Over 170,000 EV chargers in limbo as Enel X Way exits North America (www.ebmag.com)
from dantheclamman@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 19:07
https://lemmy.world/post/20470217

#technology

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jqubed@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 19:53 next collapse

A growing concern for all manner of hardware that relies on software to function. Give an added bonus to relatively weak warranty requirements for the U.S. that makes it easier for companies to suddenly dump support than in Europe or Australia.

afk_strats@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 19:59 next collapse

Anyone know how we would be able to continue these products? My understanding is that this charger is 100% controlled by an app. Are there open source alternatives?

dantheclamman@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 20:09 next collapse

Apparently, the chargers will be updated to become dumb terminals that just charge automatically when plugged in, but for many end users, the main reason they went with Juicebox (which was bought by Enel) was that Enel would handle user accounts and billing. I work at an organization where we charge employees at a discounted rate, and the chargers are open to the public to use as well if they install the app and input their payment info. We’re going to have to close down public access if we can’t find a solution. A couple companies are saying they might be able to take over. Would have been nice to have more than a couple weeks to figure this out!

PlantJam@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 20:15 next collapse

Open EVSE is the only open source charger I’ve heard about, but I haven’t used their products before.

Impromptu2599@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 22:22 collapse

I have been using Open EVSE for years and love them, They have a nicely documented API so i can control them with just about anything.

BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 21:27 next collapse

I’m sure it’s technically possible to reverse engineer the software, but there are also “dumb” chargers that require no software or app. They’re more reliable and cheaper, and there’s no risk of being locked out when a company stops supporting its software.

virr@lemmy.world on 03 Oct 2024 22:41 collapse

Open EVSE, but any charger that support OCPP in theory can be controlled by any software. I do not have an OCPP EVSE installed (or any EVSE yet), so no idea if it actually works.

heavy@sh.itjust.works on 04 Oct 2024 01:02 collapse

Yet another example of companies making irresponsible anti consumer choices. You should have to pay the piper if you want to start dancing to this tune. That or you should be forced to open source your proprietary works.