Battery & Solar Insight
Tracks house-battery voltage over time and makes solar charging behaviour visible through trend data.
Featured Engineering Project
RV Guardian
A low-power remote RV monitoring and surveillance system built around ESP32, Starlink Mini, environmental sensors and a custom web dashboard.
Advanced field testingProven through storage, towing and camping use
The idea
Know the RV is healthy without driving to storage.
RV Guardian wakes on a schedule, checks the RV, uses Starlink Mini to upload the results, then returns to a very low-power sleep state.
Temperature & Humidity
Monitors the front compartment and bedroom, calculates dew point and identifies elevated moisture risk.
Interior Image & Audio
Captures a scheduled interior image and short audio clip so alarms or unusual conditions can be checked remotely.
Remote Status & Alerts
Provides mobile-friendly status, trends, archives and email notification if the RV stops reporting while in surveillance mode.
Custom dashboard
A quick health check from any browser.
The dashboard summarizes battery condition, report age, Wi-Fi signal, temperatures, humidity, pressure, moisture risk and sensor status. It also provides access to recent images, audio clips and historical trends.
- Surveillance and Operational Use modes
- Mobile-friendly browser access
- Invalid sensor values filtered from trends
- Latest and archived image/audio playback
What the system records
Data is retained as a useful operating history rather than only generating one-time alarms.
Minimum bill of materials
Core hardware required
The exact implementation depends on the RV and communications already available. Starlink Mini and the travel router are not required if another reliable Internet connection is available.
| Component | Purpose | Typical range (CAD) |
|---|---|---|
| LILYGO T-Camera S3 | ESP32-S3 controller, camera, microphone and display | $40–$60 |
| BME280 sensor | Temperature, humidity and barometric pressure | $8–$15 |
| BLE temperature/humidity sensor | Remote bedroom environment sensing | $15–$25 |
| 12/24 V to regulated 5 V converter | Stable RV power for electronics | $20–$35 |
| Voltage divider components | House-battery voltage measurement | $5–$10 |
| Enclosure, wiring and mounting supplies | Installation and protection | $20–$40 |
| Approximate minimum core hardware | $108–$185 | |
Optional communications
GL.iNet travel router and Starlink Mini provide a consistent RV network and Internet access in storage.
Server component
The current prototype uses a privately hosted PHP dashboard. A packaged or hosted version would require further development.
Current status
A working personal engineering project—not yet a retail product.
The prototype has operated unattended for extended periods and has been refined through real storage and travel use. Community interest will help determine whether it evolves into a DIY reference design, a kit, a completed system or simply remains a showcase project.
Possible next steps
- Over-the-air firmware updates
- Solar input voltage and charging detail
- Additional leak, door or motion sensors
- Simplified installation and configuration
- Hosted dashboard options
RV Community Interest
Interested in Building Your Own RV Guardian?
I'm gauging interest from the RV community. If you'd like to learn more, participate in future testing, or build your own system, please complete the form below.
Your response helps determine whether the most useful direction would be a DIY guide, parts kit, assembled system or hosted service. Submitting the form does not create an order or commitment.