openhab-distro VS ESP-Now

The GitHub update, including changes, here: https://github.com/openhab/openhab-distro/releases/tag/4.1.0.M1

I understand the feeling :) I’ve tried home assistant multiple times, and I always come back to openHAB. Maybe it’s me getting old, don’t know. But like you, I dislike updating my server and having broken dependencies. That happens quite frequently with HA, where every once in a while we get people over on openHAB community forum asking for advice ( e.g. https://community.openhab.org/t/migration-from-home-assistant-to-openhab-and-installation-type/140110 ) because they too just want a stable service that they can rely on. I won’t say that there’s never been broken dependencies - not at all, in a previous update they changed the way the API works and the node red node broke - but here the difference is that you can go to their GitHub and review the changes (https://github.com/openhab/openhab-distro/releases/tag/3.4.0.M3) and they are impeccable in documentation. Check out the google integration documentation to understand what I mean:

OpenHab : https://github.com/openhab/openhab-distro/pull/1343

openHAB Beta 2.18.2-beta: Vendor and technology agnostic open source home automation

Look into OpenHab.

OpenHAB would work well as well. Definitely agree on zwave or maybe zigbee devices for low power usage.

I use this https://www.home-assistant.io/ or another https://www.openhab.org/ and a cheap raspberry pi zero. It can run 24/7. And maybe some "hacking" on your devices if not supported aka listed.

There's some other good tutorials for it as well, https://randomnerdtutorials.com/?s=esp-now and https://github.com/HarringayMakerSpace/ESP-Now

For power, I'd recommend Li-Ion primary (non-rechargeable) cells, whatever size works best for you. Those have essentially zero internal leakage and a 5 year shelf-life. If you've done it all correctly, it's conceivable it could be 5 years before you need to change the batteries (on top of a 30' ladder). You'd need a small high-efficiency buck converter to drop the 6.8V batteries down to 3.3V for the ESP, with a separate switched 5V linear regulator (one with a SHUTDOWN pin) to power the servos when they need to be driven. The ESP will consume 16-20uA in Deep Sleep, and the buck converter should mostly be off, except for when the ESP wakes every 3.5 hours (maximum Deep Sleep interval). If you're already using ESP-NOW to talk to the vent ESPs, then you could do a 'vent changed' check every time it wakes, otherwise it's more efficient to go back to Sleep quickly and wait until 12-24 hours has elapsed before you fire up a full WiFi connection. Not counting buck inefficiencies and servo movements, the ESP would only consume about 175mAh per year. The batteries will expire before they empty, maybe in 6-7 years.

I presume you've seen Anthony Elder's examples? He got a single ESP to act as hub by restarting it. In a low-traffic environment that'd work. There was discussion and a new PR to speed up the reconnect time using WIFI_RESUME that's been merged in the git repo, which should make a single-ESP hub faster to respond. You'd need a little fault checking in case the BSSID changes of course, but for the normal case things would be faster.