A Home Assistant / ESPHome project that turns everyday PWM‑controlled PC fans into remarkably natural indoor wind simulators.

WindScape delivers authentic, location‑inspired airflow, from a gentle Mediterranean whisper to a brisk Alpine surge, creating a natural, immersive atmosphere for your workspace, gaming setup, or sim‑racing cockpit. It’s a versatile wind simulator ready to elevate any project you come up with.

1. Features
2. Operating Modes
3. Demo
4. Build Guides
5. Software Setup
6. Preset Library
7. Troubleshooting
8. Tips for Best Experience
9. Technical Notes
10. Roadmap
11. How WindScape Works
12. Links

• Realistic Wind Physics Smart turbulence modeling and thermal effects that create natural-feeling wind patterns, just like you'd experience outdoors.

• Nature-Inspired Environment Presets Five carefully crafted profiles that capture the feel of different outdoor locations – from gentle countryside breezes to powerful ocean winds.

• Steady or Dynamic Modes Choose between constant airflow or ever-changing wind patterns that respond naturally to the environment you select.

• External Sensor Support Connect live data feeds (like racing sim speed) and WindScape will automatically adjust airflow in real-time, with smart fallback when the signal drops.

• Home Assistant Integration Control, monitor, and automate entirely over Wi‑Fi.

• Comprehensive Real-Time Monitoring Deep insight into the simulation engine – weather phases, thermal events, turbulence levels, target tracking, and all physics calculations exposed as sensors.

• OTA Firmware Updates Built on ESPHome for one‑click wireless upgrades.

Global Power Control in Home Assistant overrides every mode.

Which build you choose depends on the fan you pair with the project. In general, a 5 V fan makes things simpler because it can be powered from any USB‑A 3.0 or USB‑C port, a power bank, or a low‑wattage wall adapter.

• Microcontroller – Any ESP32 development board with built‑in Wi‑Fi (widely available for about €3).
• Fan – Any 5 V PC case fan that supports PWM (pulse‑width modulation).

There’s no single “required” fan, just make sure it supports PWM speed control. A great premium option is the Noctua NF‑A12x25 5 V, which is exceptionally quiet and can run at duty cycles as low as 5 %.

When comparing noise levels, remember that the decibel (dB) scale is logarithmic: even small changes in the number can mean a significant audible difference.

+----------------------------+
|     USB Power (5V)         |
|                            |
|   +5V ─────────────┐       |
|                    ▼       |
|           +----------------------+
|           |   ESP32 WROOM Board  |
|           |  (AliExpress-style)  |
|           |                      |
|           | 5V/VIN ◄─── 5V from USB
|           | GND    ◄─── GND from USB
|           |                      |
|           | GPIO14 ───┐          |
|           |           └────► PWM (Fan Pin 4, Blue)
|           |                      |
|           | GPIO27 ◄──┬────── TACH (Fan Pin 3, Green)
|           |           │
|           |   [10kΩ pull-up to 3.3V]
|           |           │
|           |     [3.3kΩ] in series
|           |           │
|           |   [0.1nF cap to GND] ◄──(RC filter)
|           +----------------------+
|                     │
|                     ▼
|           +----------------------+
|           |     Noctua Fan       |
|           |    5V PWM (4-pin)    |
|           |                      |
|           | Pin 1 (Black): GND ◄────── GND
|           | Pin 2 (Red or Yellow):  +5V ◄─── 5V/VIN
|           | Pin 3 (Green): TACH ───► GPIO27 (filtered)
|           | Pin 4 (Blue):   PWM ◄─── GPIO14
|           +----------------------+

Thanks and credit to @mwood77

+-----------------------------+
|      12V Power Supply       |
|                             |
|   +12V ─────────────┐       |
|                     │       |
|                     ▼       |
|                 +12V to Fan |
|                             |
|                 GND ────────┘
|                             |
+-----------------------------+

           +------------------------+
           |      Lolin32 Lite      |
           |        (ESP32)         |
           |                        |
           | USB ◄──── USB from host (PC/power)
           | GND ◄──── Shared GND with PSU & fan
           |                        |
           | GPIO14 ─────┐          |
           |             └─────► PWM (Fan Pin 4, Blue)
           |                        |
           | GPIO27 ◄────┬──────── TACH (Fan Pin 3, Yellow)
           |             │
           |        [10kΩ pull-up to 3.3V]
           |             │
           |         [3.3kΩ] in series
           |             │
           |        [0.1nF cap to GND] ◄──(RC filter)
           +------------------------+
                     │
                     ▼
           +------------------------+
           |       Noctua Fan       |
           |         4-pin          |
           |                        |
           | Pin 1 (Black): GND ◄────── Shared GND (PSU + ESP32)
           | Pin 2 (Red):  +12V ◄────── +12V from PSU
           | Pin 3 (Yellow): TACH ─────► GPIO27 (via RC & pull-up)
           | Pin 4 (Blue):   PWM ◄───── GPIO14
           +------------------------+

+-----------------------------+
|      12V Power Supply       |
|                             |
|   +12V ─────┬────────────┐  |
|             │            │
|             ▼            │
|   [Buck Conv. [LM2596]   │
|    In: 12V   Out: 5V     │
|        │         │       │
|        ▼         ▼       │
|      GND       +5V       │
|        │         │       │
+--------┴────┬────┘       │
              ▼            ▼
       +------------------------+
       |      Lolin32 Lite      |
       |        (ESP32)         |
       |                        |
       | VIN ◄────────────── 5V from buck converter
       | GND ◄────────────── GND from buck converter
       |                        |
       | GPIO14 ─────┐          |
       |             └─────► PWM (Fan Pin 4, Blue)
       |                        |
       | GPIO27 ◄────┬──────── TACH (Fan Pin 3, Yellow)
       |             │
       |        [10kΩ pull-up to 3.3V]
       |             │
       |         [3.3kΩ] in series
       |             │
       |        [0.1nF cap to GND] ◄──(RC filter)
       +------------------------+
                     │
                     ▼
           +------------------------+
           |       Noctua Fan       |
           |         4-pin          |
           |                        |
           | Pin 1 (Black): GND ◄────── GND from PSU
           | Pin 2 (Red):  +12V ◄────── +12V from PSU
           | Pin 3 (Yellow): TACH ─────► GPIO27 (via RC & pull-up)
           | Pin 4 (Blue):   PWM ◄───── GPIO14
           +------------------------+

1. Flash the WindScape ESPHome YAML to your ESP32.
2. Add Wi‑Fi credentials in secrets.yaml.
3. Reboot—the device will auto‑discover in Home Assistant.

Advanced Tuning Parameters (for power users via config):

• Turbulence Detail Level: 30m (how fine-grained the wind texture is)
• Turbulence Strength: 0.3 (how pronounced the micro-variations are)
• Thermal Event Rate: 0.025Hz (how often warm air bubbles occur)
• Thermal Intensity: 1.8× (how strong thermal effects feel)
• Thermal Coverage: 15m (how wide the thermal influence spreads)

WindScape exposes comprehensive real-time data about the wind simulation engine:

These sensors enable:

• Real-time dashboards showing wind physics in action
• Advanced automations based on weather phases or thermal events
• Performance monitoring and troubleshooting
• Educational visualization of atmospheric modeling

• Begin with Defaults – Presets are tuned for realism out‑of‑the‑box.
• Tweak Slowly – Small slider changes have large perceptual impact.
• Pick the Right Preset – Match airflow to activity: calming Countryside for sleep, energising Plains for heat.

How the Wind Physics Work: WindScape creates realistic wind by combining several clever techniques:

• Turbulence Modeling - Uses proven atmospheric science to generate the micro-variations that make wind feel natural instead of robotic
• Thermal Effects - Simulates warm air rising (like over hot pavement) that creates those gentle gusts you feel in real life
• Weather Moods - Automatically shifts between calm, moderate, and active periods, just like real weather patterns
• Smart Gusting - Adds realistic wind bursts that build up naturally, peak, and fade away organically
• Smooth Transitions - Prevents jarring speed changes by using physics-based momentum

Behind the Scenes:

• Updates 5 times per second with intelligent randomization
• Tracks multiple wind frequencies simultaneously for authentic texture
• Models thermal events that happen every few seconds to minutes
• Adapts intensity based on the current weather "mood"
• Uses logarithmic scaling so fan speed changes feel natural to humans

• Native integration with moodist ambience engine.

The Wind Simulation System: WindScape layers multiple systems to create convincing natural wind:

1. Micro-Turbulence - Constantly adds tiny speed variations (like leaves rustling) by mixing different "frequencies" of wind movement together

2. Thermal Bubbles - Occasionally creates rising warm air effects that start gentle, build to a peak, then fade away naturally over 8-15 seconds

3. Weather Moods - Automatically cycles between calm periods (1.5-3.5 min), normal activity (2-5 min), and windy periods (1-2.5 min) with natural transitions

4. Realistic Movement - All speed changes use momentum and inertia, so the fan never makes sudden jarring jumps

5. Multiple Time Scales - Fast micro-changes (5x/sec), medium gusts (seconds), and slow mood shifts (minutes) all work together

External Sensor Mode skips all the simulation and directly maps your data (like car speed) to fan speed, with a 60-second safety timeout that switches back to your last preset if the signal is lost.

• Home Assistant – https://www.home-assistant.io/
• ESPHome – https://esphome.io/
• Noctua Fans & Accessories – https://noctua.at/
  • https://noctua.at/en/nf-a12x25-pwm
  • https://noctua.at/en/nv-aa1-12
  • Noctua NV-FS1 YT Review: https://youtu.be/9PvWBuDTGDo
• DIY Fan Mount STL files
  • https://www.printables.com/model/554226-120mm-computer-fan-desk-mount
  • https://www.printables.com/model/1324299-pc-desk-fan
  • https://www.printables.com/model/889331-noctua-inspired-desk-fan-mount
• ir2mqtt (iRacing telemetry → MQTT) – https://github.com/jmlt/ir2mqtt
• Moodist (ambient engine) – https://github.com/remvze/moodist

© 2025  WindScape. Licensed under the MIT License unless noted otherwise.