I've Always Wanted To Automate This With Home Assistant..

Today we are tackling a project I've had on my smart home radar for ages, and that's to make a standing desk smart! I've always wanted to automate a standing desk for health reasons and in this video I'm going to show you exactly how I did it and add local voice control capabilities to my standing desk with Home Assistant, an ESP32 and ESPHome!

Flexispot have an offer of $50 off the C7 ergonomic chair (use code 24BFC7), and also have other discounts running just now for Black Friday if you are interested:

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Code and Wiring Diagram:

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0:00 - Intro
1:02 Building the Desks
2:45 - Protocol and Commands
5:45 - Intercepting and inspecting the commands
9:20 - ESPHome
10:08 - Hardware
14:41 - Test fit
15:54 - Completing the build
19:18 - Custom voice commands in HA
21:32 - Automation ideas
6:49

[EverythingSmartHome]

Sorry it's so long, I tried to cut down my ramblings as much as possible but clearly I love to waffle on too much 😭 hope you enjoyed this project, it was SO nice to be back doing a fun project and actually filming a video!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for automations, would love to incorporate more into my setup! 🙏🏻

Flexispot also have some deals and $50 off (use code 24BFC7) the C7 ergonomic chair if you are interested:

[TheHookUp]

Haha... I was actually discussing a "cut up your desks and automate" kind of project with Flexispot E7 desks and all the sudden they were like "sorry, we have a similar video scheduled with a different channel so we no longer have this opportunity". Guess this answers my question :)

[teekayfourtwoone]

Left the connector open and didn't DRM it.
Refreshingly nice when a manufacturer lets you do what you want with your stuff.

[staceydodds]

Honestly, my favorite part of this was watching you use the Siglent Oscilloscope to decode the serial data. I had no idea these newer scopes could do that and spit out the hexadecimal serial information! That was really revelatory to learn! Thank you for showing that stage of the process!

[Mellow_labs]

I put a pressure sensor in my chair, So when I stand up my desk stands up with me.
It may sound annoying, And it is. But it encourages me to stand a lot more, Instead of going with the easy option of sitting down.
I made a video about it if you're interested, Shameless plug.
I'm excited for your new studio, Great work!

[BenGmuN]

I have just automated my IKEA Bekant using Megadesk (not my own work) which works brilliantly. My office is a cabin at the end of the garden. When my desk is raised, it obstructs the TV I have on the wall behind it. Well, now, if I turn that TV on, the desk automatically lowers out of the way. That's all I've done for now, but I plan to automate based on my calendar as well. My smart home has changed a lot since I made my last video. Yours are great, kudos to you.

[KimmoJaskari]

You could 3D print a cable chain for the power wires. Tons of options on Printables. You could also consider eliminating one of the wires and putting a 2-3 port extension cord with a short cable under the table itself and then bundle up the wires to the outlets you have on the desk and the wires that go to the desk motors - thus having just one wire to the wall.

[JurgenKoolen]

Haha, how funny that this video is popping up now. Because I automated my Flexispot E7 Pro just last week! Guess we were working on the same project at the same time :). Works like a charm by the way! I just didn't bother with the voice stuff. The only automation I have so far is raising the desk daily at 8am, basically triggering me to start my work day standing up. I'm looking forward to hearing from others about more automation ideas.

[RazberryTech]

Awesome project! I've had "automate standing desk" on my todo list for a long awhile now lol. I like the person detection idea, so after you leave, you come back to it standing up. I was thinking of doing it to try switching to having the desk be standing by default, then when I'm fatigued get it to move it to a sitting position then after a certain amount of time move it back up. Haven't done it cause I think part of me would get angry at my desk trying to keep me from sitting all day lol

[bmcomp]

Great video and idea! Now, do what I have done and add a walking treadmill under the desk! I haven't integrated either of these to HA, but it's now on my to do list. 😅

[DaveSussman]

I've just got an E7 Pro for my office, built it, then got covid so haven't used it! They are rock solid (I have 3 * 24" monitors on mine). I love the idea of automation and may do the "your being lazy" automation with the Everything Presence sensor too. Great video.

[patrickhanft]

This is exactly one automation I was thinking about recently (I also already experimented with a pressure sensor for my chair) and would love to actually do it, however as someone who feels much more comfortable with the software side of such a project I am far too afraid to tackle the ESP32 stuff – actually choosing which variant would be appropriate and figuring out what I need for and how to do all the soldering. This seems to be such a "it's what everybody with Home Assistant seems to have done at least half a dozen times already" thing that really intimidates me.

I really hope that this video exactly at the right time will finally motivate me to try to get it started. Thank you! 🙂

[dæmnKris]

Didn''t watch the full video yet, but I just bought an Upsy Desky. It's an ESP32-thing for standing desks, worked in seconds, that is an easier solution if you just want something that works right away instead of enjoying the journey of DIY.

[ozgur]

I don't believe it. Today, I was thinking about how to automate such tasks with esp32. You literally read my mind :)

[KimmoJaskari]

Some nice upgrades there and cool table automation. I'm redoing my desk as we speak, also; already have the motorized thing going but putting a larger tabletop on it. Found the coolest electrical outlet for it on Amazon too the other week, it drops into the surface (you cut a hole) and it has a wireless phone charger and a spring-loaded pop-up with electrical outlets and two USB variants. When not in use it's flat to the table. Stoked to see the end result... once I have the time to just redo the whole office. I also found super cool cable clips on Printables that mount with a screw to anything and just clip open and shut - the maker of them called them "Klippt", can very much recommend if anyone wants to clip cables to anything include under a desk. PETG being ideal since it flexes.

[Jawlf]

This was a great insight in how to find information to enable automation. I have never seen this before, not being a coder.

[LilMsPrincessMe]

You always have the best timing. Just yesterday I was looking for automation ideas for a standing desk because I'm about to buy one (uplift).

[clintebbesen]

You could add a drag chain cable organiser up one of the back legs to take a power cable to a power board on the underside of the desk so it’s completely hidden from view and the cable chain will handle the raise and lower nicely.

[javiervalenzuela]

Great video! I use vertebrae cable management for the cables going to the wall outlets. Looks sick!

[pierreberbach]

Hey, great project, thanks for sharing it
Since you all be standing quite often, I would recommend you to get a anti fatigue mat, that is something you stand on...
For me this is really something helpful when standing for long time...

Cheers