EnvControl. Smart climate for living habitats
EnvControl is a custom electronics and software project developed for a client who approached us with an idea: create a fully automated climate-control system for terrariums. The goal was to monitor and regulate temperature, humidity and lighting cycles with precision, flexibility and remote control.
The project was delivered as a full consulting and engineering service. Our work included early-stage planning, requirements discussion, hardware design, PCB manufacturing, component assembly, firmware development, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, web interface software, and complete functional testing. Once validated, the device was mounted in its enclosure and shipped to the client together with a complete user manual.
clientindividual customeryear2025serviceshardware design and development, firmware development, electronics, prototyping
Project overview
EnvControl is built around an ESP32 module running the Arduino Framework. It gathers environmental data from multiple sensors and controls a variety of AC and DC outputs to automate climate conditions inside a terrarium.
Main capabilities
- Real-time monitoring of temperature and humidity
- Multiple sensor inputs for precise environmental readings
- Fully programmable outputs for heating and lighting
- Day and night profiles with automatic switching based on sunrise and sunset times
- Local web interface for configuration and remote access
- WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
- USB interface for initial configuration and firmware upload
Hardware architecture
The system integrates a versatile set of inputs and outputs designed specifically for terrarium climate control:
Inputs
- BME280: combined temperature and humidity sensor
- Two DS18B20 temperature probes
Outputs
- 4 Relays for ON/OFF control of heating and other inductive loads
- 3 TRIAC dimmers for phase-controlled AC outputs (incandescent or halogen lighting)1 PWM 0–10V output for DC dimming or control applications
The USB-C port exposes a CDC serial interface for firmware upload and initial configuration
Software and control
EnvControl uses a lightweight web interface hosted directly on the device. It displays live sensor data and allows users to adjust heating, humidification and lighting parameters.
Each output can be assigned to one of the available sensors, and two independent profiles can be configured: daytime and nighttime. These profiles switch automatically based on sunrise and sunset times fetched from the OpenWeather API.
- Relay outputs operate using hysteresis values to stabilize temperature-based switching.
- Analog outputs (TRIAC and 0–10V PWM) use a PID control loop for smooth, accurate regulation.
Configuration values are stored using LittleFS, making updates and modifications simple.
System summary
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ESP32, Arduino Framework |
| Sensor inputs | 1x BME280, 2x DS18B20 |
| Outputs | 4 Relays, 3 TRIAC dimmers, 1 PWM 0–10V |
| Connectivity | WiFi, Bluetooth, USB-C |
| Control interface | Local web interface (HTML stored in LittleFS) |
| Profiles | Day and night, auto-select using OpenWeather data |
| Use case | Automated temperature, humidity and lighting control for terrariums |
| Services provided | Consulting, requirements definition, hardware design, PCB manufacturing, assembly, firmware development, connectivity, testing, enclosure integration, final delivery with manual |