🏠 ESP32-C3 Garage Door Visual Monitor (ESPHome)

A compact, mains-powered visual indicator for garage door status, integrated with Home Assistant.

Designed to solve the problem of monitoring a garage door status where opening sensors are present but a physical status indicator is needed inside the house and door isn't in direct vision. It uses the onboard LED of an ESP32-C3 SuperMini to provide real-time feedback.

🌟 Features

• Real-time Status: Monitors an existing door sensor via Home Assistant API.
• Visual Feedback:
  • 🚪 Door Closed: LED Off.
  • ⚠️ Door Opening/Open: Slow blinking (Strobe Warning).
  • ⬇️ Door Closing: Fast blinking (Fast Strobe) for 30 seconds after the "Close" button is pressed.
• ESP32-C3 SuperMini Fixes: Includes specific configuration to fix USB logging and WiFi stability issues common to this board.

🛠 Hardware

• Board: ESP32-C3 SuperMini (compact form factor).
• Power: Any USB-A/C charger.
• Connectivity: WiFi (2.4GHz).

⚙️ How it works

The device does not have physical sensors attached. Instead, it acts as a remote display for Home Assistant entities:

1. It listens to the state of a Door Sensor (binary_sensor).
2. It listens to the activation of a Close Switch (switch).
3. Based on these states, it controls the onboard LED.

📝 Configuration (YAML)

This project uses ESPHome.

Prerequisites

• Home Assistant with ESPHome Add-on installed.
• A working Door Sensor in HA.
• A working Door Control Switch in HA.

Important Note on ESP32-C3 SuperMini

This board has a ceramic antenna and uses USB-CDC for logging. The following configuration parts are critical:

1. Fix for "Hanging Logs" / No Serial Output:

   platformio_options:
     build_flags:
       - "-DARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=1"
       - "-DARDUINO_USB_MODE=1"
   logger:
     hardware_uart: USB_SERIAL_JTAG

2. Fix for Weak WiFi / Disconnections:

   wifi:
     power_save_mode: none
     output_power: 20dB

Installation

1. Copy the code from garage-monitor.yaml.
2. Update ssid, password, and encryption: key.
3. Crucial: Update entity_id fields under binary_sensor to match your actual Home Assistant entities:
   • entity_id: binary_sensor.your_door_contact
   • entity_id: switch.your_garage_close_switch
4. Flash the device via USB cable first.

🚥 LED States

LED Behavior	Meaning
OFF	Door is Closed
Slow Blink (0.5s)	Door is Opening/Open
Fast Blink (0.1s)	Closing command received (lasts 30s)

🤝 Contributing

Feel free to fork this project and add support for RGB LEDs (Neopixel) or OLED screens!