ESP32 Controller for Charlton & Jenrick Fireplace

This project uses an ESP32-WROOM-32 and a CC1101 433 MHz transceiver to control a fireplace using captured 2-FSK RF payloads. It integrates with Home Assistant via MQTT and also exposes a simple web interface with buttons for power, navigation, flame effects, sound, and more.

Information

I have tested this on my own fireplace which is an i1800e.

There are two “families” of fireplaces/remotes that this project can target:

• iRange remotes (2-FSK profile)
• Non-iRange remotes (ASK/OOK profile) — known IDs: 1250E / 1500E / 1800E

✅ The 1800E (non-iRange) profile has been tested and confirmed working.
The other IDs (1250E, 1500E) are expected to work but have not been tested yet.

Fireplace	Tested	Working	Profile to Build
i750e	false	unknown	remote_irange
i1000e	false	unknown	remote_irange
i1250e	false	unknown	remote_irange
i1500e	false	unknown	remote_irange
i1800e	true	Yes	remote_irange
i2200e	false	unknown	remote_irange
1250e	false	unknown	remote_non_irange
1500e	false	unknown	remote_non_irange
1800e	true	Yes	remote_non_irange

Supported Remote Buttons

The following buttons from the Charlton & Jenrick remote have been reverse-engineered and are currently supported:

Button	Function	Status	Notes
ON	Power on fireplace	✅ Tested	Fully functional
OFF	Power off fireplace	✅ Tested	Fully functional
Left Arrow	Navigate left/decrease	❓ More work needed	Captured
Right Arrow	Navigate right/increase	❓ More work needed	Captured
Plus (+)	Increase setting	❓ More work needed	Captured
Minus (-)	Decrease setting	❓ More work needed	Captured
Flame Effect	Toggle flame effect modes	❓ More work needed	Captured
Sound	Toggle sound on/off	❓ More work needed	Captured

All supported buttons are exposed via:

• Web UI: Simple button interface accessible at the ESP32's IP address
• MQTT: Command topic home/fireplace/cmnd with payloads: ON, OFF, LEFT, RIGHT, PLUS, MINUS, FLAME, SOUND
• Home Assistant: Auto-discovered as switch (ON/OFF) and button entities

Hardware

• ESP32-WROOM-32 dev board (e.g. ESP32 DevKit)
• CC1101 433 MHz module
• 3.3 V power (CC1101 must not be powered from 5 V)

Note: This has only been test with an ESP32-WROOM-32, but it is more than likely other ESP32 board will work as well, or need just some minor configuration changes to work. Pull requests are welcome.

Wiring

CC1101 pin	ESP32 pin	Notes
VCC	3V3	3.3 V only
GND	GND	Common ground
CSN (CS)	GPIO5	Chip select
SCK	GPIO18	SPI SCK
SO (MISO)	GPIO19	SPI MISO
SI (MOSI)	GPIO23	SPI MOSI
GDO0	GPIO21	Used by library
GDO2	—	Not connected

Software

• PlatformIO
• Framework: Arduino (ESP32)
• Libraries:
  • mfurga/cc1101 – CC1101 driver
  • knolleary/PubSubClient – MQTT client

platformio.ini

[env:esp32dev]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32dev
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200

lib_deps =
  mfurga/cc1101@^1.2.0
  knolleary/PubSubClient@^2.8

MQTT & Homeassistant

Mqtt is supported out of the box should work with Homeassistant seamlessly. Simply edit the main.cpp file and provide your mqtt user/pass details as well as your broker information. Should you have Mqtt auto discovery on the device will be added automatically in your HA. If not you may need to add it manually.

Build & Install

Profiles

PlatformIO env	Define	Modulation	Payload Header
remote_irange	REMOTE_PROFILE_IRANGE	MOD_2FSK	irange_payloads.h
remote_non_irange	REMOTE_PROFILE_NON_IRANGE	MOD_ASK_OOK	non_irange_payloads.h

In code, the correct payload header is selected at compile time:

#if defined(REMOTE_PROFILE_IRANGE)
  #include "irange_payloads.h"
#elif defined(REMOTE_PROFILE_NON_IRANGE)
  #include "non_irange_payloads.h"
#else
  #error "Select a payload profile"
#endif
UI + HA discovery also adapt based on ACTIVE_PROFILE.features (e.g. SOUND is removed when not supported).

Connect your ESP32-WROOM-32 dev board and run the following command if your fireplace is an iRange:

platformio run -e remote_irange --target upload

Or if it is a non-iRange remote:

platformio run -e remote_non_irange --target upload

Once the upload is complete, you can run the following to see the serial output from your module:

pio device monitor -b 115200

Usage

Once an IP has been assigned, you can go view and interact with the controller from the web UI, simply visit the IP assigned on port 80 -> ${ASSIGNED_IP}:80

Contributing

LSP Config

I use clangd as my LSP. To get it to be aware of platformio libs you need to feed it PlatformIO’s compile flags & include paths. Run the following:

pio run -t compiledb

This should create a file called compile_commands.json in the root of the project.

Secrets

Rename secrets-sample.h in src/ folder to secrets.h and add the needed information for wifi/mqtt.

Limitations

In using the cc1101 module (as does the Flipper Zero), the Charlton & Jenkins remotes simply transmit data too fast for the cc1101 to catch entirely. So most of the time it misses data. This unfortunatley means we can't really keep the remote itself in sync with actions taken from this device - until another solution presents itself that is...

Contributors

A massive thanks to @cthuwu_chan who helped me decode the signal originally. 🙇