Garage doors! You could get out of your vehicle and open and close them yourself, but that kinda sucks. It’s much preferable to have them raise and lower courtesy some mechanical contrivance, and even better if that is controlled via the web. [Juan Schiavoni] shows us how to achieve the latter with their latest project.
The web-based controller is based around a Xiao ESP32 microcontroller board, chosen for its baked-in WiFi connectivity. It’s set up to host its own web interface which you can login to with a password via a browser. If you have the correct authorization, you can then hit a button to open or close the garage door.
To interface the ESP32 with the garage door itself, [Juan] went the easy route. To trigger opening or closing the door, the ESP32 merely flicks an IO pin to toggle a transistor, which is hooked up to the button of the original garage door opener. Meanwhile, the ESP32 is also hooked up with a magnetic switch which is activated by a magnet on the garage door itself. This serves as a crude indicator as to the current status of the door—whether currently open or closed. This is crucial to ensure the indicated door status shown in the web app remains synced with the status of the door in reality.
It’s a simple project, and reminds us that we needn’t always do things the hard way. [Juan] could have figured out how to hook the ESP32 up with some radio chips to emulate the original garage door opener, but why bother? hooking it up to the original remote was far easier and more reliable anyway. We’ve seen a good few garage door hacks over the years; if you’ve got your own unique take on this classic, don’t hesitate to notify the tipsline!
[Thanks to Stillman for the tip!]
Good work.
I was planning something very similar at one point except I was just going to use a small relay across the pushbutton switch on the wall instead of opening a remote, or emulating the radio.
Just needs to be in the wifi range.
I used homeassistant and esphome to program my esp8266. I’ve got the garage and side door monitored using a magnet and a couple of reed switches. Homeassistant is convenient because I can open/close the door from anywhere.
Awesome. I did about the same, but I’m using a ping sensor looking down from the ceiling to determine garage open/closed. When the garage is open, the door is about 1m away from the ceiling.
Skipping the wireless remote and tying in to the pushbutton terminals on the back of the opener, would be even simpler.
Yet another garage door opener project. I made one too.
Just use home assistant…
Nice project but the utter laziness of able bodied people will never cease to amaze me.
laziness is the mother of invention
Hold on, you’re saying garage door remotes trigger your “People are so lazy” response?
Yes.
It’s no wonder the US leads the western world in obesity charts.
That’s true, but I can’t tell if you’re trolling. If not, I think you’ve mixed correlation and causation in this case. I’ve implemented this, but I’m fit (for 50+).
The problem for me to fix was that multiple people use this garage door on a daily basis, and for various reasons it’s left open on occasion. My system closes the door automatically at a certain hour (provided there are no obstructions) and alerts me remotely when it has been left open. I now have the ability to close it remotely.
If not being lazy requires I fritter away my time and attention on doing every little task in the most onerous way possible instead of using that time and attention on the things in life I care about, then I’ll take being called lazy.
the implication is that you should be able to open the garage door by lifting it yourself? I hope that’s what you’re saying. because that would be funny.
In ’72 I found a remote and tuned it (one tone-one RF channel) to my parents new garage door. Oh, those were easy to hack! I’d show it to fellow students at Purdue across the 2 towns saying it’s probably the only use of a garage remote on bicycle! So fun to coast that last block and press the button inside my jacket pocket, slide right in home. Lazy? I am still riding. Since most garages are attached though, would you want this stuff for your front door?
Fun project! I’ve been running essentially the same setup except using ESPHome and Home Assistant. I went with a relay board vs the transistor and can control/monitor 2 doors, have temp/humidity, and also monitor the status of my side gate.
I originally coded my own interface similar to the article, but ESPHome/Home Assistant offers a lot more functionality. I can get alerts when the door has been left open, turn on the outside and basement lights when the door is opened, etc.
I bought one of these on Amazon for like $15. Works flawlessly. It’s just a wifi controlled relay with an app.
Sure, you can buy something similar. But the experience of building it yourself is priceless.