I like interesting displays — and I also like ESPHome. So for a weekend project, I combined the two and got a Sharp Memory LCD (model LS032B7DD02) working with Home Assistant.
The result? A crisp, ultra-low-power display that shows real-time data from Home Assistant — all powered by an ESP32 and a custom ESPHome component.
Why This Display?
The LS032B7DD02 is a 3.2” 336×536 monochrome screen with excellent visibility and incredibly low power draw. It doesn’t need backlighting (although my display has the backlight connector), and it only consumes power when updating — making it perfect for sensors or battery-powered dashboards.
The Setup
The display connects over SPI, with an additional (optional) GPIO used to toggle the EXTCOMIN signal every second. Instead of driving this GPIO, you can send a command, which does the same internally. I wired it up to an ESP32 and wrote a small custom component in ESPHome to drive it.
Here’s how to use it:
external_components:
- source:
type: git
url: https://github.com/Sl-Alex/esphome-components
components: [ls032b7dd02]
Then you add it like any other display in ESPHome:
font:
- file: "gfonts://Roboto"
id: roboto_50
size: 50
spi:
clk_pin: 14
mosi_pin: 13
display:
- platform: ls032b7dd02
id: my_display
cs_pin: 27
lambda: |-
it.set_rotation(DISPLAY_ROTATION_270_DEGREES);
it.print(5, 50, id(roboto_50), "ESPHome :)");
The data comes straight from Home Assistant:
# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
encryption:
key: "<YOUR RANDOM ENCRYPTION KEY>"
# Connect the sensor to be used
sensor:
- platform: homeassistant
id: ha_temperature
entity_id: sensor.living_room_temperature
I also used a Font Awesome TTF to draw icons directly on the screen — no bitmaps needed, just Unicode glyphs.
You can find more examples on how to use the display component in the official ESPHome documentation.
The Result
It works beautifully. The screen updates every couple of seconds with air quality, CO₂ level, and other data from Home Assistant. It’s a nice sharp display from Sharp — and a great fit for a low-power status dashboard.
Want to Try It?
I’ve published the component here:
GitHub: https://github.com/Sl-Alex/esphome-components
If you’re into displays, microcontrollers, or Home Assistant tinkering, give it a try. It’s a fun weekend build — and a great way to explore custom components in ESPHome.