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Dimmer LED using Potentiometer (ESP32 + MicroPython)

An interactive LED dimmer system built with an ESP32, a potentiometer, and MicroPython.
Control the brightness of an LED seamlessly by rotating a potentiometer, showcasing basic PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control.

Overview

This project utilizes a potentiometer to adjust the brightness of an LED.
The potentiometer acts as a variable resistor, forming a voltage divider.
The ESP32’s ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) reads this analog voltage, which is then mapped to a PWM duty cycle to control the LED’s brightness.

Circuit Diagram

Circuit Diagram

Potentiometer Connection:

3.3V --- [Potentiometer] ---●------ GND
                  |
                ADC Pin (GPIO34)

LED Connection:

GPIO2 --- [220Ω Resistor] --- LED --- GND

Components Required

Component Quantity Description
ESP32 1 Main microcontroller
Potentiometer (10kΩ) 1 Variable resistor for input
LED 1 Light source to be dimmed
220Ω resistor 1 Limits LED current
Breadboard & jumper wires — For connections

How It Works

  1. Potentiometer varies resistance.
  2. This changes the analog voltage at the wiper arm.
  3. ESP32 reads this voltage through ADC (pin 34).
  4. The analog value (0–4095) is mapped to a PWM duty cycle (0–1023).
  5. ESP32’s PWM output (GPIO2) controls the LED brightness based on the duty cycle.

Calibration & Mapping

  • The ESP32's ADC typically reads values from 0 to 4095.
  • The PWM duty cycle in MicroPython on ESP32 typically ranges from 0 to 1023.
  • You can use a linear mapping between ADC and PWM for smooth brightness control.

Example mapping

adc_value = adc.read() Reads from 0 to 4095

pwm_duty = int(adc_value / 4095 * 1023) Maps to 0–1023

led_pwm.duty(pwm_duty)

Applications

  • Desk lamp dimmers
  • Ambient lighting control
  • Interactive art installations
  • Prototyping user input for IoT devices
  • Industrial control panels

Future Enhancements

  • Implement smooth transitions between brightness levels.
  • Add a second LED and potentiometer for independent control.
  • Integrate a web interface to control brightness wirelessly via Wi-Fi.
  • Use a Rotary Encoder for more precise control.
  • Control multiple LEDs or RGB LEDs with separate potentiometers.

Example Output

| Potentiometer Value | PWM Duty | LED Brightness |
| ------------------- | -------- | -------------- |
| 200                 | 50       | Dim            |
| 2000                | 500      | Medium         |
| 4000                | 1000     | Full           |

Author

Kritish Mohapatra
Third Year B.Tech, Electrical Engineering
📡 Focused on IoT, Embedded Systems, and MicroPython Projects

⭐ If you like this project, give it a star on GitHub and follow for more IoT projects!