SMLIGHT SLWF-03

SMLight · A1-SLWF-03

The SMLIGHT SLWF-03 is a compact controller for addressable LED strips based on ESP32, designed for WLED projects, ambient lighting, sound-reactive effects, LED matrices, desk lighting, TV backlighting, display cabinets, furniture, or custom installations. It comes with WLED Sound Reactive preinstalled, so it can be used as a WLED controller as soon as you plug it in, without having to compile or flash firmware at first. Unlike basic LED controllers, it integrates an ICS-43434 digital I2S microphone, making it possible to create music- or sound-reactive effects directly from compatible WLED. For connectivity, it uses 2.4GHz WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and can be integrated with Home Assistant via the native WLED integration, MQTT, or alternative firmware such as ESPHome. It is also compatible with ESPHome BT Proxy, Tasmota, and custom ESP32 firmware, making it a flexible board for both smart home users and maker projects. On the physical control side, it includes a 38kHz IR receiver for infrared remotes, a capacitive touch button, and an integrated USB-UART programmer with autoflash. This makes it possible to update or restore firmware from the web flasher without manually pressing BOOT buttons, greatly simplifying maintenance compared with generic ESP32 boards. The LED output provides 2 ready-to-use channels through screw terminals and up to 6 additional channels via the lower DIY pinout. In total, it can reach 8 LED channels, with support for common chipsets such as WS2812B, WS2811, WS2813, WS2815, SK6812, APA102, LPD8806, and WS2801. SMLIGHT indicates an approximate capacity of up to 1500-2000 LEDs at 30 FPS, although real-world performance will depend on the chipset, number of channels, effects, power supply, and WLED or ESPHome configuration. For power, it can run from 5V USB-C, from a DC barrel jack, or through the input terminal block with 5V, 12V, or 24V. The board includes reverse-polarity and overvoltage protection, but the LED strip power must be sized correctly according to the actual LED consumption. For large installations, the power supply and power injection are just as important as the controller. It is not a Zigbee, Thread, Matter, Ethernet, or PoE device. It is a WiFi/ESP32 controller focused on WLED and open firmware. For Home Assistant, its most direct use is as an automatically discovered WLED light, although it can also be turned into a microphone for Voice Assistant or a Bluetooth BLE proxy if the proper ESPHome firmware is flashed.