SommerESP

🏠 SommerESP

A plug and play ESP32-C3 board to control Sommer garage doors based on ESPHOME

This combo is designed to replace the Sommer Conex Module and the Sommer Output OC Module.

[!TIP] Where to get in touch

• 🐛 Issues: report a problem or suggest an improvement for the board.
• 💬 Discussions: ask a question or share a compatibility report.

⚙️ How it works

The Sommer Conex Module is designed to replicate the press of the buttons on the controller of the garage door and the Sommer Output OC just provide the signal for the status and 24 Volts DC.

This project takes the 24V and converts it to 3.3V for the ESP32-C3 module, the DC regulator on the power board can take from 4.5V to 40V and cleanly output 3.3V then transfer it to the Control board along with the status signal.

The ESP controller simulate the press of the buttons using a pair of optocouplers, simple enough. You can also attach other things to this board, I left a couple of GPIOs on exposed pins along with the serial connection required to flash the module.

📋 Instructions

You can buy here the kit that includes the two boards and a cable or you can build one yourself. You can find the BOM (bill of materials) here and the gerber files here. There are a lot of PCB Manufacturers. The most known are PCBWay and JLCPCB. I used both and are good.

🔧 Installation

1. Remove the plug from the wall, or cut off power to the Sommer garage door controller
2. Write your firmware if you want or use it as is. You can find a basic yaml here or the ethernet module variant here. To do so you will need a serial programmer and set it to 3.3V, connect GND, VIN, RX and TX to the controller board and power it on while pressing BOOT on the board. When you are done remove the serial programmer. DO NOT connect the programmer while the board is connected to the power board or inserted in the Sommer controller.
3. Open the controller but pay attention to the keypad cable when you remove the cover
4. Place the board as shown, pay attention that both plugs are inserted:
5. Flip the first two switches to ON on the dip switch array on the Sommer controller
6. Connect the keypad to the board in the same orientation as it was before (if present, some Sommers do not have a keypad)
7. Close the cover and power it on. You should be able to see a wifi network and connect to it to configure the module.

[!NOTE] The ethernet module (W5500) yaml is available here and the KiCad project here.

📡 External Antenna

If your installation requires better WiFi reception, an external antenna version is available. You will need:

1. The SommerESP board in the version without integrated antenna, available on the Tindie store
2. The antenna kit (includes antenna and U.FL adapter cable), also available on the Tindie store

Connect the adapter cable to the U.FL connector on the board and attach the external antenna.

🔌 Flashing and extra pins

To flash connect you serial programmer to the exposed pins on the controller board. DO NOT connect the programmer while the board is connected to the power board or inserted in the Sommer controller. From top to bottom the pins are in this order:

3.3V GPIO05 RX TX GPIO18 GPIO19 GPIO03 GND

Press BOOT while powering on the programmer to send the controller in flashing mode.

🔄 Factory reset

With the provided yaml, holding the BOOT button for 10 seconds and then releasing it factory resets the board (erases the saved Wi-Fi credentials and preferences, then reboots). It can also be triggered from Home Assistant with the "Factory Reset" button.

✅ Compatibility

This project should work with Sommer Base+, Pro+ and Evo+. The main focus of this project is ESPHome and Homeassistant but you can flash whatever you want on the ESP32-C3. Check here for the pinout.

Confirmed working models:

Tested SommerESP on another model? Please share your result in Discussions, whether it worked or not.

[!WARNING] Please do check the distance between the power pins and the right pin on the button connector. This version of SommerESP is compatible with Sommer boards where the distance is around 9.5 mm or 7.5 mm, just check which is correct and solder the connector for the Conex section in the 9.5 (default) or 7.5 place. If you are buying from Tindie the default will be 9.5, if you need 7.5 please contact me.

📦 Release Log

Firmware Release Log

Hardware Release Log

💡 Origins

A thank you to https://github.com/jampez77/garage_door_sensor/ and https://github.com/azrael783/esphome_garagedoor_opener for giving me the ispiration to do this project, a lot of the code and core functionality is similar to these projects. Unfortunately neither did what I needed, cheap and invisible installation. Unfortunately the two Sommer modules (Conex and Output OC) are not cheap for what they are and using a DC-DC converter and relais externally is bulky and unsightly. I took the matter into my hands and now is almost plug and play and places where the two Sommer modules were.

A thank you to M3c4tr0x for a part of the design of the new single board.