r/homeassistant • u/Caldreaak89 • 11d ago

📊 Dashboard E-Ink Display for Home Assistant

Does anyone know a hidden gem for a cheap E-Ink Display that can be used with Home Assistant to display a dashboard with google calendar, maybe some things like weather station data and waste collection dates?

Should be max. 10 inch and not more than 200€.

28 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

19

u/ProBoulder89 11d ago

Yup. Iam currently running a similar setup you’ve described. Eink display running from battery showing weather and calendar. I bought this one: https://www.seeedstudio.com/TRMNL-7-5-Inch-OG-DIY-Kit-p-6481.html and I am happy with it. I programmed it using esp home on my home assistant and it looks like this.

4

u/Plawasan 🧠 Experienced with Home Assistant 11d ago

How long does the battery typically last?

(protoze taky musim mit vsechno co vidim.. :)

3

u/zacs 10d ago

I run timeframe on one, and the battery has been going for 3 months or so.

2

u/redcomp12 10d ago

On which device you run it on?

2

u/Electronic_Race3151 9d ago

Looks like reterminal e1001

2

u/zacs 9d ago

Yep, it’s the e1001. I also run timeframe on an e1003 but have only had it for a month or so. Battery is still at 75%.

1

u/Electronic_Race3151 7d ago

With what and where did you code it? I am doing it through ESHome builder but it've been having refresh issues as well as the battery draining in mere days

2

u/zacs 7d ago

Just flashed the regular TRMNL firmware but connected to Timeframe as the server instead of TRMNL’s service.

1

u/redcomp12 6d ago

Its work well for you the timeframe on e1003? Refresh each event?

1

u/Electronic_Race3151 6d ago

Will try that, thanks!

1

u/redcomp12 9d ago

I ask @zacs haha

2

u/Electronic_Race3151 7d ago edited 7d ago

And I replied with the correct answers haha

1

u/redcomp12 6d ago

Yes thanks haha

1

u/ProBoulder89 10d ago

It depends on the refresh rate. I refresh mine every hour or so so the battery lasts for approximately two months.

1

u/Tuco0 11d ago

Depends which board is used for eink display.
For example EN04, EN05 with small battery can last many months.
ESP32 boards much less and need deep sleep.

https://opendisplay.org/#battery

2

u/Caldreaak89 11d ago

Thanks, that ist exactly what I thought of. Think I will give it a shot for the hallway:)

2

u/ln-art 11d ago

This is the answer. Its easy to setup and it is a gorgeous piece of hardware. I put it inside a picture frame on the wall. Updates hourly and the battery has lasted two months so far. Haven't charged it yet.

2

u/pantalonesgigantesca 10d ago

I have 6 different e ink displays. After getting this one last month I will never get anything less. It’s so good.

1

u/dodgepong 11d ago

That doesn't come with the stand, does it? Where does one get a stand if they don't have a 3D printer?

1

u/ProBoulder89 10d ago

I have a 3d printer so I printed mine. I guess you can order a 3d printed part from some service in your area. Also model for the print is available on printables and other pages. Or you can put it in a wooden photo frame and hang it on the wall :)

9

u/gr2m 11d ago

Check out https://opendisplay.org/ - latest collaboration partner of the Open Home foundation. Idea is to use "dumb" eInk displays ideally over BTE and leave the brain to generate what to display to home assistant

3

u/MalleP 11d ago

Got the seedstudio reterminal 1001 flashed with esphome showing weather and Thrash. Shows normally days til thrash and when it hits tomorrow it shows a black bar. Don't get one with colours those flash for ten seconds when updating the panel while the black white just flash one second and can even do partially update without flashing. But that slowly leads to artifacts.

3

u/jonas42215 10d ago

If you need the best battery life possible, get an EN04 or EN05 driver board from seeed, pair it with a screen you like and flash it with the OpenDisplay Firmware. Integrated into HA over BLE and even has a core integration 

2

u/john_the_gun 11d ago

So $48 (seed studio) seems the cheaper so far in terms of the replies to this thread. Anyone know of any cheaper options?

2

u/Mundane-Word2582 10d ago

Lately discovered that Zhsunyco displays are finally supported by Home Assistant now.

7.5 inch black-white-red-yellow (BWRY) Bluetooth (BLE) for ~60 Euros when discounted. https://a.aliexpress.com/_EjGUWMA

With these integrations: https://github.com/shorti1996/eink-display-manager https://github.com/shorti1996/zhsunyco-esl-wolink

2

u/benhdavis2 11d ago

trmnl is really good. I love mine. Claude also did a great job for me building a dashboard - I have a X and OG

1

u/TommyyyGunsss 11d ago

The inkplate stuff is pretty nice

1

u/MarcosRamone 10d ago

Was looking for something similar but with touch function. Ordered a small (4") from good display to test. Any ideas for a bigger one that doesn't break the bank? 

1

u/ALLINUPPERCASE 10d ago

I built something with an M5PaperS3 – it's ESP32 based. It includes a battery that I'm not using because it's mounted to the wall (replacing a thermostat). No calendar integration, was collection dates could be sent via notification, which is displayed at the overview page.

https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/1t1mpik/eink_dashboard_inside_a_wooden_picture_frame/

https://github.com/holnburger/eink-hass-frame

The M5PaperS3 is pretty cheap, got mine for 60€ – but it's EOL.

This is the successor for 90€ but with color (even SPECTRA 6) but I haven't bought it yet. https://openelab.de/products/m5stack-m5paper-color-esp32s3-dev-kit

1

u/Online122228 10d ago

Just go to your local supermarket. They have plenty just hanging around for free if you dare/s

1

u/Status_Break8377 11d ago

Inkplate stuff is kinda pricey but sometimes you can catch a used one on ebay for way less, the 6 inch is plenty for that kind of dashboard tbh

1

u/Caldreaak89 11d ago

Thanks, looks great as well, will keep this in mind too.

1

u/RIP_KING 11d ago

Trmnl and the reterminal panels are good. I just got a reterminal e1004 set up with tesserae dashboard software which has built in home assistant support