Hey folks, looking for some recommendations for cheap, locally controllable, certified EVSE for Australia.
Current setup is:
- Fronius Primo 5kW inverter + Smart meter & 5kW of panels (small townhouse, as much as I can fit).
- Trickle charger with variable (set at start start of charge) amperage from 6-15A.
- Dedicated 15A circuit/socket w/ Shelly EM1 and a contactor for the circuit for remote halt of charge.
Requirements:
- Locally controllable via API/modbus.
- Certified for Energex standards/comms.
- Cheaper than the official Fronius Wattpilot.
I know that there are plenty of L2 "smart" options that will integrate directly with my smart meter/inverter, but they're honestly overkill and quite expensive. I recently discovered EVCC which is a software-based solution to control power flow between solar -> battery/EV so I shouldn't need the hardware-based smarts. Guessing I'll mostly be wanting to look at OCPP-compatible devices?
I'll also likely be applying for the Labor government's battery scheme when it is available and will hopefully get this all done at the same time.
Hoping someone has some recommendations (or gotchas) on the above requirements.
What you are asking for is unfortunately not realistic, any smarter charger will be more expensive.
Why do people buy the Tesla charger, because they only need a dumb charger and can use the API control of the tesla to automate the smarter charging.
Most smarter chargers will easily be > $1000 AUD and being certified for Energy QLD is another hard topic, you will likely need a 3rd party controller that supports SEP2 standard and validated.
Hope this sets some expecatations.