Opportunities › Touch screen interface builder for home automation › Proposed app
Tilepane
Drag-and-drop touch panels for Home Assistant on low-cost ESP32 screens
- Score
- 50
- confidence 46
- Evidence
- 4
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 2
- named in sources
- First version
- 60 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2013
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Users drag-and-drop layouts in the visual editor and preview panel designs at true size, requiring keyboard control and detailed layout work at a desk. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Choose panel
Panel found2.8 in
About this appAI proposal
Tilepane is a visual editor for touch panels that control Home Assistant. Pick your lights, switches, sensors and scenes, drag them onto a screen layout, and send it to an ESP32 display over Wi-Fi. No YAML files and no MQTT setup.
It is made for home automation enthusiasts who want a physical panel by the door or in the kitchen, but do not want to learn firmware configuration first. It targets low-cost ESP32 touch boards.
What is different: the editor starts from your own Home Assistant entities, previews the screen at true size, and guides device setup step by step. Your layout stays a file you own.
- Tagline
- Design the panel. Skip the YAML.
- Voice
- FriendlyPracticalClear
- Why this name
- A tile is the building block of a control panel, and a pane is the glass you touch. Two plain words joined, easy to say.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Drag-and-drop layout
Place buttons, sliders, gauges and labels on a canvas sized to your exact panel. No text configuration.
No member yet
Your entities, found for you
Connect to Home Assistant and choose lights, climate, sensors and scenes from a searchable list.
No member yet
Guided panel setup
Step-by-step flashing and Wi-Fi pairing from the browser. The link to Home Assistant is handled for you.
No member yet
True-size preview
See colours, fonts and touch targets as they will appear on the real screen before you send anything.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#1F5F5BSlate Teal · primary#F6F1E7Warm Paper · surface#1E2423Ink · text#E8A33DAmber Glow · accent#8DB59ASoft Moss · data
Typography
Aa
Tilepane
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Design the panel. Skip the YAML.
PricingAI proposal
The material gives no competitor prices. These tiers follow the freemium and subscription idea in the opportunity and are a starting point to test.
Local
Free
- Local-only editor
- One panel
- Export layouts as files
Cloud
$5 a month
- Cloud-hosted editor
- Unlimited panels
- Template library
- Layout history
Plus
$12 a month
- Everything in Cloud
- Custom integrations
- Priority support
Would you pay Cloud · $5 a month?
Your answer tells PWAS which prices people accept. It changes no score.
No answers yet.
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Users share panel layouts as links or files in forums and communities. Others open them, preview them, and copy them into their own editor.
- Do they become customers?
- People who open a shared layout are likely Home Assistant users with panels, so they could become users. Test how many shared-link visitors start their own layout.
- First customers
- Home Assistant hobbyists who already own a low-cost ESP32 touch panel and have not finished setting it up.
- Where to reach them
- Home Assistant forums: Post a walkthrough of building a hallway panel and offer early access to people who reply.
- Reddit smart home groups: Share before-and-after demos of a panel built without YAML and invite testers.
- YouTube makers: Offer free access to home automation creators who review ESP32 panels.
- First milestone
- Twenty users deploy a working panel, and five pay for the cloud tier within 60 days.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedGitHub repository gained 544 stars in 31 days
- Public claimUsers need visual touch screen interfaces for Home Assistant without requiring YAML or MQTT knowledge
- AI inferenceThe repository has attracted significant developer interest and community engagement
- Public claimHome Assistant states on its own website: Over 2.7 million households use Home Assistant
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Device flashingBrowser-based serial flashing (Web Serial)Lets users install panel firmware from the browser without tools. Not supported in every browser.
- This app · Panel firmwareOpen ESP32 firmware that renders layoutsPanels need firmware that reads a layout and talks to Home Assistant.
RisksAI inference
- TechnicalSupporting several ESP32 boards with different screens and touch chips multiplies testing. Start with one or two boards.
- CommercialHobbyists often expect free open-source tools. Willingness to pay for a cloud editor or templates is unproven.
- PlatformHome Assistant or ESPHome changes could break the connector. Web Serial flashing also limits browser support.
- TechnicalA cloud editor must reach Home Assistant instances that sit on home networks, which may need a local bridge.
- CommercialExisting free community projects may cover the same need, so a clear gain in ease must be shown.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.