A $40 modular ESP32-C6 kit lets beginners add motion, temperature and notification sensors to a smart home without soldering.
Apollo Automation, an Open Home Foundation commercial partner, has launched the ESPHome Starter Kit for building smart home sensors without requiring soldering. Priced at $40, the kit combines an ESP32-C6 board with four plug-in sensor modules.
The kit is built around an ESP32-C6-MINI-1 wireless module, which provides 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6, BLE, Thread and Zigbee support. The board has two 14-pin flexible printed circuit (FPC) connectors, allowing users to plug the included sensor modules into either connector using the supplied FPC cables. The kit can be configured through the ESPHome Device Builder desktop app, which provides a visual interface instead of requiring users to edit YAML configuration files manually. It includes four modules: an MH-SR602 PIR motion sensor with a 0 to 3.5-metre detection range, an AHT20F temperature and humidity sensor with stated accuracies of ±0.3°C and ±2% relative humidity, a notification module with ten RGB LEDs and a piezo buzzer, and a push-button module. The board is powered through USB-C at 5V and can also be used with a LiPo battery. A 3D-printed ESPHome Casita stand is included for desktop mounting.
Compared with assembling an ESP32 development board with individual sensors and wiring, the kit reduces the hardware setup to connecting a sensor module and configuring it through the ESPHome Device Builder. According to Apollo Automation, users do not need to know YAML to get started. The modular design also avoids soldering and provides a simpler way to experiment with ESPHome-based smart home sensors.
The kit can operate as a standalone device or integrate with a Home Assistant setup. Users without Home Assistant can control the device through its built-in local web interface. The ESP32-C6 supports Wi-Fi 6, Thread and Zigbee at the chip level, while Thread and Zigbee require compatible infrastructure for network connectivity. Neither a Thread border router nor a Zigbee coordinator is included with the kit.
Apollo Automation describes its products as “designed, engineered and assembled in the USA, open-source, local, and made by community members for community members.” The company also promotes local operation without cloud dependency or subscriptions as a privacy benefit. These statements reflect Apollo Automation’s own positioning rather than an independent assessment.
Apollo Automation became the Open Home Foundation’s second commercial partner in December 2025. The ESPHome Starter Kit combines interchangeable sensor modules with solder-free connections and a graphical configuration process for building ESPHome-based smart home devices.
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