esphome / esphome/feature-requests

Sensirion SCD4x Operating Modes

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component: scd4x
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Description

**Describe the problem you have/What new integration you would like**

SCDx sensors have three operating modes that affect, above all, your consumption.
- **Periodic measurement mode** updated measurement with CO2 concentration, temperature and humidity every 5 seconds. In this mode, the average consumption of the sensor powered at 3.3V is between 15 (typical) and 18mA (maximum), according to the datasheet.
- **Low consumption periodic measurement mode** has a update period of approximately 30 seconds. The average consumption is 3.2mA in the datasheet.
- **Single measurement mode (SCD41 only)** By reading every 5 minutes would be the average consumption between 0.45mA (typical) and 0.5mA (maximum), according to the datasheet.

ESPHome currently supports only the first Periodic measurement mode. This means that using ESPHome and SCD41 in devices with batteries is not a very economical solution.

**Please describe your use case for this integration and alternatives you've tried:**

- I tried deep_sleep, but it only puts the board to sleep and has no effect on SCD4x.
- I've tried changing the update_interval, but it also has no effect on power consumption.

**Additional context**

[ESPHome.io - Components - scd4x](https://esphome.io/components/sensor/scd4x.html)
[GitHub repo - SCD4x](https://github.com/esphome/esphome/tree/dev/esphome/components/scd4x)
[Sensirion SCD4x Datasheet](https://sensirion.com/media/documents/C4B87CE6/61652F80/Sensirion_CO2_Sensors_SCD4x_Datasheet.pdf)

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

Start with esphome/components/scd4x and compare the existing component behavior with the SCD4x datasheet linked in the request. Review the ESPHome scd4x documentation to determine how operating modes should be exposed and verify that periodic, low-consumption, and SCD41 single-measurement modes behave as requested.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
embedded-iot
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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