ESP32 Desktop Weather Station with Air Quality

Difficulty: intermediate Cost: $25-50 Build time: 3-5 hours

#esp32#weather-station#bme280#mq135#oled#3d-printing#home-automation

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What This Project Is

This project builds a compact, 3D-printed desktop weather station. It uses an ESP32 to read temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure from a BME280 sensor, and air quality data from an MQ135 sensor. All data displays on a crisp 1.3-inch OLED screen. The ESP32 also connects to Wi-Fi, syncs time via NTP, and serves a web interface for remote monitoring.

The original Printables page has the STL files and firmware, but some critical build details are missing or unclear. This page provides a verified bill of materials with working buy links, clarifies component choices, and highlights important build considerations for a smooth assembly.

What You’ll Need to Buy

#ComponentSpecQtyBuy LinkNotes
1ESP32 Dev BoardESP32-WROOM-32, 30-pin1Amazon — ESP32 Dev BoardAny generic 30-pin ESP32-WROOM-32 board works. Firmware uses specific pins for OLED and I2C for BME280.
2BME280 SensorI2C breakout, 3.3V1Adafruit — BME280 BreakoutMust be BME280 (humidity, temp, pressure), NOT BMP280 (no humidity). Check the silkscreen.
3MQ-135 Air Quality SensorModule with LM393 comparator1Amazon — MQ-135 ModuleCRITICAL: The MQ-135 module typically runs at 5V. Its analog output can damage the ESP32’s 3.3V ADC if wired directly. You MUST use a voltage divider to drop the analog output to 3.3V or less.
41.3 Inch OLED DisplaySSD1306, 128x64, SPI (7-pin)1Amazon — 1.3” SPI OLEDFirmware uses 4-wire software SPI. You need a 7-pin SPI OLED module (GND, VCC, CLK, MOSI, RES, DC, CS). Common 4-pin I2C-only modules will NOT work without firmware changes.

Estimated total cost for components: $30-$45

You will also need a 3D printer capable of printing ABS, a soldering iron, and a Micro-USB or USB-C cable (depending on your ESP32 board) for flashing.

Where to Get the Files

Build Notes

About This Page

Some Assembly Mandatory builds supply guides for popular maker projects. We research and verify every component link so you can focus on building, not shopping. This guide was researched and compiled with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. Found a dead link or a better component? Let us know.