ctrlspace
// How we integrate the things nothing else can

ESPHome

Not a brand but a firmware: a configuration-driven way to turn cheap ESP32 and ESP8266 boards into local, native Home Assistant devices. It is the tool that turns "no integration exists" into "we will build one".

Why we use ESPHome

  • Native local API to Home Assistant, faster and more reliable than any cloud integration.
  • It solves the unsolvable - an aircon service port, a water tank level, a gate controller, a bespoke sensor. If it has a wire, this reaches it.
  • Over-the-air updates on your schedule, with no vendor able to change anything.
  • Configuration is plain text, versionable, and documented for whoever comes next.

Where we do not, and why

  • It is engineering, not shopping. Someone has to design, build and document each device.
  • A custom device has no consumer warranty, so build quality and enclosure choice matter.
  • Not something we would hand to a homeowner to maintain without documentation.

Pros and cons at a glance

Pros
  • Native, fast, fully local Home Assistant integration
  • Reaches devices no commercial integration covers
  • Firmware entirely under your control
  • Cheap hardware, plain-text configuration
Cons
  • Requires design and build work
  • No consumer warranty on a custom device
  • Enclosure and power design matter
  • Needs documentation to be maintainable

The technical position

Main protocol
Wi-Fi or Ethernet, native Home Assistant API
Local control
Yes, completely
Vendor hub needed
No
Home Assistant support
Native
Singapore availability
Components widely available

Where it fits in a CtrlSpace build

Used in most of our larger projects for the handful of things nothing else covers: a Mitsubishi aircon interface, a water tank sensor, a gate relay, a custom presence sensor, an energy meter pulse counter. Each one is documented and handed over with the system.

// Frequently asked

ESPHome, answered plainly

Is a custom ESPHome device reliable?

When it is built properly, yes - these run for years. The failures we see elsewhere are almost always power supply or enclosure decisions rather than the firmware.

What happens to a custom device if CtrlSpace is not around?

The configuration is plain text and it is handed to you with the system. Any competent person can read it, change it and reflash the device.
// 3 more in this category

See others in audio, media and other

Local network Sonos The multi-room audio we still recommend Zigbee ยท Wi-Fi Xiaomi / Mi Home Enormous catalogue, tangled ecosystem Cloud API Tesla Great integration, an API that keeps moving

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