Alterco has released a new eco-friendly firmware for their home automation “Shelly” devices. This firmware utilizes power saving functions of the Espressif ESP8266 (gen1 devices, FW version 1.11.8) and ESP32 (gen2 devices, FW version 0.10.0) modules. The firmware promises reduced power consumption by up to 30% and lowered operating temperatures by 5-10 °C.
The power saving depends on device load, but most of the home automation devices like power switches, roller shutter controllers etc. stay idle most of the time. The drawback is slightly reduced wireless signal strength and probably somewhat prolonged response times. The ECO mode can be enabled in firmware settings.
In my personal sample testing with Shelly 2.5 (firmware 1.11.8) and Shelly 1 Plus devices (firmware 0.10.0) I can confirm these figures.
More information:
- Shelly forum posting describing new gen1 firmware
- Shelly firmware link generator
- Homepage of the Shelly product line by Alterco
Technical information
- ESP32 Power Management Documentation from Espressif
- ESP8266 Low Power Solutions paper from Espressif