Espressif introduces ESP32-H21 for energy-efficient IoT devices
Espressif has introduced the ESP32-H21 chip – a new system-on-chip designed for Internet of Things devices using Thread, ZigBee, Matter and Bluetooth Low Energy. The new design expands the capabilities of the ESP32-H2 platform and was developed for applications requiring low power consumption and reliable wireless connectivity.
Lower power consumption
One of the most significant changes in the ESP32-H21 is the integration of a DC-DC converter, which helps reduce power consumption during operation. This makes the SoC particularly well suited for battery-powered devices such as environmental sensors, presence detectors, and wireless network nodes. Under typical operating conditions, the receive current is approximately 8.2 mA. In power-saving modes, consumption drops to around 9 µA in light sleep and 5 µA in deep sleep, significantly extending the operating time of IoT devices.
Thread, ZigBee and Bluetooth LE in a single chip
The ESP32-H21 integrates support for IEEE 802.15.4 and Bluetooth Low Energy, enabling operation in networks such as Thread, ZigBee and Bluetooth Mesh. The chip also supports the Matter standard, which is becoming one of the key solutions for interoperable smart home ecosystems. With a maximum transmit power of up to 20 dBm, the device offers improved communication range and more stable connections in environments with a high density of wireless devices.
RISC-V microcontroller and a rich set of interfaces
The new SoC is based on a 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller running at up to 96 MHz. It includes 320 KB of SRAM and 128 KB of ROM, as well as support for external Flash memory. Designers also have access to a wide range of commonly used interfaces, including UART, SPI, I²C, I²S, PWM and ADC, along with up to 19 GPIO pins. This makes it easy to integrate the chip with sensors, communication modules and control components in a variety of IoT devices.
