{
  "id": 19669887,
  "title": "A $12 room thermometer now controls how hard my PC's fans spin",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/a-12-room-thermometer-now-controls-how-hard-my-pcs-fans-spin",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-11-12T15:00:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/room-thermometer-now-controls-how-hard-pcs-fans-spin/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the past, most PC users set fan curves once through software or their computer's BIOS. However, these curves are limited to a board's onboard sensor, which only measures internal temperatures. To bridge this gap, a community plugin for Windows 11's Fan Control app can pull data from a Home Assistant sensor. This requires a temperature sensor and humidity reporting module built using a DHT22 sensor and ESP32-S3, which costs less than $12. The DHT22 sensor has three connection points: 3.3V, ground, and data line. Once connected to the ESP32-S3, the module can be configured using YAML in ESPHome. The sensor is ideally placed a foot away from the PC's intake side to avoid measuring internal heat. Fan Control for Windows 11 supports plugins to inject a sensor, and the FanControl.HomeAssistant plugin helps with this. After installing the plugin, a few configuration steps are needed, including providing the IP address of the Home Assistant instance, a long-lived access token, and the sensor's entity ID. The plugin reads this file on startup, so any changes require a full exit and relaunch. The plugin polls Home Assistant's data over the network, so if Home Assistant is down, it falls back to a predefined value set in the JSON configuration. This setup allows the PC's fans to react to ambient temperature, providing a more efficient cooling system.",
  "summary": "Your room is warmer than your CPU thinks.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}