GrotWatt Thor Wallbox

[scruysberghs]

Hi

I'm currently trying to link a GroWatt Thor Wallbox (THOR_11AS) to EVCC.
I"ve managed to use it using the custom OCPP template:

chargers:
  - name: growatt_thor
    type: template
    template: ocpp
    stationid: # Station ID of the charging point. Only required if multiple OCPP charging stations are set up to assign them correctly. A single OCPP charging station can also be automatically assigned. Note: In exceptional cases, it may be necessary to manually append this ID to the OCPP URL of the charging station in the form ws://<evcc-address>:8887/<stationid>. Most charging stations automatically add the ID internally. (optional)
    #connector: 1 # Connector number for charging stations with multiple connectors. Counting starts at 1 for the first connector. (optional)
    remotestart: true # Only enable this option if there is no way to initiate transactions from the charger side! This is only the case if e.g. no RFID reader is available and charging processes would have to be released individually via app. Normally, the charger should always be configured at the device so that either an RFID card is used for activation or the charger is set to "Autostart", "Free Charging" or similar. First check the documentation and configuration possibilities of the charger, ask the manufacturer if necessary! (optional)
    #idtag: evcc # This option is only required in exceptional cases if the charger requires a specific token for accepting external transactions. (optional)
    connecttimeout: 5m # optional
    meterinterval: 10s # optional
    #metervalues: Energy.Active.Import.Register,Power.Active.Import,SoC,Current.Offered,Power.Offered,Current.Import,Voltage # optional

This seem to work fine. I can start charging session, read charging power and set charging power from evcc.
But the connection seems to drop out after some inactivity (or when setting a plan, before the plan gets the change to start the charging session). The only way to get things going again is by rebooting the charging station and restarting evcc.
Any tips on what I could try to get this more stable?
I have tried to get the raw ocpp websocket messages in the logs to see why it disconnects but even with log set to "trace" I still don"t see them. Is there a way to do this?

Regards
Steven

(manual of the charging station : https://growatt.tech/wp-content/uploads/shared-files/THOR-11kW22kW-AC-EV-Charger-User-Manual-202304.pdf)

I have set the "Server URL" to the ocpp endpoint of my evcc setup :

There is a keep alive settings on the charging station:

[mfuchs1984]

Can you provide a logfile that shows the issue with everything on debug + ocpp on trace level?

log: debug
levels:
  ocpp: trace

[scruysberghs]

thanks for theocpp: trace tip. Sorry it took so long to respond but wanted to fix the connection to the BMW (capcha issue) before experimenting further. I managed to capture a session with the car connected to the charging station. Fresh start of evcc. Started in charging mode "Off", switched to Min+Solar (3ph 6A) for a couple of minutes, worked ok, switched to Fast (3ph 10A) for a while and then stopped. All this worked fine so far.
Logfile in pastebin : https://pastebin.com/dRAu2eAK

Now keeping it in state OFF to see what happens when it disconnects.

This the coresponding power graph from Home Assistant

[scruysberghs]

A (maybe?) unrelated question. When I try to charge using a Plan (in this case, charge to 60% before 2:00 PM), the car doesn't start charging (there is a "Waiting for autorisation" message on the right side). When I manually put it to Fast or Min+Solar the car does start charging.

[mfuchs1984]

The charger's ocpp implementation has few more issues.

• It initially only reports Energy.Active.Import.Resister as available meter. When evcc tries to enable the measurands current, power etc., it rejects them with "NotSupported". Before charging starts, it does not report meterValues at all, but after, ist suddenly starts reporting all the measurands that it initially rejected as not supported.
• Concerning the status, it also goes back to Preparing when stopping charging with a ChargingProfile with 0 Ampere, while it should go to SuspendedEVSE.

It should be still usable, but you will never see actual measured charge power and you will see the "waiting for authorization" hint often. Maybe it is worth reporting the ocpp issues to the vendor.

[scruysberghs]

you are right about the planning needing Solar mode to be set. The UI even indicates that when setting the plan but I somehow missed it.
`
You say :

you will never see actual measured charge power

But as you say, evcc does report charging power while charging.

ocpp  ] TRACE 2024/12/08 18:03:06 send XCJ00003215001CC: [3,"6378",{}]
[ocpp  ] TRACE 2024/12/08 18:03:07 recv XCJ00003215001CC: [2,"6379","MeterValues",{"connectorId":1,"transactionId":1733674350,"meterValue":[{"timestamp":"2024-12-08T17:03:05Z","sampledValue":[{"value":"95","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Energy.Active.Import.Register","unit":"Wh"},{"value":"5.87","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Current.Import","phase":"L1","unit":"A"},{"value":"5.96","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Current.Import","phase":"L2","unit":"A"},{"value":"5.91","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Current.Import","phase":"L3","unit":"A"},{"value":"222.7","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Voltage","phase":"L1","unit":"V"},{"value":"225.4","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Voltage","phase":"L2","unit":"V"},{"value":"227.4","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Voltage","phase":"L3","unit":"V"},{"value":"1301","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Power.Active.Import","phase":"L1","unit":"W"},{"value":"1350","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Power.Active.Import","phase":"L2","unit":"W"},{"value":"1325","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Power.Active.Import","phase":"L3","unit":"W"},{"value":"19.0","context":"Sample.Periodic","format":"Raw","measurand":"Temperature","unit":"Celsius"}]}]}]
[ocpp  ] TRACE 2024/12/08 18:03:07 send XCJ00003215001CC: [3,"6379",{}]
[site  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 ----
[lp-1  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 charge power: 4140W
[circuit-main] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 power: 4W
[circuit-main] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 current: 4.3A
[site  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 grid power: 4W
[site  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 pv power: 0W
[site  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 battery soc: 61%
[site  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 battery power: 6352W
[site  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 grid currents: [2.4 4.3 2.4]A
[site  ] DEBUG 2024/12/08 18:03:10 site power: 6456W

So I guess it is indeed usable. Lets see if the connection drops out during the night as I now have a plan setup that should charge the car during cheapest hours coming night.

[mfuchs1984]

Evcc just falls back to the set power, 63230=4140W. The charger reports 1301+1350+1325=3976W in this moment. So it is usable but not 100% precise.

[mfuchs1984]

With the next evcc version, you can try to enforce using the metervalues it rejects but still reports, see #18217

[scruysberghs]

oh nice, but the Growatt ocpp integration proved to be too unstable to use and I kind of gave up and went back to using their app.
As in it always worked for a while but but then would lose connection alltoghether and needing a reboot of charging station and a evcc restart to get things working again. Never had it actually stay connected long enough to start a planned session.

[scruysberghs]

I reported the OCPP problems to Growatt support and they responded with a link to their cloud API. https://www.showdoc.com.cn/2590408859077035/11521004223050041
Had a quick look and it seems everything could be there to make a working evcc integration. Not my ambition to work on integrating this into evcc at the moment but I'll leave the link here in case anyone wants to have a go in the future.

[mfuchs1984]

In case your charger works better with the Home Assistant ocpp integration, you can try #18414.

[scruysberghs]

nice, I might give that a try. I have done and posted something similar about using home assistant devices as a custom charger in the past (in my case a Zigbee smart switch) #16312 (reply in thread)

[mfuchs1984]

Feedback is welcome, happy to help in case of questions.

[scruysberghs]

hi @mfuchs1984 , do you happen to know if the OCPP template in evcc has support for charging stations with multiple connectors that share a CPO endpoint (so only OCPP backend for 2 connectors in this case). The Home Assistant OCPP integration doesn't support it yet.

[mfuchs1984]

It does, but I am not sure if anyone tested it yet. You need to configure two chargers with the same stationId and connector 1 and 2.

[mfuchs1984]

This just changed, here is a success report #15677 (comment)