Dunc

Dont know why I cant reply to individual posts but massive shout out to Scoobs for the offer to come out and KellerZA for this great project, im blown away by the level of work done for the community.... I haven't managed to get ESP running but part off these projects are learning HA and some microcontroller logic/programming so went ahead and bought the RS485/USB adapter, seems far simpler, going to plug direct into my HA pc and see where I go from there.
HA has been an unbelievable find, have it running Paradox, ezviv cctv, Sonoff (obviously), now ESP32 controllers, Tuya smart DB switches (which is a truly awful integration and battles with Wifi comms from my main panel but sub DB running pool pump is solid)
Have a 5kw running 14 x 450 panels w 10kwh batteries, system is maxed out and now with predictive solar I can easily use all the available power on sunny days for pool pump and second geyser. Recon I can probably get over 30kw per day on this system, I do monitor voltages and current rates to make sure im not over safe limits...again HA is incredible for this.
 
Thanks again

A second hand Intel NUC on FB Marketplace, otherwise Lenovo and Dell also have some mini pc alternatives
R1500 upwards depending on the specs you want but will be way more capable than a Raspberry pi which will cost you R3k+ 

Just saying HI, planning to find some key guides here main one will be where to find the best priced mini PC