chris.builds.stuff

home automation, firmware, filament

I build things for my house. Then I write down how.

Home Assistant setups, ESP32 devices and 3D printed parts, with the wiring, the YAML and the STL files so you can build the same thing.

home-assistantesp323d-printing
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The finished presence sensor mounted on a desk shelf
esp32home-assistant3d-printing

A presence sensor that doesn't think I'm a cat

PIR sensors turn the lights off while I'm sitting still at my desk. An mmWave radar doesn't. Here is the whole build, from parts to automation.

build 3 hcost $14filament 22 g PETG
An e-paper display in a printed frame showing a calendar and weather
esp323d-printinghome-assistant

E-paper room dashboard, battery for months

A 4.2" e-paper panel showing calendar, weather and energy use, waking once every 15 minutes.

build 5 hcost $38filament 41 g
A sealed plastic box with spools inside and a small sensor board on the lid
3d-printinghome-assistantesp32

Filament dry box that texts me when it's soggy

A heated, sealed box with an SHT31 sensor, reporting humidity per spool to Home Assistant.

build 4 hcost $26filament 180 g

latest guides

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Keep Wi-Fi passwords out of your ESPHome YAML

Using secrets.yaml and a shared base file across every node.

1 min read

Snap-fit enclosures that survive a second print

Tolerances, wall thickness and why your first lid never fits.

1 min read

tools

Small calculators and generators

Pin and power budgets, config starters and print costs. Coming as I build them.

See the tools →

about

I'm Chris. I started with one smart bulb and ended up with a workshop full of half-finished ESP32 boards and a printer that never really stops.

This blog is where the finished ones end up, written up with the parts list, the wiring, the code and the mistakes. More about me →