We all have a shoebox or drawer full of old technology and miscellaneous junk that we haven’t looked at since 2018. Whether it’s Arduino Nanos, dusty ESP8266s, old PIR sensors, or just a bunch of tangled jumper cables, there’s probably a lot of technology in that old drawer that could be put to good use rather than just sitting around collecting dust.
The problem is that coding them in C++ for every minor task is a major chore, and they end up unused because the effort-to-utility ratio is just too high. ESPHome completely removes the code barrier by using simple YAML configuration files. You can turn a $4 chip and $2 worth of sensors into a device that rivals a $50 commercial product, with no cloud required or subscription in sight. ESPHome has become a powerhouse that supports not only ESP32/ESP8266 but also RP2040 and even some RISC-V chips. It’s the ultimate digital glue that turns a drawer full of old development boards and sensors into a local-only, high-end smart home system.
One of the first projects you can tackle is a room occupancy sensor. By combining an old ESP32 and the human presence sensor you bought on AliExpress but never used, you can create a radar that detects when people enter a room. This is ideal for more than just a standard PIR sensor, as it can track whether you’re in the room rather than just when you enter or move.
Unlike a PIR sensor that loses you if you sit still, this setup attracts X and Y coordinates and speed. This way, you can use it to keep your office lights on while you read or to trigger a private notification when someone enters your room during a video call. There are many great uses for an occupancy sensor that enable countless forms of home automation, so you can stop thinking about the smallest tasks you need to do every time you enter a room. Instead of walking into a room and having to set the temperature, adjust the lights, and open or close the blinds, your occupancy sensor can detect your entry and trigger your smart home to handle all of these tasks for you.
Another interesting project you can undertake is to create a multi-room audio node using an ESP32 and an old pair of computer speakers. You can create synchronized multi-room audio nodes. Using the new 2026.3 media player architecture, you can enable ESPHome to support high-fidelity I2S output now.
As a result, you get Sonos-style synchronized multi-room audio nodes, and because ESPHome runs at the processor’s maximum frequency, which is 240 MHz by default, the audio synchronization is tighter than almost any commercial Wi-Fi speaker.
If you want to receive alerts on your phone when the wash is finished, you can use a device monitor with the old trash in your drawer. A $1 CT clamp and an ESP8266 are a great combination. Attach it to the power cord of your washer or dryer, and then ESPHome will monitor the device’s heart rate, which is basically how much power it uses. When the power consumption drops to zero for five minutes, indicating the cycle is complete, it will send a notification to your phone that the laundry is finished. You just gave a stupid 10-year-old device a $2 digital brain, so you no longer have to listen to the endless chime or worry that your laundry is simply dormant.
Aside from these examples, there are countless other projects you can take on depending on your needs and your smart home setup. If you’re looking for more automation, this may be it. If you want to take on a small project, then using the ESP series is a great choice.
But what are the advantages of ESPHome?
You get much more than before
ESPHome has been significantly improved over the past year. Using it now feels like a major performance gain. 2026.4’s performance improvement has increased it tenfold: ESPHome now uses zero-copy APO scores, making sensor updates up to 46 times faster.
You can even use old ESP32s as Bluetooth proxies. This means they can capture signals from your toothbrushes, thermometers, or any other Bluetooth-only device in your home and transmit them to Home Assistant, effectively extending your smart home’s range for free.
You can even perform over-the-air updates, meaning your junk drawer nodes are actually more secure than any commercially available IoT devices on the market today.
Not only is 2026 the year of the smart home, but it’s also time to move to local-only devices. This way, you don’t rely on the Internet, and you don’t pay monthly subscription fees either.
Also, one of the benefits of choosing local-only is that you don’t have to worry about companies terminating service and devices becoming real electronic waste in your home. When you use local devices or even ones you’ve built yourself from old junk you’ve already installed, the hardware is still yours, and you can still use them.
Don’t let your old technologies become e-waste.
Give it new life
The smart home market is currently obsessed with monthly fees and cloud locks. However, ESPHome is the antidote. You might look at your junk drawer and think it’s full of junk, or feel anxious about starting projects with all the old technology because it’s just too much effort for very little in return. In reality, it has unlimited potential. Stop buying plastic boxes on Amazon and start building a home that actually belongs to you.
