ESPHome Just Got Called "The Smart Home Protocol Everyone Is Switching To"
This week, Tim Brookes at How-To Geek published a piece with a headline that genuinely stopped us in our tracks: "Why ESPHome Is the Smart Home Protocol Everyone Is Switching To (and How to Get Started)."
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Read the full article here: How-To Geek on ESPHome.
For those of us who have been in the ESPHome community for years, that headline is a moment. ESPHome started as a passion project. It grew through GitHub issues, forum threads, monthly releases, and the kind of unglamorous, painstaking work that open-source maintainers do for free because they care. To see a major mainstream tech publication frame ESPHome as the protocol the rest of the industry is catching up to is, frankly, incredible.
We want to take a minute to talk about why this matters, who deserves the credit, and where Apollo Automation fits into the picture.
What ESPHome Actually Is (For Anyone Just Arriving)
If How-To Geek brought you here and you are wondering what the fuss is about, here is the short version.
ESPHome is a free, open-source firmware framework that runs on cheap microcontrollers like the ESP32, ESP8266, and RP2040. Instead of writing C++ code to make a microcontroller into a smart home device, you describe what you want in a human-readable YAML file. ESPHome takes that file, generates the firmware, and flashes it to your board. The device then shows up natively in Home Assistant, ready to use.
The result is that a $5 microcontroller plus a $3 sensor can become a fully functional smart home device that runs entirely locally, with no cloud, no subscriptions, and no account required. You own the hardware. You own the data. You own the automations.
ESPHome is spearheaded by the Open Home Foundation, the Swiss non-profit that owns and protects more than 250 open-source smart home projects, including Home Assistant and ESPHome itself. It is built around three principles that the foundation fights to protect: privacy, choice, and sustainability. Those are not marketing words. They are the operating principles of an entire alternative smart home ecosystem.
Why This Moment Matters
For a long time, ESPHome was the answer enthusiasts gave when their less-technical friends asked how to escape the cloud. It required a willingness to tinker, a YAML file, and a soldering iron. That worked for a passionate core community, but it was also the ceiling on how big this ecosystem could get.
That ceiling is now actively breaking.
When How-To Geek, a publication that reaches mainstream readers far beyond the smart home enthusiast bubble, frames ESPHome as the protocol everyone is switching to, it tells you something important. The conversation has shifted. The mainstream is starting to notice that there is an alternative to cloud-only ecosystems run by a few massive corporations. That alternative is local. It is open-source. It is owned by a non-profit instead of a shareholder class. And it works.
This is the moment the open-source smart home community has been working toward for years.
Who Deserves the Credit
We want to be very clear about something before we say anything else.
This is not Apollo Automation's moment. This is the community's moment.
Thank you to the ESPHome maintainers. Every line of code, every release note, every late-night merge request was done because you cared about building something good for the people who would use it. ESPHome works because you make it work, and you do it largely without compensation. You are why any of this is possible.
Thank you to the Home Assistant team. The platform you built is the reason ESPHome devices have a home to plug into. The two projects together have created an entire alternative industry.
Thank you to the Open Home Foundation. You created the legal and organizational structure that ensures these projects can never be bought, acquired, or sunsetted by an investor with different priorities. You are why this ecosystem is safe to build on.
Thank you to Nabu Casa. Your optional cloud subscription funds the ongoing development of Home Assistant and the broader foundation work. Sustainable open source is hard, and you make it possible.
Thank you to the community. The forum posters, the Discord helpers, the YouTubers, the bloggers, the GitHub issue filers, the people who patiently explain YAML to a newcomer for the hundredth time. You are the reason ESPHome is the protocol everyone is switching to. You built the on-ramps.
And thank you to Tim Brookes and How-To Geek for taking the time to explain ESPHome to readers who have never heard of it. Mainstream coverage that genuinely understands the open-source ecosystem is rare and valuable.
Where Apollo Automation Fits In
We are not the protagonists of this story. We are a small Kentucky hardware company that happens to build on ESPHome, and we are very proud of that role.
A few things we have done that we hope contribute to where ESPHome is today:
- We were the first company to bring ESPHome-based devices into the Works With Home Assistant certification program. That blazed a path that helped show ESPHome hardware could meet the rigorous testing standards required for official certification.
- We are Made For ESPHome certified. Every product we ship is built around ESPHome firmware that you can fork, modify, or replace.
- We are the second official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation. A portion of every Apollo product sold helps fund the foundation and the open-source projects it protects.
- We just launched the Apollo ESPHome Starter Kit, the first official ESPHome-branded hardware ever made. It is designed to let beginners build their own ESPHome devices without soldering or breadboards. If the How-To Geek article made you want to try ESPHome but you do not know where to start, this kit was built for you.
We are not the reason ESPHome is having this moment. We are one of many small companies trying to be useful to a movement that is much bigger than us.
What This Means for the Future
When a mainstream tech publication declares that ESPHome is the protocol everyone is switching to, it sends a signal to two groups.
To enthusiasts, it is validation. The thing you have been building, defending, and recommending to friends for years is finally being recognized for what it is.
To newcomers, it is an invitation. ESPHome is no longer a niche tool for tinkerers. It is the on-ramp to a smart home that respects your privacy, gives you choice, and is built to last.
We think the next year is going to be one of the most exciting periods in open-source smart home history. New hardware. New integrations. New people discovering that they have alternatives to the cloud-first ecosystems they have been told are the only option. And we are honored to be a small part of that.
How to Get Started With ESPHome
If you are coming to ESPHome for the first time, here is the simplest path forward:
- Read the How-To Geek piece for a clear, beginner-friendly overview of what ESPHome is and why people are excited about it.
- Visit esphome.io for official documentation, supported devices, and component compatibility.
- Install Home Assistant to give your ESPHome devices a place to live.
- Try the Apollo ESPHome Starter Kit, our solderless kit designed specifically for beginners.
- Join the community. The Home Assistant forums, the ESPHome Discord, and our Apollo Discord are all great places to ask questions and meet people who will help.
Welcome to the rebellion. We are glad you are here.
Apollo Automation designs, engineers, and manufactures privacy-first, locally-controlled smart home sensors in Versailles, Kentucky. Every product features 100% local control with no cloud dependencies or subscriptions required. Apollo is a Works With Home Assistant partner, Made For ESPHome certified, Works With Homey certified, a BBB Accredited Business, and the second official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation.
Learn more at apolloautomation.com.
