IKEA ALPSTUGA Teardown & Ultimate Upgrade — New Sensors, Display & Home Assistant Integration

In this video, I tear down the *IKEA ALPSTUGA air quality sensor* and rebuild it into a much more capable and expandable air-quality monitor — adding extra sensors, a custom **ESP32-C3-based PCB**, a new 3D-printed enclosure, a full-color display, and optional **Home Assistant integration**. Beside the *Sensirion SEN63C* I install a *Winsen ZE08-CH2O formaldehyde sensor* and a **Sensirion SGP41 for VOC and NOx monitoring**. For the local interface, I add a **1.54" 240×240 IPS TFT display with an ST7789 controller**, allowing all of the important air-quality measurements to be viewed together on a single screen. At the center of the project is a custom PCB built around the **ESP32-C3**, which handles the sensors, display, Wi-Fi connectivity, configuration interface and ESPHome/Home Assistant integration. Expandable sensor platform The PCB is not limited to the sensors used in this build. It provides a *general-purpose I²C interface**, allowing additional **ESPHome-compatible I²C sensors* to be connected. This can include: Sensirion SEN5x / SEN6x air-quality sensors Sensirion SPS30 particulate-matter sensor Atmospheric-pressure sensors such as BMP280/BME280 Temperature and humidity sensors CO₂ sensors VOC / NOx sensors Other environmental or air-quality sensors supported by ESPHome Multiple compatible I²C devices can share the same bus, allowing the monitor to be customized for different applications. The color-display PCB also provides **one UART sensor interface**, which can be used for devices such as: Plantower PMS-series particulate-matter sensors Winsen ZE08-CH2O formaldehyde sensor YYS SC16-CO carbon monoxide sensor Other compatible UART sensors Two PCB versions The version shown in this video uses the *1.54" full-color ST7789 display* and provides **1× UART sensor port**. There is also an alternative PCB version using a compact **0.96" I²C display**. Because the I²C display requires fewer ESP32-C3 GPIO pins, this version provides **2× UART sensor ports**, making it possible to use two serial sensors simultaneously — for example a Plantower PM sensor together with a formaldehyde or CO sensor. So you can choose between: *1.54" Color Display — 1× UART* or *0.96" I²C Display — 2× UART* Configurable alerts The device allows configurable threshold values to be defined for individual sensor measurements. When a measured value crosses its configured threshold, an alert can be shown directly on the device display. When connected to Home Assistant, the same sensor values can also be used for notifications, alerts and automations. Home Assistant is optional *Home Assistant is completely optional.* The monitor has its own device configuration interface and can be configured and used independently. If the device cannot connect to the configured Wi-Fi network, it automatically creates its own Wi-Fi access point. Connect directly to the device to access its configuration page — similar to opening the ESPHome device page through the *Visit* option in Home Assistant. With **Home Assistant / ESPHome integration**, you can additionally: View all sensor readings in Home Assistant Store historical measurements Track air-quality trends over time Create graphs and dashboards Configure alerts, notifications and automations Access device diagnostics and maintenance controls The diagnostics section provides information such as *device uptime* and includes controls for *rebooting the device* and manually triggering the **Sensirion SEN63 fan-cleaning cycle**. In this video I go through the complete build process: *ALPSTUGA teardown → sensor removal → custom enclosure → 3D printing → custom PCB installation → additional sensor integration → display installation → reassembly → configuration → Home Assistant integration* Hardware used in this build IKEA ALPSTUGA ESP32-C3 Sensirion SEN63C Winsen ZE08-CH2O formaldehyde sensor Sensirion SGP41 VOC + NOx sensor 1.54" 240×240 IPS TFT display — ST7789, SPI Custom ESP32-C3 PCB Custom 3D-printed enclosure The result is an *expandable ESPHome-based air-quality monitoring platform* rather than a device tied to one fixed sensor configuration. You can choose the sensors that matter for your application, use it as a standalone Wi-Fi device, or integrate it fully into Home Assistant for long-term monitoring and automation. #IKEA #ALPSTUGA #HomeAssistant #ESPHome #AirQuality #DIYElectronics #SmartHome #Sensirion #ESP32C3 #airqualitymonitor