[barneyd]

Good progress so far. I now have a version of OpenEVSE running on my Rolec chargepoint and I can control it remotely over wifi following the connection of an Elfin EW10 to the serial port.

Still some more work to do on getting the LED indications right and on getting the remote current setting working but I'm hopefully about both of those; I just need to dig into the code a bit more.

Once finished it will be possible to both remote control a Rolec unit with the OpenEVSE app and also connect it to the Open Energy Monitor system for solar diversion without having to purchase new controller hardware (just a wifi serial interface).

 

[KJA2001]

I would love to make my old dumb Rolecs solar aware with variable charge rate. I will watch here with interest.

 

[barneyd]

Beta version done. I’ve resolved the issue with the LEDs and the remote setting so I now have a version of firmware that allows the Rolec unit to be remote controlled using its serial port with the OpenEVSE rapi protocol.

Useful commands are $FD for disable, $FE for enable and $SC for set current. I’ve added an Elfin EW10 to mine, powered from the 12v terminals on the unit (I still need to test if this is loading the supply too much)

PM me if you’d like a copy to test. I can let you have either a hex file or, if you want to see how it works, a version of the modified OpenEVSE source code that you can compile yourself using the Arduino IDE.

My next challenge is to get my home automation system (based on OpenHAB) to calculate a solar diversion current value and send it to the controller.

 

[barneyd]

Final test complete, which is that I can power the EW10 directly from the 12v output on the Rolec unit without overloading it.

Total cost to upgrade dumb Rolec controller to smart and variable output £15; £10 for the serial to WiFi adaptor and £5 for the programmer to connect to the laptop to upgrade the firmware.

 

[MusicLoverUK]

Amazing work @sasquatch and @barneyd !! I was hoping that the controller in my old dumb Rolec would have been serial-ready as-is, and it's a shame that it's not, but what you guys have done in figuring out how to flash new firmware onto it is really great stuff!

Now that you've done the heavy lifting of the research, potentially now it's easy for anyone with a little skill to take existing, widely-adopted hardware and make it smart-compatible with just a flash of the firmware and the addition of a very small and cheap WiFi module. It's a double win for saving the planet - smarter use of energy, without the need to replace existing equipment! Hats off to you guys and thank you for sharing!

One point I'm still wondering about is energy metering. My Rolec has the DDS353 kWh meter which was an option. I notice on pictures of the HomeSmart version of the Rolec that they also include the DDS353 inside, which is not made visible to the user, but is connected to the controller, so I'm assuming the controller in the smart version is making use of it somehow. As far as I can see from pictures, the pulse terminals of the DDS353 are connected to the +12V and MPI (Meter Pulse Input?) terminals of the controller. Would it be possible for firmware in the controller to use the pulse input to keep track of energy usage?

 

[David Myddleton-Jones]

Hi guys,
Fantastic work on working out how to make the Rolec charger smart. I have a dumb tethered 7kW 32A charger and would be interested in upgrading it to a smart charger that can be used with an “app”. Does anyone have a list of items required and how to do it they could send me? I’m willing to pay for your efforts.
Thanks

 

[baden]

Hi guys,
Fantastic work on working out how to make the Rolec charger smart. I have a dumb tethered 7kW 32A charger and would be interested in upgrading it to a smart charger that can be used with an “app”. Does anyone have a list of items required and how to do it they could send me? I’m willing to pay for your efforts.
Thanks

Hi, I did a post within another thread last year about how to add a WIFI switch to a dumb Rolec charger last year (or was it 2019??) . The link is here Fitting timer to Rolec system
This solution uses a free App on your phone to set schedules to control on\off times of the charger. Or to just switch it on\off via the app at anytitme. It uses a cheap (£7) wfi switch you have to install in the ROlec charger.
Have a look at the link and if you need any more info just ask.
It's a simpler solution than the reprograming methods on this thread & the WIFI timer won't give flexible programmed timing for use with the Octopus Agile but is ideal for the Octopus GO tarriff where it switches on every night at 00:300 - off at 04:30 and can be switched on\off via the app at any other time.

 

[David Myddleton-Jones]

Cheers, just found the thread, quite easy, I’ll fit one, many thanks

 

[baden]

Cheers, just found the thread, quite easy, I’ll fit one, many thanks

Mine has been working well for about a year now without any issues.
You have to check first that the Rolec location is within WIFI reach of your home router. The Sonoff switch connects to a server somewhere?? on the net & you control the settings from your mobile over your data signal. So you can be anywhere with your mobile and chnage schedule settings of your Sonoff switch that is at home (or switch things on\off). Your mobile doesn't have to be on for the schedules on the Sonoff to work.
Another thing to watch is when the clocks are altered for BST . When they went back this Autumn the schedules changed their times back 1 Hour. So instead of it saying 00:30 for "on" it said 23:30; it was like it had adjusted its clock time for winter but then also adjusted the set scheduled times.
Another tip -- the Sonoff devices seem to be a bit hit & miss doing the initial configuration from your mobile phone. You only ever have to do that initial config once and after that it's fine. Think it depends on the whether your mobile phone WIFI is using 2.4ghz or the later 5ghz ??. The Sonoff only uses 2.4 (I think it has more range) and your mobile has to be on the same frequency to see it. It is mentioned in the Sonoff setup instructions somewhere. Think I once used an older mobile phone connected to my WIFI (no sim or mobile connection) that only had 2.4ghz to do that initial config. My newer mobile was set to use 5ghz and it was easier to use my old phone than reconfigure my new phone. After that intial config I use my new phone for everything to the Sonoff (set\change\delete schedule times etc.). Think it's creating a secure link in\out through your WIFI router to the Sonoff server on that inital config.
Don't know how old your Rolec is; mine was a 2nd hand one I bought and it had the older type (blue coloured) breaker in it. I did change it to the later "green" spec one to be on the safe side after seeing others reporting problems with burnt out terminals. So may be worth checking yours has no signs of brown plastic and over heating.
My car only charges at 3.5 kw max so maybe doesn't push the Rolec too much on the load.
I also used another Sonoff wifi switch on the dishwasher so it can be set to come on at 00:30 to also benefit from the cheap elctric. Have to stress I only do that if it suits and don't eat off dirty dishes until 1am .

 

[David Myddleton-Jones]

Thanks for the further advice, my Rolec is 4yrs old and used every day, not had any issues, I will check though

 

[HandyAndy]

FWIW the newer "green text" Rolec RCBO is starting to see failures, 2 or 3 at least have been reported in here. Suggest bin them & fit a Garo. See this post...
Rolec Charger - Dangerous???

 

[barneyd]

Hi guys,
Fantastic work on working out how to make the Rolec charger smart. I have a dumb tethered 7kW 32A charger and would be interested in upgrading it to a smart charger that can be used with an “app”. Does anyone have a list of items required and how to do it they could send me? I’m willing to pay for your efforts.
Thanks

Hi David,
If you wanted to upgrade the firmware rather than fitting additional hardware I can send you over the file.
To do the upgrade, you need an ICSP programmer, which is a dongle that plugs into the USB port on a laptop. They are about £5 from eBay. You need the one with a 6 way connector (or a 10 way one with a 10 way to 6 way adapter, which is what I have).
You also need an app such as eXtreme Burner to control the programmer.
To connect the programmer, isolate the power and remove the front of the charge point. There is a Rolec box with lots of terminals and a label on the front. It doesn’t have any thick cables, that’s the contactor. The front on the controller prises off with fingernails or a small screwdriver to reveal the 6 way programming connector.
With the power still off, connected the programmer to the controller and the laptop and load up the app. I suggest the first thing to do is to download (read) the firmware from the controller and save it, that way if there are any problems, you can get back to where you started.
Next load the new firmware in to the app and write it to the charge controller. It will read it again to verify it and you’re done.
The charger will now do what it has always done.

To make use of the new functions, connect a serial device to the TX, RX and GND terminals, set the config to 115200,8,N,1 and connect.

Commands you can send are:
$FD to disable charging
$FE to enable charging
$SC x V where x is a number between 6 and 32 to set the charging level. Be careful not to omit the V, that makes the value temporary (volatile). It resets on each new charge. If you leave it out, you will set the max charge the unit will ever deliver.
There are other commands (see OpenEVSE RAPI protocol). Some of them aren’t applicable because of the hardware limitations of the controller but the ones above are the most useful anyway.

I use an Elfin EW-10 which allows me to connect to the serial port over WiFi using Putty. I also control it from my home automation controller (OpenHAB). I have powered it off the 12v terminal on the controller. From the testing I have done, the controller has sufficent capacity to cope with it.

The other option is to connect an ESP8266 device and load the OpenEVSE WiFi software hosts a web server so you can control the charger by a browser or the OpenEVSE app. Much of the functionality of the app, such as timers, current readings, current limits etc. depends on hardware the Rolec doesn’t have, which is why I went for just using serial commands.

Note the Rolec unit uses standard RS233 levels, which is good for compatibility but does mean you can’t use the OpenEVSE WiFi module directly because that uses TTL levels. You can buy ESP8266 devices with built in level converters or you could by a ready programmed OpenEVSE WiFi and put a level converter between it and the charge controller.

Happy to share with anyone who is interested. I did it to make my charger smart without spending loads. Not looking for any payment, it was an interesting project and I got a smart charger out of it; I’d be pleased if others can benefit.

 

[David Myddleton-Jones]

Hi, many thanks for the detailed description. I like the idea of controlling the charger via an app so may go down the open EVSE route. Do you have to upgrade the firmware first before using the open evse or doesn’t it matter and you just control it from the app as an on/off way?
Thanks

 

[barneyd]

Hi. You need to upgrade the firmware because the original dumb Rolec controllers didn't respond to any serial port commands. The firmware is a modified version of OpenEVSE that is adapted for the Rolec hardware.

Although I haven't tested it, I think you would need something like this, onto which you could load the OpenEVSE WiFi firmware, which is what serves the app. I did buy one to test this out but it looks like a bit of a faff to program it so it's sat in a drawer at the moment. The alternative is to follow the links from the firmware site to purchase a pre-programmed module but then you'd need a MAX232 (same eBay link) between it and the controller to convert the levels.

 

[baden]

Hi, many thanks for the detailed description. I like the idea of controlling the charger via an app so may go down the open EVSE route. Do you have to upgrade the firmware first before using the open evse or doesn’t it matter and you just control it from the app as an on/off way?
Thanks

Hi, dont mean to interrupt but if all you want is an APP and an online scheduler the previous suggested solution with a Sonoff switch & free eWelink App sounds simpler??
Barneyd solution is more sophisticated but also more complex so it depends what end result you are trying to achieve.
Multiple preset scheduled on\off times with manual override all via app from phone then the Sonoff (or equivalent) is the easiest cheapest??

 

[Framar]

Hi David,
If you wanted to upgrade the firmware rather than fitting additional hardware I can send you over the file.
To do the upgrade, you need an ICSP programmer, which is a dongle that plugs into the USB port on a laptop. They are about £5 from eBay. You need the one with a 6 way connector (or a 10 way one with a 10 way to 6 way adapter, which is what I have).
You also need an app such as eXtreme Burner to control the programmer.
To connect the programmer, isolate the power and remove the front of the charge point. There is a Rolec box with lots of terminals and a label on the front. It doesn’t have any thick cables, that’s the contactor. The front on the controller prises off with fingernails or a small screwdriver to reveal the 6 way programming connector.
With the power still off, connected the programmer to the controller and the laptop and load up the app. I suggest the first thing to do is to download (read) the firmware from the controller and save it, that way if there are any problems, you can get back to where you started.
Next load the new firmware in to the app and write it to the charge controller. It will read it again to verify it and you’re done.
The charger will now do what it has always done.

To make use of the new functions, connect a serial device to the TX, RX and GND terminals, set the config to 115200,8,N,1 and connect.

Commands you can send are:
$FD to disable charging
$FE to enable charging
$SC x V where x is a number between 6 and 32 to set the charging level. Be careful not to omit the V, that makes the value temporary (volatile). It resets on each new charge. If you leave it out, you will set the max charge the unit will ever deliver.
There are other commands (see OpenEVSE RAPI protocol). Some of them aren’t applicable because of the hardware limitations of the controller but the ones above are the most useful anyway.

I use an Elfin EW-10 which allows me to connect to the serial port over WiFi using Putty. I also control it from my home automation controller (OpenHAB). I have powered it off the 12v terminal on the controller. From the testing I have done, the controller has sufficent capacity to cope with it.

The other option is to connect an ESP8266 device and load the OpenEVSE WiFi software hosts a web server so you can control the charger by a browser or the OpenEVSE app. Much of the functionality of the app, such as timers, current readings, current limits etc. depends on hardware the Rolec doesn’t have, which is why I went for just using serial commands.

Note the Rolec unit uses standard RS233 levels, which is good for compatibility but does mean you can’t use the OpenEVSE WiFi module directly because that uses TTL levels. You can buy ESP8266 devices with built in level converters or you could by a ready programmed OpenEVSE WiFi and put a level converter between it and the charge controller.

Happy to share with anyone who is interested. I did it to make my charger smart without spending loads. Not looking for any payment, it was an interesting project and I got a smart charger out of it; I’d be pleased if others can benefit.

Hi @barneyd i found very intersting your project, and if you like, i will test your firmware on my old rolec interface. I will interface it with a wifi to serial interface, in order to manage and try to intehrate it with HomeAssistant via MQQT etc.
Are you intersted to share your project with me?
Keep us updated and thank you!
F.

 

[barneyd]

Hi, dont mean to interrupt but if all you want is an APP and an online scheduler the previous suggested solution with a Sonoff switch & free eWelink App sounds simpler??
Barneyd solution is more sophisticated but also more complex so it depends what end result you are trying to achieve.
Multiple preset scheduled on\off times with manual override all via app from phone then the Sonoff (or equivalent) is the easiest cheapest??

You are right, there are other ways to solve the on/off problem but I also wanted current control so I can do solar diversion. The generally recommended way to do this is to swap the controller for a Viridian and the connect a digital pot controlled by an Arduino with a WiFi adapter.
If you want on/off and you don’t want the complexity of upgrading the firmware, I would go down the WiFi switch route but if you want current control, you’re already into programming some sort of microcontroller so do it by reprogramming your existing hardware rather than buying four bits of new hardware and writing code from scratch.

 

[Kuikui]

You are right, there are other ways to solve the on/off problem but I also wanted current control so I can do solar diversion. The generally recommended way to do this is to swap the controller for a Viridian and the connect a digital pot controlled by an Arduino with a WiFi adapter.
If you want on/off and you don’t want the complexity of upgrading the firmware, I would go down the WiFi switch route but if you want current control, you’re already into programming some sort of microcontroller so do it by reprogramming your existing hardware rather than buying four bits of new hardware and writing code from scratch.

Hello Barneyd,

I've sent you a message, but not sure you received it.
I'm interested in your project, could you share it to me please ?

Kind regards,
Vincent.

 

[siyuan]

You are right, there are other ways to solve the on/off problem but I also wanted current control so I can do solar diversion. The generally recommended way to do this is to swap the controller for a Viridian and the connect a digital pot controlled by an Arduino with a WiFi adapter.
If you want on/off and you don’t want the complexity of upgrading the firmware, I would go down the WiFi switch route but if you want current control, you’re already into programming some sort of microcontroller so do it by reprogramming your existing hardware rather than buying four bits of new hardware and writing code from scratch.

Hi @barneyd,

I'm also interested in the source and binary files, can you please also share with me. Thanks!

 

[barneyd]

Hi @barneyd,

I'm also interested in the source and binary files, can you please also share with me. Thanks!

Sure. I will PM them over the weekend.