Add Smarts to Your Garage Door with an ESP8266 Controller

Is the garage door open? No, you probably closed it. But if you’re like Sebastian Sokołowski, you still have to check it anyway before you go to bed. Or he did at least, before designing the SS4H-GO smart garage door opener.

This ESP8266-based device attaches to the opener assembly, and simulates a manual button press to open or close the door via a relay. A pair of magnetic door sensors are installed to determine whether the door is fully open or closed, and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor points downward to tell whether a car is parked in its space. The module also features a DHT22 sensor to read temperature and humidity levels, potentially useful to automate a garage heating or cooling system, and there’s even an LDR to sense light levels, because, why not?

Project instructions are available in Sokolowski's post, and the various files for the build are available there by request. You can buy the door opener here if you prefer, though the assembled versions are sold out as of this writing. The write-up goes over how to configure this unit, and how to add it to Home Assistant. This would allow for all kinds of interesting uses, as well as letting you check the door’s status with your phone instead of physically traipsing out to the garage every night!