ESP12_PwmBoard

This is a simple ESP-12 based 4 channel PWM board I designed to be used in Home Assistant. It is powered by 5V over a micro USB connector, and gives you 4 channels of PWM control, perfect to control analog LED strips at 24 or 12 Volts. The screw connectors used are rated at maximum 15A, so you need to keep the total combined power usage under that limit. The MOSFET's used are way overkill (100V/36A), they just happened to be what I had in stock.

I designed the board to be used with dual LED strips, warm and cold white, which gives you 2 channels with color temperature control in Home Assistant, but it can be used as a 4 channel PwM controller as well.

NOTE: This PCB is NOT designed to be used for mains voltage!

PCB files

I have added the Gerber files in the PCB/Gerber folder, just zip and upload to your favorite PCB manufacturer.

I have also included the EAGLE design files if you need to modify the design for yoyr needs.

Terminal connector pinout

GND / VCC | CH1-1 / CH1-2 / VCC | CH2-1 / CH2-2 / VCC

Firmware

I use ESPHome to set it up, which is the easiest way for it to show up in Home Assistant.

Change the esphome section to this:

esphome:
  name: pwm1
  platform: ESP8266
  board: esp12e

Add the following section to add the PWM controls as dimmable lights in Home Assistant.

output:
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO13
    id: output_pwm1
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO12
    id: output_pwm2
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO5
    id: output_pwm3
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO4
    id: output_pwm4
    
light:
  - platform: monochromatic
    name: "pwm1"
    output: "output_pwm1"
  - platform: monochromatic
    name: "pwm2"
    output: "output_pwm2"
  - platform: monochromatic
    name: "pwm3"
    output: "output_pwm3"
  - platform: monochromatic
    name: "pwm4"
    output: "output_pwm4"

You can optionally setup your strips as color controllable, for use with dual color LED strips, or two strips with different color values inside the same stip enclosure. Add the following section to add the PWM controls as 2 channels with cold/warm white lights in Home Assistant. Substitute the color temperature values for your LED strips.

output:
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO13
    id: output_pwm1_c
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO12
    id: output_pwm1_w
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO5
    id: output_pwm2_c
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    pin: GPIO4
    id: output_pwm2_w
    
light:
  - platform: cwww
    name: "pwm1"
    cold_white: output_pwm1_c
    warm_white: output_pwm1_w
    cold_white_color_temperature: 4000 K
    warm_white_color_temperature: 3000 K
  - platform: cwww
    name: "pwm2"
    cold_white: output_pwm2_c
    warm_white: output_pwm2_w
    cold_white_color_temperature: 4000 K
    warm_white_color_temperature: 3000 K
    constant_brightness: true

Flashing the board

You will need a USB-Serial adapter for initial upload of the firmware, and use the ESPHome-Flasher flashing utility.

• Compile and download the firmware to your local machine.
• Connect the serial adapter to the board, the board is designed for the pinout of standard FT232RL adapters.
• Hold down the BOOT button, tap the RST button and then let go of RST. This puts the ESP-12 module in bootloader mode ready for firmware upload.
• Start ESPHome-Flasher, select the firmware file and the proper COM port and click Flash ESP.

Enclosure

I designed a simple enclosure for 3D printing, available as STL files in the Enclosure folder.

I also included the Fusion360 design file if you need to modify the design for your usage.