ESP8266 Community Forum

Hi There,

I need to design a remote control system where the user can control the device from a handheld remote or from a smart phone. The ESP stood out immediately based upon cost and flexibility of use. Though I'm not sure how well I will be able get the power down to a manageable level, while maintaining ease of use to the user.

For simplicity, lets just say that the remote needs to toggle an LED on the server side device. The user should be able to use handheld remote or in the future a smartphone to toggle this LED.

As fart as I can tell the biggest challenge is reducing the power (sleep modes/disable wifi - low mili-maps should work) while reducing the lag time for making a connection between the remote control and the server side device. I don't have enough experience with ESP and it's available libraries to know if what I'm trying to do is a lost cause and would love any experienced users feedback. TIA!

All remote controlled system does not really need an ESP8266. If you want to control loads with a IR remote, you can easily use an Arduino and IR receiver. If you add a bluetooth module, you can control loads with mobile apps also. The ESP8266 comes when you need to add wifi control to your project. Suppose, you want switch your home's fans and lights ON and OFF literally anywhere from the world, then you'll need an ESP8266.

However, there are some power-saving modes of ESP8266. Such as-Sleep mode, deep sleep mode etc.