Nif T

Nif-T - An all in one smart home automation board

A No-Nonsense Ethernet + PoE Smart-Home Controller

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Renders

Visuals because everyone loves eye candy.

The middle ground planes are hidden in the PCB Routing render

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BOM

All the silicon, magnetics, and clicky-relay goodness live here.

Main characters:

• MCU: ESP32-WROOM-32E
• Ethernet PHY: LAN8720A (RMII, external 50 MHz oscillator)
• Power over Ethernet: IEEE 802.3af PoE (on-board PD + isolation)
• Relays: 8× PCB-mount power relays
• RGB LEDs: 10× SK6812 Mini
• Buzzer: On-board piezo
• User Input: Programmable user button
• Connectivity: Ethernet (primary), USB-UART for flashing/debug
• Power: PoE-powered with on-board regulation for ESP32 + peripherals
• Misc: Boot circuitry, reset logic, pull-ups, decoupling, and other necessary magic

(See BOM.md for full part values, footprints, and sourcing.)

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What is this?

Nif-T is a wired smart-home automation controller built around an ESP32-WROOM-32E, designed to be the thing that actually flips real switches when you ask your house to do something.

It’s meant for:

• Lights
• Outlets
• Relays
• Buzzers
• Addressable LEDs
• And other “turn this on when I say so” tasks

Unlike a lot of Wi-Fi-only smart devices, Nif-T speaks Ethernet — and it can be powered over the same cable using PoE. One cable in, automation out.

At a high level, Nif-T:

• Exposes physical relays and LEDs
• Talks to Home Assistant
• Which then talks to Google Home
• So you can say things like:

“Hey Google, turn on the big light.”

…and something actually happens.

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Features

Relay Control

• 8× independent relay outputs
• Designed for:
  • Lighting circuits
  • Power control
  • Low-voltage automation tasks
• Each relay is individually addressable via firmware
• Can be controlled via:
  • MQTT
  • Home Assistant
  • Google Home (through HA)

(Please don’t hot-switch mains unless you know what you’re doing.)

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Ethernet + PoE

Because reliability matters — and wall warts are annoying.

• LAN8720A Ethernet PHY
  • RMII interface
  • Dedicated 50 MHz oscillator on the PHY
• IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet
  • Single-cable power + data
  • On-board PD controller and isolation
  • Clean DC rails generated locally
• No Wi-Fi congestion
• No random disconnects
• No external power brick required

Plug in Ethernet. That’s it.

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RGB Status LEDs

Because silent boards are boring.

• 10× SK6812 Mini (GRBW) LEDs
• Can indicate:
  • Network status
  • MQTT / Home Assistant connection
  • Relay activity
  • Boot / error states
  • Or just run rainbow animations for morale
• Fully firmware-controlled

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Buttons & Feedback

• User button
  • Can be mapped to:
    • Toggle a relay
    • Enter config mode
    • Trigger a scene
• On-board buzzer
  • Boot beeps
  • Error alerts
  • Confirmation chirps
  • Mildly annoying sounds (optional but encouraged)

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Connectivity & IO

• ESP32-WROOM-32E
  • Dual-core MCU
  • Plenty of GPIO for:
    • Relays
    • LEDs
    • Buttons
    • Buzzers
• USB-UART
  • Firmware flashing
  • Serial debugging
• Screw terminals
  • For relays and power connections that shouldn’t wiggle loose

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Pin Highlights (High-Level)

(See schematic for full pin mapping and signal names.)

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How It Works

At a high level:

1. You plug in Ethernet (which also provides power via PoE)
2. The PoE PD negotiates power and generates isolated DC rails
3. The ESP32 boots and brings up Ethernet
4. It connects to:
   • An MQTT broker (usually Home Assistant)
5. Home Assistant:
   • Discovers Nif-T automatically
   • Exposes relays and LEDs as entities
6. Google Home talks to Home Assistant
7. You talk to Google
8. Nif-T clicks relays and blinks LEDs

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Example Use Cases

• “Hey Google, turn on the workbench lights”
• “Turn off everything downstairs”
• LED status strip that shows:
  • Green = online
  • Red = offline
  • Blue = updating
• Physical button toggles a relay and triggers a Home Assistant scene
• Buzzer chirps when automations fire (or silently if you prefer)

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Why?

Because:

• Wi-Fi smart plugs are flaky
• Ethernet is king
• PoE makes installs clean
• And sometimes you just want a solid, hackable, relay board that plays nicely with modern home automation

Nif-T exists to be:

• Boring in the best way
• Reliable
• Predictable
• And extremely easy to integrate into a real automation stack

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Contribute

Ideas, improvements, and constructive roasting welcome.

• Open an issue
• Submit a PR
• Suggest features
• Argue about relay counts

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Disclaimer

This project is open-source, built for fun, and tested only in theory.

If you:

• Wire mains incorrectly
• Ignore clearance rules
• Overload a relay
• Or let the magic smoke out

That’s on you.

Be careful, be smart, and enjoy having a house that actually listens.