GrowControl — ESP32 Smart Grow-Tent Controller

A feature-rich ESP32-based controller for managing grow-tent environments, including fan speed control, lighting automation, sensor monitoring, and real-time web dashboard.

Overview

GrowControl uses an ESP32 microcontroller to monitor environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, pressure, CO₂) and automatically control ventilation fans and grow lights via a DFRobot GP8403 I²C DAC. A responsive Angular web interface provides real-time charts, device configuration, and OTA firmware/file-system updates.

Hardware Requirements

Component	Description
ESP32	1x (any ESP32-WROOM module)
I²C DAC	Gravity 2-Channel I2C DAC Module (DFRobot GP8403) — converts I²C to 0–10V PWM signals for fans/lights
SD Card Reader	For environmental data logging (optional)
Sensor	BME280 (temperature, humidity, pressure) orENS160 + AHT21 (temperature, humidity, CO₂, TVOC, air quality)
Power	12V → 5V step-down regulator for the ESP32

Pin Mapping

Signal	GPIO
I²C SDA	21
I²C SCL	22
SD Card CS	5
SD Card MOSI	23
SD Card SCK	18
SD Card MISO	19

DAC Module Wiring Notes

Devices sharing the same power source as the ESP32 need only the PWM signal wire (no GND connection).
Externally powered devices (e.g., 12V lamp, 24V fan) require a GND connection to the DAC.

Features

Fan Control

Control 2 exhaust/blow fans (in/out) independently via 0–10V PWM signals
Auto-mode: Fans adjust speed based on temperature and humidity setpoints
Speed differential: Fine-tune fan balance to maintain negative pressure in the tent
Night mode: Schedule reduced fan speeds during specific time ranges
Configurable min/max speed ranges and voltage limits per fan

Light Control

Automatic on/off scheduling with configurable sunrise/sunset ramps
Manual PWM control (0–255) for direct light intensity adjustment
Cloud simulation mode: Simulates natural light variation with configurable min/max intensity and cycle duration
Voltage-based calibration for different light types

Sensor Monitoring

BME280: Temperature, humidity, pressure with averaging
ENS160 + AHT21: Temperature, humidity, CO₂ (eCO₂), Air Quality Index (AQI), TVOC
VPD (Vapor Pressure Deficit): Calculated from sensor data for optimal growing conditions
Govee BTH5179 (optional): Bluetooth temperature/humidity/battery readings

Data Logging

SD-card logging (when enabled): Creates /year/month/day/hour.csv files
Stores values every second: time, temperature, humidity, CO₂, light level, VPD
Download historical CSV data via web interface

Web Interface

Real-time dashboard with live charts (Chart.js)
WebSocket-based push updates (~1 Hz when clients connected)
Fan configuration panel (speed, voltage limits, auto-mode, night mode)
Light configuration panel (schedule, sunrise/sunset, cloud sim)
Sensor data display (temperature, humidity, pressure, CO₂, AQI, TVOC)
System info (uptime, heap memory, WiFi status, chip info)
OTA firmware update via browser
SPIFFS filesystem update via browser
WiFi configuration page (SSID, password, AP fallback settings)
Timezone configuration for accurate sunrise/sunset calculations

Dashboard

Fan Control

Light Control

Sensors

System Settings

Project Structure

GrowControl/
├── src/ # ESP32 firmware (C++)
│ ├── main.cpp # Entry point, setup/loop
│ ├── FanController.cpp/h # Fan speed & auto-control logic
│ ├── LightController.cpp/h # Light scheduling & PWM control
│ ├── MyWebServer.cpp/h # Async web server + WebSocket handlers
│ ├── WiFiManager.cpp/h # WiFi connection + AP fallback + NVS storage
│ ├── MyPreferences.cpp/h # NVS preferences (timezone, etc.)
│ ├── FileController.cpp/h # SD card file I/O
│ ├── Bme280.cpp/h # BME280 sensor driver
│ ├── Ens160Aht2x.cpp/h # ENS160 + AHT21 sensor driver
│ ├── GoveeBTh5179.cpp/h # Govee BTH5179 Bluetooth client
│ ├── Voltage.h # Voltage measurement utility
│ ├── MyTime.h # Time utility
│ └── MyPreferences.h # NVS preferences interface
├── growui/ # Angular frontend
│ ├── src/app/
│ │ ├── api.service.ts # HTTP API client
│ │ ├── websocket.service.ts # WebSocket client (rxjs)
│ │ ├── dashboard.service.ts # Central state management
│ │ ├── types.ts # TypeScript interfaces
│ │ ├── chart/ # Chart.js configuration
│ │ ├── features/
│ │ │ ├── dashboard/ # Main dashboard component
│ │ │ ├── fans/ # Fan control panel
│ │ │ ├── lights/ # Light control panel
│ │ │ ├── sensors/ # Sensor data display
│ │ │ └── system/ # System settings & OTA
│ │ └── shared/
│ │ ├── sidebar/ # Navigation sidebar
│ │ └── topbar/ # Top navigation bar
│ └── package.json # Angular 21 + PrimeNG 21
├── platformio.ini # Build configuration
├── custom_partition.csv # Flash partition layout
├── data/ # Static web assets served by ESP
└── README.md

Build & Flash

Prerequisites

PlatformIO Core — pip install platformio
USB cable for ESP32 connection

Build Firmware

pio run -e esp32dev

This compiles the firmware and all library dependencies.

Flash to ESP32

pio run --target upload -e esp32dev -f /dev/ttyUSB0 # Linux
pio run --target upload -e esp32dev -f COM5 # Windows

Or use the PlatformIO VS Code extension: PlatformIO: Build → Upload.

Upload SPIFFS Image (optional)

pio run --target uploadfs -e esp32dev

Or via curl:

curl.exe -X POST http://<ESP_IP>/flashspiffs -F "file=@spiffs.bin"

Build Flags & Configuration

All flags are defined in platformio.ini under build_flags. Uncomment by removing the leading semicolon (;).

Flag	Purpose
`USE_SDCARD=1`	Enable SD-card logging (`/year/month/day/hour.csv`)
`SENSOR_BME280=1`	Use BME280 sensor (temperature, humidity, pressure)
`SENSOR_ENS160AHT21=1`	Use ENS160/AHT21 sensor (temperature, humidity, CO₂, AQI, TVOC)
`BME_I2C_ADD=119`	I²C address of BME280 (decimal)
`i2c_aht_addr=56`	I²C address of AHT21 (decimal)
`i2c_ens_add=83`	I²C address of ENS160 (decimal)
`I2C_SDA=21`	I²C SDA GPIO pin
`I2C_SCL=22`	I²C SCL GPIO pin
`i2c_pwn_addr=95`	I²C address of fan PWM controller (DFRobot GP8403)
`i2c_light_addr=94`	I²C address of light PWM controller (DFRobot GP8403)
`time_zone_hour_utc_offset=1`	UTC offset in hours for sunrise/sunset
`MYSSID=""`	Hardcoded WiFi SSID (fallback)
`PW=""`	Hardcoded WiFi password (fallback)
`http_port=80`	HTTP server port
`GOVEE_BTH5179=1`	Enable Govee BTH5179 Bluetooth sensor support
`FIRMWARE_VERSION="1.0.0"`	Firmware version string

Sensor Selection

Only one sensor type should be enabled at a time:

; Option 1: BME280 (recommended for most setups)
-DSENSOR_BME280=1
-DBME_I2C_ADD=119
; Option 2: ENS160 + AHT21 (for CO₂ monitoring)
-DSENSOR_ENS160AHT21=1
-Di2c_ens_add=83
-Di2c_aht_addr=56

Frontend Development

The Angular web interface (growui/) runs as a separate dev server and proxies API requests to the ESP32.

Setup

cd growui
npm install

Configure API Base URL

Edit growui/src/environments/environment.ts:

exportconstenvironment={production: false,apiBaseUrl: 'http://<ESP_IP>',apiPort: 80,};

Run Dev Server

npm start # serves on http://localhost:4200

Build for Production

npm run build

The built files should be placed in the data/ directory and uploaded as SPIFFS.

ESP32 Web API

HTTP Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/settings`	GET	Get all device configuration and state
`/cmd`	GET	Execute command (query params: `var`, `id`, `val`, etc.)
`/data`	GET	Get logged CSV data (params: `year`, `month`, `day`, `hour`)
`/ws`	WebSocket	Real-time push updates (~1 Hz)
`/flashfirmware`	POST	OTA firmware update (multipart form)
`/flashspiffs`	POST	OTA SPIFFS filesystem update (multipart form)
`/wifi-config`	POST	Update WiFi credentials

Command Variables (`/cmd?var=...`)

`var`	Parameters	Description
`speed`	`id` (0/1), `val` (0–100)	Set fan speed percentage
`lightval`	`val` (0–255)	Set light PWM value
`voltage`	`id`, `min`, `max`	Set fan voltage calibration limits
`autospeed`	`min`, `max`	Set auto-mode min/max fan speed
`autovals`	`temp`, `hum`, `speeddif`	Set target temperature, humidity, filter compensation
`temphumdif`	`temp`, `hum`	Set temperature/humidity differential
`autocontrol`	`val` (0/1)	Enable/disable fan auto-control
`fannightmode`	`onh`, `onm`, `offh`, `offm`, `mspeed`	Set night mode schedule
`fannightmodeactive`	`val` (0/1)	Enable/disable night mode
`lightautomode`	`enable` (0/1)	Enable/disable light auto mode
`lightsettime`	`onh`, `onmin`, `offh`, `offmin`, `riseh`, `risemin`, `seth`, `setmin`, `riseenable`, `setenable`	Set light schedule
`lightvoltage`	`min`, `max`	Set light voltage limits
`lightlimitsp`	`min`, `max`	Set light percentage limits
`cloudsim`	`cloudduration`, `min`, `max`	Configure cloud simulation
`cloudsimactive`	`val` (0/1)	Enable/disable cloud simulation
`readgovee`	`val` (0/1)	Enable/disable Govee sensor reading
`timezone`	`action=get/set`, `offset`	Get/set timezone offset

WebSocket Message Format

The server pushes JSON messages every second when clients are connected:

{
"bme280": {
"temperatur": "21.72",
"humidity": "33.12",
"atemperatur": "21.75",
"ahumidity": "33.15",
"pressure": "952.54",
"apressure": "952.56",
"vpd": "1.74"
},
"voltage0": 573,
"voltage1": 671,
"nightmode": false,
"time": "14:08:45",
"lightvalP": 0,
"lightvalmv": 0,
"lightstate": 0,
"vpdair": "1.74",
"autocontrolspeed": 50
}

System Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ESP32 │
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌────────────┐ │
│ │WiFiMgr │ │WebServer │ │ WS │ │Preferences │ │
│ │(NVS) │ │(Async) │ │ (Push) │ │(NVS) │ │
│ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └─────┬──────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ ┌────┴──────────────┴─────────────┴───────────────┴──────┐ │
│ │ MyWebServer │ │
│ └────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │
│ │FanCtrl │ │LightCtrl │ │Sensors │ │
│ │(GP8403) │ │(PWM) │ │(BME280/ │ │
│ └─────┬────┘ └─────┬────┘ │ENS160) │ │
│ │ │ └──────────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ ┌─────┴──────────────┴──────────────┐ │
│ │ DFRobot GP8403 DAC │ │
│ │ Channel 0 → Fan 0 (0-10V) │ │
│ │ Channel 1 → Fan 1 (0-10V) │ │
│ │ Channel 2 → Light (0-10V) │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
│ HTTP + WebSocket
▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Angular Web Dashboard (Browser) │
│ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────────┐ │
│ │Dashboard│ │Fans │ │Lights │ │
│ │+Charts │ │Ctrl │ │Ctrl │ │
│ └─────────┘ └──────┘ └──────────┘ │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

Firmware Version

Current version: 1.0.0 (configurable via FIRMWARE_VERSION build flag)

License

This project is provided as-is for personal use in grow-tent automation.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
growui		growui
img		img
plans		plans
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
README.md		README.md
custom_partitions.csv		custom_partitions.csv
ngbuild.py		ngbuild.py
platformio.ini		platformio.ini

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GrowControl — ESP32 Smart Grow-Tent Controller

Overview

Hardware Requirements

Pin Mapping

DAC Module Wiring Notes

Features

Fan Control

Light Control

Sensor Monitoring

Data Logging

Web Interface

Dashboard

Fan Control

Light Control

Sensors

System Settings

Project Structure

Build & Flash

Prerequisites

Build Firmware

Flash to ESP32

Upload SPIFFS Image (optional)

Build Flags & Configuration

Sensor Selection

Frontend Development

Setup

Configure API Base URL

Run Dev Server

Build for Production

ESP32 Web API

HTTP Endpoints

Command Variables (/cmd?var=...)

WebSocket Message Format

System Architecture

Firmware Version

License

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Command Variables (`/cmd?var=...`)