Using Deep Sleep on ESP8266 NodeMCU Lua Firmware

“Deep Sleep” allows an ESP8266 microcontroller to enter a very low-power sleep mode with less than 1mA sleep current. It works by connecting GPIO16 (which can be controlled from deep sleep) to the reset pin (RST) and programming the ESP8266 to provide a falling edge on GPIO16 after a specific amount of time, causing a system reset and thus a wakeup.

Here is how to use it on an ESP8266 controller (e.g. NodeMCU board or Wemos D1 mini) running the NodeMCU Lua firmware:

• Connect pin D0 (ESP8266 GPIO16) to RST (ESP8266 reset). Note that as long as D0 and RST are connected, you need to manually push the reset button when uploading new firmware using esptool – if that's too much of a hassle, consider using a jumper or another kind of reversible connection. Uploading NodeMCU applications is not affected by this, as it relies entirely on in-band signaling via UART.
• Do not use any GPIO functions operating on pin D0.
• Call rtctime.dsleep to go to sleep. When the sleep time has elapsed, execution will not continue normally -- instead, the ESP8266 will be reset and start over.
• You might also be able to use node.dsleep