Sensor.Community firmware to run properly requires ESP8266 CPU with at least 4MB (32Mbit) of SPI flash. I think it would be also possible to run it on 1MB or 2MB board with some modifications. I am afraid that would also require disabling OTA update feature.
Among many ESP8266 based boards I’ve tested it on:
- NodeMCU V2 (Amica)
- NodeMCU V3 (LoLin)
- Wemos D1 mini (with ESP-12F)
- Wemos D1 mini (with ESP-07s - hot air swap)
- Wemos D1 mini Pro (16MB Flash)
I think that every board with ESP-12E, ESP-12S, ESP-12F, ESP-07S should run this firmware without a problem. In Poland we use NodeMCU V3 for Sensor.Community KITs and Wemos D1 mini for Nettigo Air Monitor.
RF shield is always nice feature to have - mostly because of FCC regulations. It’s way easier to pass ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) with shielding. And please notice it’s not made of aluminum.
I didn’t find any relevant difference between Wemos D1 mini (with RF shield) and D1 mini Pro (without RF shield).
Despite of same manufacturer (Espressif Systems) ESP32 and ESP8266 differs a lot. Writing code on those two platforms in many places is quite different. Arduino core is build upon Espressif SDK/IDF - two of them to be precise. Arduino core in this situation works like compatibility layer, yet in many places still requires different set of libraries. ESP32 is a very nice chip. But programming it in Arduino gives very unstable results and requires a lot of testing.