The humidity in the house could then be measured with a RH sensor and the controller could then send cool signal to add some water to the pads if RH dropped below a certain point. This keeps the humidity way down while only increasing temp by 1-2 degrees. So much more comfortable as i can now keep the RH in the 50-60% range base on outside conditions.
I recently picked the project back up and with newer Claude models i have been making significant progress. For one, the code to determine when to 'cool' is getting better at managing as outside conditions change - temp/RH etc outside impacts cooler performance. Second, I can now start to fully replace the remote so the code manages via feedback loop. the remote has a keep alive sync signal that i was able to figure out that prevented me from using just the eps32. if the remote was off, the controller would turn on the cooler fine but if i didnt send a keep alive, the cooler eventually shuts off.
I have also added a RX module that allows me to now listen for the remote signal and shut off controller when i turn off via remote. eg turn on cooler via remote and controller can be turned on/off to work its magic.
Ultimate goal is to maintain the RH in house all day while outside conditions vary - morning, afternoon, evening and storms etc and then turn off at night once certain conditions are met. My wifes request is to have it turn off at bedtime so she can fall asleep, then turn back on after about 1 hour - so a timer is future feature.
The one thing I have learned is RF is hard but satisfying to figure out - I would have never attempted learning this w/o Claude. I also have a meter reader esp32 i am still working to debug and feel confident i can figure it out.