--- title: "7 ESP32 projects that replaced commercial smart home gadgets in my house with cheaper, local hardware" url: https://daily.dev/posts/7-esp32-projects-that-replaced-commercial-smart-home-gadgets-in-my-house-with-cheaper-local-hardwar-cvbsyiybd source_url: https://www.xda-developers.com/esp32-projects-replace-commercial-products-people-pay-for type: article source: "XDA Developers" published: 2026-06-16T15:03:55.374Z updated: 2026-06-16T15:04:22.163Z tags: ["tech-news", "iot"] reading_time: 9 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # 7 ESP32 projects that replaced commercial smart home gadgets in my house with cheaper, local hardware **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 9 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A hands-on overview of seven ESP32-based DIY projects that replace commercial smart home products like Ring doorbells, Echo speakers, smart clocks, and branded sensors. Each project uses ESPHome and Home Assistant for local control, eliminating cloud subscriptions and third-party dependencies. Projects range from a $15 LED matrix clock and e-paper desk dashboard to a voice assistant with local LLM processing and a touchscreen home lab control panel. The author emphasizes that these replacements require comfort with ESPHome, Home Assistant, and some hardware tinkering, but deliver cheaper, locally controlled alternatives to proprietary gadgets. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [6 ESP32 projects that make more sense than buying another smart home gadget](https://daily.dev/posts/6-esp32-projects-that-make-more-sense-than-buying-another-smart-home-gadget-wzbafhlat) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I stopped buying smart home gadgets and started building them for a fraction of the price](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-buying-smart-home-gadgets-and-started-building-them-for-a-fraction-of-the-price-scykq2d5g) · XDA Developers · 4 upvotes · 1 comments - [I replaced my Raspberry Pis with $5 ESP32s for smart home projects, and they do everything I need](https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-my-raspberry-pis-with-5-esp32s-for-smart-home-projects-and-they-do-everything-i-need-tusk09yso) · XDA Developers · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#iot](https://daily.dev/tags/iot) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/7-esp32-projects-that-replaced-commercial-smart-home-gadgets-in-my-house-with-cheaper-local-hardwar-cvbsyiybd)