 4, Bluetooth LE, and Zigbee 3.0 connectivity. The device also integrates a 1.5W speaker and a microphone for voice interaction, light and proximity sensors, and runs Android on a Rockchip RK3326-S SoC paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash. SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3326-S CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A35 processor @ 1.5 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G31 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash Display – 3.95-inch capacitive touchscreen color TFT display with 480×480 resolution Audio – 1.5W speaker, digital microphone for two-way communication (intercom) Connectivity Zigbee 3.0 support via EFR32MG24 Dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi + Bluetooth Matter support Relay – Dual-gang relay up to 5A per gang, or 10A in total (resistive […]

April 29, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

MoreSense MS-07 – An ESP32-S3 indoor air quality monitor with SEN66 multisensor and Home Assistant support

MoreSense MS-07 CO2 PM NOx VOC Temp and Hum Wifi Sensor

MoreSense MS-07 indoor air quality monitor is built around the Sensirion SEN66 multisensor, powered by an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, and features a 3.5-inch capacitive IPS touchscreen for local data visualization and control. The MS-07 is a direct upgrade to the earlier MS-06, replacing the Sensirion SCD40 used for basic CO₂, temperature, and humidity measurement with the more advanced Sensirion SEN66 multisensor, which adds support for PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4.0, PM10, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Like the previous model, it focuses on local operation and privacy, and supports integration with Home Assistant and Domoticz via MQTT autodiscovery, as well as Homey through the HomeyDuino app. It is typically used in homes, offices, and indoor environments to track air quality, comfort levels, and pollution metrics in real time. MoreSense MS-07 specifications: Microcontroller – ESP32-S3 SoC, dual-core XTensa LX7 @ up to 240 MHz; 512KB SRAM; Integrated 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and BLE Storage […]

April 21, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

DIY Sendspin audio receiver supports multi-room audio synchronization, integrates with Home Assistant

SendspinZero is an open-source, DIY Sendspin audio receiver for your amplifier that relies on off-the-shelf parts costing around $10 and a 3D printed enclosure. It integrates with Home Assistant for multi-room audio synchronization. It sounds good, but what is Sendspin exactly? It’s a royalty-free, open protocol developed by the Open Home Foundation for synchronized audio playback across multiple devices and rooms. Besides audio, it also supports screens for album art and control music, and sound-activated lights (coming soon feature). The protocol enables open-source products that compete against proprietary systems like Sonos, AirPlay, or Google Cast, and integrates nicely with the Music Assistant add-on for Home Assistant. Sendspin audio receiver key components: Waveshare ESP32-S3-Zero board with 2MB PSRAM (About $4-$6 on AliExpress, $12 on Amazon), ideally the version without pre-soldered headers Optional 1.54-inch LCD screen (About $5 on AliExpress) Optional 3-6V, 22mm bi-color button (About $2 to $3) Audio output options: […]

April 14, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

DeskUp Pro smart standing desk controller integrates with Home Assistant and Homey Pro Smart Home hubs

Designed by SmartHomeGuys in the UK, the DeskUp Pro is an ESP32-based standing desk controller compatible with Home Assistant, Homey Pro, and other Smart Home hubs, using the desk’s standard RJ11/RJ12 connection. Many modern standing desks come with a controller from Jiecang or another company featuring an RJ12 port. The DeskUp Pro plugs directly into this port, draws power without an external USB supply, and bridges the desk’s controls to your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. This allows you to automate your desk height, set health-focused standing reminders, or use voice assistants like Google Home and Alexa, all while keeping the desk’s original physical keypad fully functional. DeskUp Pro specifications: MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-C6 or ESP32-S3 microcontroller with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE Desk connectivity – Built-in RJ11/RJ12 cable for data and power USB – USB Type-C port for initial setup and firmware flashing Misc Supported Jiecang control boxes JCB36NE2 (used […]

April 12, 2026April 12, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

UmbrelOS – A Debian-based personal home cloud OS with a slick user interface

UmbrelOS is a Debian-based home cloud OS with a neat web-based interface that works on devices like Raspberry Pi SBCs, mini PCs, old computers, and more. Having been first released in 2020, the OS is not exactly new, but I only discovered it today after noticing it was one of the supported operating systems for the Pironman 5 Pro Max enclosure for the Raspberry Pi 5. It initially launched as a tool for running a Bitcoin full node on a Raspberry Pi easily, but eventually turned into a home cloud OS that competes against other open-source solutions such as OpenMediaVault or CasaOS/ZimaOS. UmbrelOS highlights: Intuitive web dashboard at umbrel.local or your device’s IP. Umbrel App Store — Over 300 apps, including Nextcloud or Immich for media and document storage, Jellyfin for media streaming, Home Assistant automation framework, Vaultwarden password manager, Bitcoin and Lightning nodes, AdGuard Home adblocker, and AI-related tools […]