Hello,

I’m currently building a new house (EU). I’m planning to put ESP32 sensors in every room (top corner) with mmWave sensor to have a reliable presence detection.

I don’t know what the best way to power the esp32 is? Wi-Fi coverage should be good enough, so Ethernet is a plus but not mandatory.

POE looks nice but might require a bigger box as ESP32 with Ethernet looks bigger? Also, I’m not sure it will be able to power the mmWave sensor? I only saw 3.3V output. Any recommendations?

5V run from a central location (garage) might be difficult with voltage drop. Any recommendations for some cable specs and maybe experiences?

Last option would be a regular 230V run with 230V/5V transformer next to each ESP32, which also leads to a bigger box.

What do you think would be the best option?

Thank you for your advice!

  • MHTMakerspace@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    10 months ago

    POE looks nice but might require a bigger box as ESP32 with Ethernet looks bigger? Also, I’m not sure it will be able to power the mmWave sensor? I only saw 3.3V output. Any recommendations?

    We are building mmWave sensors using the Olimex ESP32-POE. This board has both 5v and 3.3v available on the side set of pins.

    Yes, the PoE boards are a bit larger than USB-powered devkits, and the price is a little higher – felt the extra reliability justified spending a little more for a device with integrated PoE versus adding complexity with WiFi or separate power supplies for each sensor.

    • Logical-Metal@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Thanks for your reply. I missed the fact that the Olimex supports 5V, that makes it the best option so far! I’m planning at least 14 sensors so I’m trying to keep it cheap. Everythingsmarthome version of ESP looks nice but as I’m not in the UK, their import taxes make it really expensive for me.