Neil Turner

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

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A photo of the guide and tally chart for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

If you have a garden, and a spare hour this weekend, you could take part in the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch. It’s a citizen science project that allows the RSPB insights into which birds are most common in British gardens, and identify trends over time.

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch normally takes place on the last weekend of every January. Anyone with a garden can take part – you don’t need to be an RSPB member. In fact, even if you don’t have a garden, you could go to a public park, or monitor a shared space from a balcony. The aim is that you record the birds that land in the space during a one hour period.

If you’re really keen, you can count the birds in more than one place. For example, if you have both a front and a back garden, you could spend an hour counting birds in one, and then a second hour counting the birds in another. The key aim of the Big Garden Birdwatch is that as many open spaces as possible are monitored, for an hour each, over the course of three days.

How to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch

You don’t need to be a knowledgable birdwatcher to take part. We signed up some time ago, and so the RSPB sent us a pack in the post (pictured above). It’s a bit late for posting things now, so there’s a downloadable PDF which includes the most common species of bird that you’re likely to see. You can tick them off – but remember to count how many of each species you see too.

After the hour is over, you can submit your results online. The form will be open until the 22nd February, so there’s no rush. You can also post your results to the RSPB, but the form is quicker and will accept a wider list of birds. So if you’ve been really lucky and spotted (for example) a jay or a sparrowhawk, then you’re probably better submitting online. We’ve previously had both in our garden, but not during a Big Garden Birdwatch session.

Solar panels – a 3 year retrospective

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A screenshot of the spreadsheet that I am using to track solar panel savings

Roughly three years ago to the day, we invested in a set of solar panels, along with an inverter and battery. Although I did a two year review last year, I’ve decided to do another one as we’ve reached the point where we’ve recouped 25% of our initial investment.

Back in 2023, the system we had installed cost around £11,000. We paid for most of it out of savings, topped up with a contribution from my parents and the rest was borrowed. We finished paying off the borrowed money at the end of 2024. So, on the basis that it has taken us three years to get to 25%, it means the full return on investment will probably take another 9 years. By then, we’ll still have a couple of years left on the mortgage, and our ten-year-old may or may not have left home by then.

Our system is from SolaX, and although they provide an app, I also transpose the data each month into a spreadsheet. What is notable is that 2023 was our best year – for example, in May 2023, our total savings were £136.78, made up of £85.90 of saved electricity and £50.88 of exported electricity. Over the course of the entire year, we saved £855.45.

Savings in 2024 were lower – £750.79. And last year was only a few pence higher at £750.96. Indeed, the weather last month was pretty terrible, as we only saved £11.43 and didn’t export anything. Suffice to say, we’ve already saved more this month with several days left to go. On average, our system saves us £65.48 per month on our electricity bill, and in some of the summer months, we actually get a net negative electricity bill as we export more than we use.

One thing we haven’t yet done is have our solar panels cleaned. It may be that, after being cleaned, they may allow more light in. However, having spoken to others online, they’ve found that it makes very little difference.

I think it’s important to be open about the savings we’re making. Whilst prices have come down – a similar system may cost around £9000 now – getting solar is a big investment, especially when paired with a battery. As such, I hope this information is useful if you’re considering getting solar and have a suitable property.

2026 vs 2016

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Side by side photos of me in 2016 and 2026 (almost)

There seems to be some nostalgia for 2016 at the moment. It mostly seems to be about the music of 2016, but apparently it’s also because people have started putting filters on their TikTok videos like we used to with Instagram photos in 2016.

I did a review of 2016 at the time, so you can read that, I suppose. 10 years ago, our 10-year-old was, well, a newborn baby, and so whilst they were born in 2015, most of the first year of their life fell in 2016. So it was quite a memorable year for us in that sense.

2015 had been a big year – we’d bought a house, I passed my driving test and bought a car, and we became a family of three. So 2016 was more of a consolidation year, with Christine on maternity leave for the first half (and me having the whole of January off on paternity and annual leave). I changed jobs twice – securing a secondment doing timetabling in early February, and then moving to a new permanent role in August. I’m (essentially) still in that role now.

Our house that we bought in 2015 was (and to some extent still is) a work in progress, and so in 2016 we had a downstairs bathroom installed, along with a new boiler and a Nest thermostat – our first piece of smart home technology. And despite having a small child, we did manage some trips – I went to London twice, we had an overnight trip to Liverpool, we went to see two friends get married up near Durham and had a day out in Oxford.

The photo at the top is a then-and-now comparison; not having a newborn means I’m less tired, but I’m a little wider nowadays and need to wear glasses. Also, there’s quite the difference between the front facing camera on the iPhone 5S (2016) and the iPhone 13 Mini (2026).

So on the whole, at least for us, it was a good year. Although the Brexit referendum, Trump’s first election and all the celebrities who died that year were less good outcomes.

Hidden motorway services

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Today I’m written about ‘hidden’ motorway service stations. These are places which offer most, if not all of the facilities of standard motorway services, but they’re typically not signposted from the road.

M1 – Markham Vale Services

There’s one that we’ve used a couple of times at Markham Vale on the M1 – most recently on our way back from Hardwick Hall earlier this month. Like the other hidden motorway services that I’ll mention here, this is built at an existing junction, in this case Junction 29A. As you may gather from the ‘A’ in the junction number, this isn’t one of the original M1 junctions. It was added in the 2000s to improve access to the Markham Vale Employment Growth Zone, and so the area is mostly offices and warehouses.

But a strip of land next to the motorway is now home to Markham Vale services. Unlike typical motorway service stations, there isn’t one single amenity building. Instead, it’s a cluster of separate buildings with their own car parks. There’s a fuel station, a small Asda, a Starbucks, a KFC, a McDonalds, a local fish and chip shop and a pub. Of these food outlets, all of them (except the pub) offer drive-through service as well. I’m not sure a drive-through pub would be a good idea. Most of these are operated by EG (formerly Eurogarages).

For electric vehicle owners, there are three separate sets of chargers, on the EV Point, Osprey and Instavolt networks, and they all happen to charge slightly different prices. When we were there, EV Point was cheaper, by 10p per kWh, than the others. Across the road, Gridserve are building one of their ‘electric forecourts’ which may open soon as well. That’ll offer 25 rapid chargers and its own amenities, as well as a children’s playground.

Because there’s not one central building, and because it’s not signposted, it’s a bit quieter than others. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and it was moderately peaceful. If you’re sensitive to noise and don’t like big echo-y spaces, then somewhere like this may be preferable.

There used to be a huge totem sign next to the fuel station that was viewable from the M1, but this seems to have been removed in recent years.

M62 – Plantation services at Gildersome

A little closer to home is at Gildersome interchange, or Junction 27 of the M62. It’s where the M621 splits off towards Leeds, and, to the south, is home to Birstall retail park and Ikea.

But to the north of the junction, just off the A650, is another EG site, which calls itself ‘Plantation Services’. Again, there’s a fuel station with a small supermarket – currently Spar, but EG is under the same ownership as Asda, so it could change. There’s also a Greggs, a Subway, a Starbucks and a Popeyes Chicken.

For electric vehicles, there are several chargers on the EV On The Move network.

It’s a compact site, but it’s easy to get back onto the M62 (or M621) after using it.

M62 – Chain Bar services

Going back a junction, to junction 26, there’s also a smaller hidden service station here as well. Junction 26 is where the M606 heads off towards Bradford, but there’s also a massive roundabout here too.

Just off this roundabout, on the A58, is a small site with a Starbucks, a Greggs and a Subway. There isn’t anywhere to get fuel here, but there are rapid chargers, again on the EV On The Move network. It therefore won’t surprise you to learn that this is also an EG site, who call it ‘Cleckheaton Services’.

Separately, but a little further down the road, is a pub with more rapid chargers (Osprey network), and across the road is a Premier Inn and another pub.

A1 (M) – Coneygarth services

This is a bit of a cheeky one. Coneygarth services is located at Junction 51, which is also the nearest junction to Leeming Bar Rest Area. However, whilst Leeming Bar is officially signposted from the motorway, Coneygarth is merely marked out as a ‘truck stop’. That doesn’t mean that it’s restricted to trucks though – cars can use it as well, and there’s fuel, car chargers, a Londis shop and a Subway available.

Here’s why it’s cheeky. The ‘rest area’ at Leeming Bar pre-dates this section of the A1 being converted to motorway in the 2010s. As motorway junctions are more spaced out, traffic heading to Leeming Bar rest area has to leave at junction 51 and then travel around a mile along an access road. Coneygarth services was then established at the junction, and so you could just call here, rather than take a longer detour to Leeming Bar.

Also, Leeming Bar is generally regarded as being the worst in the UK. The fact that it is considered a ‘rest area’ rather than a full services should be a clue; we had the misfortune of calling there on a baking hot afternoon in 2024. There’s literally just a Costa, a hidden-away McDonald’s, a fuel station and some car chargers. The main amenity building, which once hosted a hotel, is derelict, and has been for some time.

Advantages of ‘hidden’ motorway services

I’ve just listed three examples that I’m aware of, but there will undoubtedly be others. Indeed, as building a few electric vehicle chargers is much easier than a whole fuel station, I imagine we’ll see more of these pop up alongside motorway junctions where the land is available.

Because they’re not signposted from the motorways themselves, they tend to be quieter. This is especially true of those that you can’t see whilst driving, as you need to know that they’re there. That may also mean that the fuel is cheaper, and that you can charge your electric car more cheaply too.

You may also find a different range of food options available. If you’re planning a longer stop, you could have a nice pub lunch at Markham Vale. Very few ‘official’ motorway services have pubs – Beaconsfield services on the M40 had a Wetherspoons until 2022. Of course, you absolutely should never drink and drive.

I suppose the disadvantages are a narrower range of shops or food outlets, and that they’re more spread out. Not so good if it’s raining.

Hardwick Hall

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A photo of the outside of Hardwick Hall

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. It’s a National Trust property to the east of Chesterfield, and I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of it until a few weeks ago.

I came across it via this YouTube video from Auto Shenanigans. The M1 passes by Hardwick Hall, and when it was upgraded to be a ‘smart’ motorway a few years ago, the National Trust insisted that the new gantries must be painted brown, to blend in better. Anyway, it turns out Hardwick Hall is doable as a day trip for us, even though I didn’t include it in my list from last year. And, it’s something of a new year’s resolution for me to visit more National Trust places this year, so that we make the most of our annual membership.

History of Hardwick Hall

You can read a more detailed history of Hardwick Hall on the National Trust web site, but the building owes much of its design to Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury who lived in the Elizabethan period. She was more commonly known as ‘Bess of Hardwick’, and her initials ‘ES’ appear all over the building. She had four husbands during her life, the second of which was William Cavendish. If the Cavendish name sounds familiar, it’s because the Cavendish family owned nearby Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey. Indeed, following Bess’ death in 1607, the hall passed to the Cavendish family’s ownership, where it remained until after the Second World War. Faced with a large tax bill, the Cavendish family bequeathed Hardwick Hall to the National Trust in 1956.

More recently, Hardwick Hall has been used as a filming location. You may recognise it as ‘Malfoy Manor’ in the film adaptations of the books-that-shall-not-be-named.

Nowadays, it is one of the National Trust’s ‘top tier’ properties, and so there are regular events there during school holidays. We visited towards the end of ‘Wintertide’, which saw the rooms decorated for an Elizabethan winter and a seasonable tale of mischief installed throughout the house and gardens. During the half term break next month, there’s a planned Valentines event for kids.

Hardwick Old Hall

On the same site are the remnants of an older grand house, now known as Hardwick Old Hall. Most of the outer walls remain, but there’s no overall roof or window panes. It didn’t burn down; instead, the stonework was gradually removed and shipped over to Chatsworth to support work there. It would have been cheaper to use existing carved stones, than to have new stone quarried. Whilst the wider Hardwick site is managed by the National Trust, Hardwick Old Hall is in the care of English Heritage. It was closed when we went, but re-opens in February.

Gardens and estate

The Hardwick estate covers around 2500 acres of parkland, and there are a number of signposted walks. This includes a sculpture walk, which we would have considered doing on a warmer day but decided not to.

The formal gardens around the house are enclosed within walls, and will probably look fabulous later in the year. Alas, there’s not much to see mid-winter,

Accessibility

There are two car parks at Hardwick Hall; the main one, close to the hall and the stableyard, and a second one at Hardwick Park Centre which is further away and down a hill. If you have accessibility needs, park at the main car park; there is also an accessible buggy that can take visitors to the hall. The stableyard includes a Changing Places toilet.

At present, there is one electric vehicle charging socket in the lower car park (type 2). Planning permission for chargers in the main car park has apparently been granted, but work hadn’t started yet as I type this.

Google Maps gave up when I asked it to work out public transport directions to Hardwick Hall; there doesn’t appear to be any local bus services and the nearest railway station is in Chesterfield.

Entry to the whole site is free for National Trust members, and English Heritage members get free entry to both Hardwick Hall itself and Hardwick Old Hall. A cheaper ticket that just covers the estate and stableyard (not the houses or gardens) is also available to non-members.

24th blogiversary

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Every year on the 14th January, I mark the anniversary of my first blog post from 2002. Which is today, and so it’s been 24 years since I started blogging.

That being said, I took a four year gap between 2018 and 2022, so you could argue that I’ve ‘only’ been blogging for 20 years. Still, that’s a long time, and way more than half of my life.

Since 2002, I’ve sat my A-level exams, started and finished university, moved out of my parents’ house, got married, passed my driving test, bought a house, started a family and settled into a career. The me that started this blog aged 17 is very different to the 41 year old me that writes this nowadays.

And yet, some things haven’t changed much. The blog has always been hosted on web sites running the Apache HTTP Server on Linux, for example. The tools have changed, but not much – first Blogger for a few months, then Movable Type and more recently WordPress. Data has been stored in either a MySQL or MariaDB database for over 20 years.

I no longer publish multiple blog posts per day – Twitter, and later Bluesky fill this role now. Instead, I aim to publish a new blog post every other day but most blog posts are written at least a few days in advance and usually in bulk. Back in 2002, scheduling posts wasn’t really a thing – you just wrote some words down and published them. Also, this was before web browsers routinely included spellcheckers.

I’m not planning to quit blogging any time soon, so, fingers crossed, I’ll be able to post about the big 25 next January. If you fancy it, here are links to previous blogiversary posts from 2025, 2024, 2023, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2007, 2006, 2004 and 2003.

Comparing ESPHome and Tasmota

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A photo of a Coosa smart plug, originally running Tuya firmware, and a USB to UART converter. This now runs ESPHome firmware.

If you’re looking for custom firmware for your devices with an Espressif ESP chip, then two of your options are ESPHome and Tasmota. I’ve used both – first Tasmota and later ESPHome – on some smart plugs that used to run Tuya firmware.

I’m going to share my experience with both and highlight the strengths of each. Other ESP firmwares are available, but for this I’m just going to focus on comparing ESPHome and Tasmota.

Tasmota is easier to install

If you’re new to installing custom firmware, then Tasmota is the easiest to install. This is because you first install Tasmota on the device, and then configure it using a web interface on the device after installation.

With ESPHome, the configuration is done first, using a YAML file. You then have to compile a binary and install this on the device. This can mean some trial and error with getting the configuration right.

Tasmota has more device templates

This directory has Tasmota templates for almost 3000 devices. If you can find your device there, then you can install Tasmota, copy and paste the template, and off you go. Meanwhile, the ESPHome Device Database only has 650 devices with pre-made configurations.

ESPHome may be easier to update

If you’re running Tasmota on an older ESP8266 device, then it can be a pain to update. This is because of the limited storage space on ESP8266 devices and the size of the Tasmota binaries – there isn’t enough space to store the current and new firmware side-by-side. Instead, you have to install a ‘minimal’ version of Tasmota, and then install the new full version as a two step process.

Because the ESPHome Device Builder compiles the firmware specifically for each device, it’s smaller and so can be updated over-the-air more easily.

This shouldn’t be an issue with newer ESP32 chips, as these have more storage and so updating Tasmota should be easier.

ESPHome is updated more regularly

It’s a good thing that ESPHome updates more easily, because updates are also more regular. Normally there’s a big update every other month, and smaller bugfix updates most weeks. It also has a much larger developer community.

Tasmota receives updates less often, and its development is largely led by just one lead person.

ESPHome supports more DIY devices

Whilst Tasmota is generally used to convert existing devices with ESP chips, ESPHome is more suited to DIY projects that you can make yourself. For example, you could build your own thermostat, a miniature weather station or control your blinds. With the right boards and cables, you can build and automate lots of things using ESPHome that Tasmota may not support.

ESPHome integrates better with Home Assistant

Being both projects of the Open Home Foundation, ESPHome has better integration with Home Assistant. You can run the ESPHome Device Builder as a Home Assistant add-on, and devices should show up without much additional configuration.

Tasmota works over MQTT, so you have to set up an MQTT Broker like Mosquitto in Home Assistant first, and then configure your Tasmota devices to use it. You also have to enable an option using the device’s command line to allow Home Assistant to discover the devices.

In summary

Whether you want to use Tasmota or ESPHome will depend on your use case:

  • If you’re relatively new to all this, or are replacing the firmware on an existing device, Tasmota may be best for you as it’ll be easier to install and configure.
  • If you’re a more advance user, or have built a DIY device that requires functionality not normally supported by Tasmota, then you should use ESPHome.

Visiting the seals at Flamborough Head

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A photo of Flamborough Head, showing a cove with a beach that is full of resting seals

Every autumn, for the past few years, a large group of Atlantic grey seals make a temporary home on one of the beaches at Flamborough Head for breeding. And over the Christmas break, we popped along to see them.

The seals haven’t always gravitated to Flamborough. It’s only been in the past few years that they have appeared there. I used to go to Flamborough quite a bit when I was younger, as my paternal grandparents lived nearby and my Dad was brought up in nearby Bridlington. It may be a sign of a stronger seal population.

The best time to visit is really in October and November. This is the core breeding season, and so you are more likely to see seal cubs at this time. By the time we visited in late December, most of the cubs were mostly or fully grown. Still, there were probably 50-60 seals there – more than we saw on the Farne Islands in 2024.

Access down to the cove, where most of the seals congregate, is restricted. The population is being monitored by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and we saw signage from the University of Hull’s marine biology unit who are involved in research there. However, you get a good view of them from a safe distance from the headlands.

A young seal sleeping on the beach at Flamborough Head

Accessibility

We parked at the Flamborough Head and Lighthouse car park, which is the nearest car park. It’s pay and display, or you can pay on the MiPermit app. Electric vehicle charging isn’t currently available in the car park – we used a rapid charger at the Co-op supermarket in the nearby village of Sewerby.

From the car park, there are unpaved footpaths down to the cliff edge. These are uneven and a little steep in places, and probably not suitable for wheelchairs. Also be aware that the cliff edge doesn’t have any railings or barriers, so bear this in mind if you have young children or dogs with you.

Bridlington is the nearest town with a railway station; from there, you’ll need to catch the number 14 ‘Coaster’ service which runs hourly and can drop you in Flamborough village. From there, it’s about a 10 minute walk.

Other things to see

Flamborough Head in itself is interesting from a geology perspective, as it’s a relatively hard chunk of chalk in an area where most of the nearby coastline is eroding away. You can tell that I studied this for A-level Geography, can’t you?

There is a café at the car park – we stopped there for lunch on our visit. I bet they’re glad that the seals are providing extra custom in the winter.

Flamborough actually has two lighthouses. The one that is currently in use dates from the early 19th century, although it’s now completely automated. It used to be open for tours, but it’s not open at present. The second is slightly further inland and known as the Chalk Tower – it’s the oldest surviving complete lighthouse in England and is now grade II* listed.

Nearby is Sewerby Hall, which is a manor house, gardens, and small zoo, and to the north is RSPB Bempton Cliffs. Plus, there are all the attractions in the seaside town of Bridlington, further along the coast.

New year, new server image

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Last week, I upgraded the server that this site runs on to Debian 13 (also known as Trixie), and the corresponding version of Sympl. This ended up being a fresh installation of Debian; I tried and in-place upgrade and, well, let’s just say it went badly wrong and the virtual machine wouldn’t boot. Whoops.

A sign that I only partially learn from my mistakes is that this is basically what happened when I lost everything in 2018. However, this time I did have backups, thanks to the UpDraft Plus WordPress plugin. And, whilst I didn’t do a backup immediately before the aborted upgrade like I should have done, I did have one that was only about a week out of date. Furthermore, this included some blog posts that were written but not yet published at the time, so I didn’t even lose those. Phew.

The upgrade to Debian 13 means that I’m running a newer version of PHP. Debian 12 ships with PHP 8.2 and I had added a custom repository to upgrade this to PHP 8.3. Debian 13 includes PHP 8.4, and so I no longer get a warning message in WordPress’ Site Health checker. It’s not the latest version – that’s PHP 8.5 – but it’s newer.

The existing server image had been in place for just over a year, when I moved from Bytemark to Hosting UK, and the last time I upgraded Debian was in 2023. Doing a fresh install every now and again should help to keep things running better, hopefully.

Hopefully, you won’t notice anything different about the blog, apart from some of the sidebar widgets missing. I’ll get these restored in time.

How to: Connect a Rolec EVO car charger to Home Assistant

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Screenshot of the Monta HACS integration in Home Assistant showing a Rolec EVO charger

Back in May, ahead of buying our electric car, we had a Rolec EVO electric car charger installed outside our house. Since then, we’ve been using the standard Rolec EVO app that comes with it, but recently I’ve switched it to using the Monta app and its Home Assistant integration. Here’s how,and why I did it.

Why I needed to change to Monta

As I write this, there doesn’t appear to be a public API for Rolec’s charge point back office system. The Rolec EVO charger in particular is relatively new to the market, and so I’m not aware that anyone has found a way to integrate this with Home Assistant through other means.

However, like many chargers, the Rolec EVO charger supports OCPP. This means that you can change which back office system your charger talks to, and I’ve specifically chosen Monta because it offers a public API. And, because someone has developed a custom Home Assistant integration that can be installed from HACS.

Aside from this, the Monta Charge app is better, in my opinion – it supports Live Activities on iOS, so you can monitor your car’s charging progress on your phone’s lock screen. You can also make your charger public and allow people to pay to use it, if you wish.

Changing the OCPP provider

Part of the reason why it’s taken me until now to do this, was because I couldn’t work out how to change the OCPP provider. There’s no option to do so on the standard Rolec EVO app, and I tried setting it up using the app in the Monta integration guide, but that didn’t work either.

However, I came across a thread on the SpeakEV forums that made me aware of a third Rolec app. Confusingly, this is called ‘Rolec Connect’ (with a black icon) rather than the ‘Rolec EV Connect’ app (with a green icon) that I was using previously.

Once you’ve installed the Rolec Connect app, it’ll ask for your name and email address. This needs to be a valid email address, as you’ll be sent a link that you need to click on, but you might be able to get away with using Sharklasers.

You then choose the type of charger, and then need to place yourself within Bluetooth range of it. I apologise in advance if you’ve got this far and it turns out to be cold, dark and raining when you read this, but you can’t do this over Wi-Fi. You’ll be asked for a PIN code; mine was printed in the manual.

Once connected, on the second tab, you can change the provider. The good news is that you can simply select ‘Monta’ from the drop-down list, and continue. Leave every other field blank, but make a note of your charger’s serial number – mine was in the format of Rolec_XXX12345. You’ll need this later.

Add your Rolec EVO to Monta

Your charger should now be talking to Monta’s servers, rather than Rolec’s. Next, you’ll need to create a Monta account; I already had one, as Monta has a network of public chargers including the one we used at Portmeirion in Wales.

The guide to follow is here; I found that I had to enter the serial number manually, but hopefully it’ll read the QR code on the outside. If all goes well, the app will be able to connect to your Rolec EVO charger, and you’re done. From now on, you’ll need to use the Monta Charge app to manage your charger; the Rolec EVO app will now only work via Bluetooth as you’ve severed its internet connection to Rolec’s OCPP server.

Install the Home Assistant integration

Finally, you need to install the Monta integration from HACS. Whilst it’s not an official integration, it is linked from the Monta API documentation, and it’s regularly updated with a major new release just a few weeks ago. As with all new integrations from HACS, you’ll need to restart Home Assistant before you can add your charger.

Once you have restarted, add the Monta integration as you would any other. It’ll ask for a Client ID and Client Secret, which you can get from this page. I would leave the rest of the values as is, and that should be it. Your Rolec EVO charger now appears in Home Assistant!

This means you can use Home Assistant to start and stop charges, view the charging status, and have the energy usage appear on your Energy Dashboard. That also means you can build in automations; for example, if you’re able to access your car’s charge status, you could stop charging at, say 80%. I use the Nissan Connect integration from HACS for this.

Going fully local

The great thing about OCPP is that it’s an open standard, and so it’s supported by a range of back office suppliers with Monta being just one. Should Rolec or Monta go bust, then I can easily switch my charger to a different OCPP server and carry on using it. That’s not an unfounded fear: another EV charger manufacturer, Simpson & Partners, were in administration last year, although they seem to be running again.

If I wanted, I could self-host my own OCPP server and have everything running locally at home, with no dependencies on third-party cloud services. Again in HACS, there’s a OCPP Server for Home Assistant, and it supports the Rolec EVO charger amongst a range of others from other manufacturers. I’m not quite at that stage yet, as it would mean I would have to manage charging solely through the Home Assistant app. Although I did come across this ESPHome project for a hardware control using an m5stack Dial (looks a bit like a Nest thermostat) which could be something to consider.

A bigger project would be to build a new integration that allows communication between Home Assistant and the Rolec EVO charger via Bluetooth. That would require me learning Python, and another Bluetooth proxy, but it would at least work without needing to change the OCPP server.