Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

Introduction

The ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display is an excellent device powered by the ESP32 microcontroller and an e-paper display. It can obtain weather information from the internet and display it on a highly readable e-paper screen, making it easy to view both indoors and outdoors. This guide references the open-source project ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display and will guide you step-by-step through the production process, allowing you to create your own custom weather display.

Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

Hardware

The hardware mainly includes the ESP32 development board and an e-paper display screen. The ESP32 is a powerful Wi-Fi and Bluetooth dual-mode module with high performance, low power consumption, and a rich set of peripheral interfaces, making it ideal for IoT and wireless communication applications. The e-paper display uses low-power display technology, allowing for long-term static display, making it very suitable for displaying real-time information such as weather forecasts.

The open-source project ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display is compatible with e-paper displays ranging from 1.54″ to 9.7″ in size, allowing you to choose the size of your e-paper based on your needs and budget.

Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

Software

Referencing the ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display open-source project, it provides complete code and instructions, allowing users to customize and modify it according to their needs. The software mainly includes functions for obtaining weather data, driving various models of e-paper displays, and processing user input. With good software design, the ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display can achieve stable and smooth display effects, making it easy for users to engage in secondary development and customization.

Materials List

  • • ESP32 Development Board (e.g., ESP32-WROVER-E)

  • • E-Paper Display (e.g., Waveshare)

  • • Micro USB Data Cable

  • • Jumper Wires

  • • ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display Code (download from GitHub, link at the end)

    Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

Hardware Assembly

1. Connect the ESP32 and E-Paper Display

  • • Place the ESP32 development board on a breadboard.

  • • Connect the wiring of the e-paper display to the pins of the ESP32 development board. The pin arrangement may vary between different development boards, so please refer to the board’s documentation carefully. Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

  • Additionally, the display requires a driver module. There are ESP32 development boards with integrated display modules and displays with built-in drivers. The e-Paper HAT is one such e-paper screen driver board shown below:

  • Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

2. Connect Power Supply

  • • Connect the ESP32 development board to a USB power source or battery pack, ensuring that the power supply voltage matches the development board’s voltage, which is commonly 5V for ESP32 development boards.

Software Configuration

1. Install the ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display Code

  • • Install the Arduino IDE on your computer.

  • • Download the ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display code, unzip it, and copy it to the Arduino sketch folder.

2. Configure WiFi and OpenWeatherMap API

  • • In the owm_credentials.h file, modify the following constants:

    • ssid and password: Replace with your WiFi name and password.

    • apikey:Obtain API key from the OpenWeatherMap website.

    • Other parameters can be modified according to the code comments.

3. Compile and Upload

  • • In the Arduino IDE, select the ESP32 development board as the target board.

  • • Compile and upload to the ESP32 development board.

    Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

Case Design

1. Case Design

  • • Determine the location where the weather display will be placed.

  • • Design a case to house the ESP32 development board, e-paper display, and other components.

  • • You can use 3D printing, laser cutting, or other manufacturing technologies to create the case, such as using a picture frame.

    Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

  • Or a wooden base:

    Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

2. Install Components

  • • Install the ESP32 development board, e-paper display, and other components into the case according to the case design.

  • • Ensure all connections are secure, and the components are safely in place.

Completion

Congratulations! You have successfully created an ESP32 e-paper weather display. Now, you can enjoy real-time weather information, easily viewable anytime and anywhere.

Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

Tips

  • • Use a larger e-paper display for better readability.

  • • Add buttons or knobs for interaction, such as cycling through different weather information.

  • • Consider using solar panels to power the device for self-sufficiency.

  • • Explore the OpenWeatherMap API for more weather-related data, such as forecasts, UV index, and air quality.

Features

The ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display has the following main features:

  1. 1. Real-time weather forecast display: By connecting to the network and obtaining weather data, it can display the weather conditions for the coming days in real time, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, and other information.

  2. 2. Low-power design: Utilizing the low-power characteristics of the ESP32 and the static display technology of the e-paper display, it can run for a long time on battery power.

  3. 3. User-friendly interface: With a simple interface design and user interaction features, users can easily view and switch between different weather information.

    Ultimate Guide to Building an ESP32 E-Paper Weather Display

Applications

The ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display can be widely used in various scenarios requiring real-time weather information display, such as offices, homes, and outdoors. Due to its low-power characteristics, it can also serve as an outdoor environmental monitoring device, such as an outdoor e-paper thermometer. Additionally, due to its open-source nature, it is also very suitable as a prototype development platform for IoT projects, helping developers quickly validate and implement their ideas.

Conclusion

In summary, the ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display, as an e-paper weather display based on the ESP32, provides users and developers with a high-performance, low-power solution through its rich features and open design, allowing them to easily build their own e-paper weather display and apply it in various practical scenarios.

Code link: https://github.com/G6EJD/ESP32-e-Paper-Weather-Display

Reference projects: https://github.com/lmarzen/esp32-weather-epd and

https://github.com/aerodynamics-py/WEATHER_STATION_PI

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