Hi,
I am currently considering a Chinese EVSE that seems good value for money.
This EVSE will possibly be part of a bulk buy in conjunction with our local Community owned energy reseller ´Enova Energy´ based in Byron Bay, NSW, Australia (as part of our bulk buy used Nissan Leaf EV buy).
The reason I am attracted to this charger is it has the option of OCPP, which will give Enova the option of Load shedding during periods of excessive use.
My Solar PV system is too complicated to use the simple DLB monitoring box that this Beny EVSE can use that connects to the EVSE with RS485 & has Current transformers for Solar PV & house supply line to maximise PV usage (& other options). I guess this box communicates with Modbus (why would they use another protocol?), so I may be able to capture the Serial stream to decode it, with a view of directly controlling the Beny EVSE with a DIY interface system (probably rPi) from my EmonCMS server.
I know these EVSEs are sold in Europe, so I was wondering if anyone had looked at one?
I am looking at installing the sample we buy to check it out. Once installed, I can have a play!
I actually got an OCPP version of the ZJBeny charger (BCP A2N-L international model: The English one adds a ´P´ for Pen fault detection)
Well, got it working: I built a SteVe datbase to interface it. Had some interesting issues: the Wifi only talks WSP or WPA so hopefully Beny will upgrade that. I am still running the old firmware 1.0.7, & waiting for the updated firmware (1.0.9?)
Otherwise works well. I have not set up the DLB (dynamic Load Box) yet, mainly because the charger is 40M + from the Power box & inverters,. etc. (RS485 cable so achievable tho). I want to emulate the DLB with software & integrate it with EmonCMS. Currently waiting for the APIs that Beny have promised.
Hi, mate. Did you use any special trick to connect it to wifi? I tried WPA2 (home) with no luck. I also tried to connect it using WPS. I managed to update the bios via Bluetooth, but wifi is still impossible. I set my router to 2.4Ghz and WPA+WPA2 mode. The only thing I still have to try is to change the SSID to something simpler (currently is LUX 2.4).
On Tue, 11 Jul 2023 08:19:37 +0000
Security is poor on the Beny. Only uses basic WIFI security.
What I did was to use an old Wifi router as an AP to talk to the Beny. This has been a reliable solution.
What version of the Beny do you have? if the BCP-A2N OCPP charge, you will want to upgrade the firmware. Mine was running 1.0.15, but I just upgraded to 1.0.26. I am still waiting on the upgraded Docs to see if the Wifi has been upgraded (hopefully it has).
The OCPP HA (Home Assistant) software module works well.
If you only have the ‘Smart’ ver of the charger, I am not sure how you can interface it. I do have the RS485 comms info so you could emulate the DLB box (of which the early ones apparently did not work very well from stories on the net), but a rPi emulation would not be hard to organise if you are handy. (OCPP is much easier).
Thanks for the super quick response! Mine is the BCP-B2N-L and it’s a “smart” one. I also got the latest firmware 1.0.26. I tried connecting to my Google wifi and to a 3 yo Vodafone modem. I’ll try to borrow the cheesiest router from work and see if it works.
Thanks again, mate. Cheers.
Antonio, unfortunately, the OCPP version of the ZJBeny charger is different (controller HW) to the ´smart´ version.
I have obtained the info on the RS485 API, & it might be possible to emulate the DLB (hence control the charger).
You would need to ask Beny (who are quite helpful) if any OCPP is intended for the ´smart´ charger.
I chose the OCPP version because it has more options for control by Home Assistant. There is an OCPP module that emulates StEVe.
Hope that helps. btw, make sure you update the charger firmware. The newer versions have improved the charger (at least with the OCPP version in my case).
For future reference: I just wanted to share with you that I made Home Assistant integration for ZJ Beny chargers, it works with the ‘smart’ version of the charger. (at least with my unit)
For the record, the OCPP version of the ZJBeny works with the OCPP integration. My model is
BCP-2ANL. Also ZJBeny Firmware is on http://106.15.78.131. I am not sure if the current
version of the ´Smart´ ZJBeny charger has OCPP integration. They seem a reliable, well priced
Charger, but not yet bi-directional. The only complaint I have is the wireless firmware is
not very secure. I set a separate interface up on my (OpenWRT) router that only has one MAC enabled.
I have configured iot VLAN-section and restricted there device access to internet and to each other as well. Only the ones needing to communicate with charger are allowed (phones and Home Assistant).
Beny’s security is really maybe it’s weakest selling point. There is possibility to set pin code in ZBox app, but it seems to be only locally stored and used, charger itself does not authenticate clients at all
That is why it was possible to sniff traffic with Wireshark and figure out the communication between app and device
