Top ESP32 and ESP8266 Project Ideas: WiFi-Connected Builds That Actually Do Something

The ESP32 and ESP8266 are the boards you reach for when your project needs to talk to the internet. They're cheap, they have WiFi built in, and they're powerful enough to handle real tasks. Unlike full computers, they boot instantly, sip power, and can run for months on a battery.

Here are project ideas that play to the ESP's strengths, focusing on connectivity, automation, and smart home integration.

Smart Home Sensors

Temperature and Humidity Monitor

Wire up a DHT22 or BME280 sensor to an ESP32 and push readings to Home Assistant, a Grafana dashboard, or any MQTT broker. It's the "hello world" of ESP IoT projects, but the result is genuinely useful. Place sensors in different rooms and you've got whole-home climate monitoring.

Use ESPHome for a no-code approach or write your own firmware for more control. Either way, you'll have data flowing in minutes.

Door and Window Sensor

A reed switch on an ESP8266 creates a wireless door or window sensor. When the door opens, the magnet separates from the switch, and the ESP sends an MQTT message or triggers a Home Assistant automation. Add deep sleep between checks and a single AA battery can last months.

Commercial versions of this exist, but building your own costs a fraction and teaches you about low-power design.

Motion-Activated Camera

Pair an ESP32-CAM module with a PIR motion sensor. When motion is detected, the ESP captures a photo and sends it to your phone, email, or saves it to an SD card. The ESP32-CAM is remarkably capable for a $5 module, and it's small enough to fit almost anywhere.

You can stream live video over WiFi too, making it a cheap security camera for a workshop, garage, or any spot where you don't need commercial-grade quality.

Home Automation

WiFi-Controlled Relay Board

An ESP32 with a relay module lets you switch mains-powered devices on and off over WiFi. Build a web interface or connect it to MQTT for control through Home Assistant, Alexa, or Google Home. It's the foundation of countless smart home builds: smart lights, automatic fans, holiday decorations, garage doors.

Flash Tasmota or ESPHome for a pre-built solution, or write custom firmware if you want specific behavior. Either way, a WiFi relay is one of the most versatile things you can build.

Smart Thermostat

Read temperature with a sensor, control a relay connected to your heating or cooling system, and add a web interface for scheduling and remote control. An ESP32 with a small display and a rotary encoder for manual adjustment creates a thermostat that does exactly what you want.

Connecting it to Home Assistant adds scheduling, presence-based control, and integration with the rest of your smart home.

Automated Blinds

A stepper motor driven by an ESP32 can open and close window blinds on a schedule, by voice command, or based on sunrise and sunset. It's a project that gets daily use and impresses anyone who sees it. The mechanical mounting is usually the hardest part since the electronics and code are straightforward.

Display Projects

WiFi Weather Display

An ESP32 with an e-paper or OLED display that fetches weather data from an API and shows current conditions, forecasts, and temperature. E-paper is ideal for this since it looks great, uses minimal power, and the screen retains its image without power.

Hang it on the wall near your front door and you'll glance at it every time you leave the house.

Dashboard Display

Build a small info display that shows whatever matters to you: calendar events, transit schedules, stock prices, 3D print progress, or home sensor data. An ESP32 with a TFT display and a few API calls creates a dedicated dashboard that stays always on.

LED Matrix Message Board

A WS2812B LED matrix or a MAX7219 dot matrix display driven by an ESP lets you show scrolling messages, notifications, or animations. Connect it to MQTT and push messages from your phone or automations. It's a fun build that doubles as a notification system.

Utility Projects

Power Monitoring

A current transformer sensor (like the SCT-013) connected to an ESP32 can monitor the power consumption of your home or individual circuits. Send the data to Home Assistant and track your energy usage in real time. See which appliances are power hogs and get alerts when something unusual is drawing power.

WiFi Signal Mapper

Build a portable WiFi signal strength meter. An ESP32 scans for your WiFi network, measures signal strength, and displays it on a small screen. Walk around your house and you'll know exactly where your WiFi is weak and where to place access points or repeaters.

Garage Door Controller

An ESP32, a relay, and a magnetic reed switch turn any garage door opener into a smart garage door. The relay triggers the door mechanism (same as pressing the wall button), and the reed switch tells you whether the door is currently open or closed. Add a notification when the door has been open for more than 30 minutes and you'll never accidentally leave it open overnight again.

Fun and Creative

ESP32 Web Radio

An ESP32 with an I2S audio amplifier board and a speaker creates a compact internet radio. Stream thousands of free internet radio stations, controlled through a web interface or physical buttons. It's a satisfying build that gets used daily.

Plant Monitor with Telegram Alerts

Soil moisture, light level, and temperature sensors connected to an ESP32 that sends you Telegram messages when your plants need attention. "Hey, your basil is thirsty" is a surprisingly motivating notification. Add a small pump for automatic watering and the plant basically takes care of itself.

Presence Detection

An ESP32 scanning for Bluetooth devices or WiFi probe requests can detect when specific phones (and therefore people) are home. This data feeds into Home Assistant for presence-based automations like turning on lights when you arrive or adjusting the thermostat when everyone leaves.

The ESPresense project does this specifically and supports room-level tracking with multiple ESP32 nodes placed around your home.

Getting Started

If you've never worked with an ESP board before, start with a simple sensor project that pushes data to MQTT or a web dashboard. Once you see data flowing from your device to a screen, the ideas start multiplying fast. The ESP ecosystem is deep, the community is active, and the boards are cheap enough that you can dedicate one to every project without thinking twice.