this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2023
2 points (66.7% liked)

Electric Vehicles

268 readers
1 users here now

A UK-centric Electric Vehicles community, where discussion/news of the wider European continent is welcome.

All discussion of EVs (and hybrids for the moment), charging networks, etc, welcome!

No USA/Americas news unless it is relevant to the UK/Europe - most of the existing EV communities on Lemmy are awash with US discussion, please use one of those. US news and discussion will be removed.

The main "global" EV community is !electricvehicles@slrpnk.net

Electric vehicle avatar/icon created by Freepik - Flaticon

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

About to get my first plug-in car, and have some questions.

I work in the software industry so I know that all apps eventually get discontinued or abandoned, so what happens to my home EV charger when the app it needs is no longer available?

Are there generic home EV charger apps that work with other brands chargers?

Can I just not install the app? I'm not saying I'd avoid installing it, but knowing how the charger would behave in this scenario is important information.

top 7 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] drdabbles@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I don't know of any EVSE that requires an app to work. Almost all of them have some manual configuration for circuit sizing with DIP switches or something.

Stay far away from the Amazon no name brands, though. But a connector from a reputable brand that other owners suggest in your area.

[–] i_am_not_a_robot 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I find it's better to ignore the smart functions of the charger, and program the charging times in the car instead. I have a BP charger and the app is rubbish!

[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I didn't know that was a thing. Sounds great!

[–] SpacePirate@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What car and evse are you looking at? Most of the time, you do not need “smart” evse; just plug the car in, and it will handle it. If you want metering, lockout, and other features, you’ll need the app, but for the most part, and for most use cases, you only need a cable, and not a full-blown charging station.

[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

3008 PHEV, haven't picked a charger yet.

[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Ah, so if you don't use the app on the smart charger, it acts like a dumb charger. Good good.

[–] jabjoe 1 points 1 year ago

I recommend OpenEVSE. You can hook it into HomeAssistant or DIY control it over MQTT.

No closed apps or clouds that will be abandoned. All standards and openness.