OpenEVSE Charger Setup

The built-in OpenEVSE integration connects Home Assistant to an OpenEVSE charging station over the local network, with no cloud account. The charger pushes each change over a WebSocket as it happens. Home Assistant can read the session and lifetime energy, set the charge current, and start or pause charging.

Before You Start

1. Have the charger installed and commissioned by an electrician, with its maximum current set for the circuit in the charger’s Installer Tools.
2. Reserve its IP address. Reserve the charger’s address in the router.

Step 1: Connect the Charger to Wi-Fi

1. Power the charger. Out of the box, it opens a Wi-Fi network named OpenEVSE_XXXX.
2. Join it from a phone or laptop with the password openevse. If the setup page does not open, go to http://192.168.4.1.
3. Choose the home Wi-Fi network and enter its password.
4. Rejoin the home network and open http://openevse-XXXX.local, or the charger’s IP address. Follow the first-run wizard for the charge current and time zone.

Then, in the charger’s web interface:

• Set an admin username and password under Settings > HTTP. Without them, anyone on the network can control the charger.
• Update the firmware under Settings > Firmware. The Override state used below needs version 4.0.1 or later.

Step 2: Add the Charger to Home Assistant

1. Go to Settings > Devices & Services. The charger usually appears under Discovered as OpenEVSE. Select Add. Otherwise, select Add Integration, search for OpenEVSE, and enter its IP address.
2. Enter the admin username and password from Step 1.
3. Assign the charger to an area.

The charger appears with its charging status, power, session and lifetime energy, a Charge rate number, a Vehicle connected sensor, the Manual override and Solar PV divert switches, and an Override state select.

For the Energy dashboard, add the Total energy usage sensor under Individual devices.

Step 3: Make a Start and Stop Switch

The charger’s Manual override switch is not a start and stop switch. Turning it on creates an override opposite to what the charger is doing at that moment, so it can pause a session as easily as start one. Turning it off hands control back to the charger’s own settings, which may charge again. Do not pick it as the recipe’s charger switch.

Use the Override state select instead, through a template switch, and set the charger to stay off unless something asks it to charge:

1. In the charger’s web interface, open the Charge Manager, select the pencil on the Station card, and set the Default state to disabled.

2. In Home Assistant, go to Settings > Devices & Services > Helpers > Create helper > Template > Template a switch, and name it, for example, EV charger.

3. Set the state template, replacing the entity ID with the charger’s:

   {{ is_state('select.openevse_override_state', 'active') }}
   

4. For Actions on turn on, select the option Active on the Override state select. For Actions on turn off, select Auto.

Turning the switch on starts charging. Turning it off clears the override, and the charger returns to its default state, disabled, unless something else is in control: a Charge rule in the Charge Manager, such as an off-peak window, keeps working on its own.

That is deliberate, so overnight charging still works, but it means the switch only stops charging outside the charger’s Charge rules. Keep those rules outside the hours of solar production, and leave the charger’s Eco mode and any OCPP or MQTT control off.

Tell the customer about the change: once the default state is disabled, plugging in the car no longer starts charging unless a rule, the template switch, or the On button in the charger’s interface says so.

Use It With Solar-Surplus EV Charging

In the Solar Surplus EV Charging recipe, pick the template switch from Step 3 as the EV charger. The recipe then starts and stops sessions with the surplus, at the current set by the Charge rate.

The charger also has a solar divert mode of its own, Eco, which follows the surplus by changing the charge current rather than only starting and stopping. It needs a live solar or grid feed that Home Assistant does not send: the Solar PV divert switch only turns the mode on and off. Use either the recipe or Eco mode, not both, since they would fight over the same sessions.

Network Access

• From Home Assistant to the charger: HTTP, on TCP 80 by default, which carries the WebSocket too.
• From the charger to the internet: not needed by Home Assistant. The charger uses it for the time and for firmware update checks.

Discovery uses mDNS, which does not cross VLANs on its own. On a separate IoT network, add the charger by its IP address.

Troubleshooting

1. “Failed to connect”. Open the charger’s web interface from a device on the Hub’s network. If it does not load, the problem is the network or the charger’s Wi-Fi signal, not Home Assistant.
2. “Invalid authentication”. Enter the username and password set under Settings > HTTP.
3. Charging starts again by itself after the recipe stops it. Something else is asking the charger to charge: the Default state is still active, a Charge rule is running, or Eco mode, OCPP, or MQTT is in control. The charger’s Charge Manager lists the claims in control at the bottom of the screen. Also check that the recipe uses the template switch, not Manual override.
4. The Override state select is missing or unavailable. It needs firmware 4.0.1 or later. On newer firmware, check that the charger is reachable and that its credentials are still valid.
5. The charge rate cannot go higher. The maximum comes from the charger’s installer settings, which match the circuit. Only an electrician should raise it.