alfen

Alfen

This program aims at reading information from an Alfen charging station (NG9xx series). In our home, this Alfen Eve Single S-line aims at charging our electric vehicle.

Data are read through Modbus TCP. An IP address is then required to reach the Alfen charging station. The port 502 must be opened. Configuration is explained in the documentation (see the doc directory).

Installation

The program is written in Rust. Just clone the program, and run:

$ cargo build --release

The executable binary is located in /target/release/alfen.

Usage

Use -h/--help to get help:

alfen 0.0.1
This command allows to read values, or write new values to an Alfen NG9xx charging station

USAGE:
    alfen [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] [SUBCOMMAND]

FLAGS:
    -h, --help                 Prints help information
    -c, --print-config-path    Print the configuration path and exit
    -V, --version              Prints version information

OPTIONS:
    -a, --address <address>    Modbus address of the Alfen, e.g. `192.168.1.142:502`. This option overwrites the value
                               read from the configuration file

SUBCOMMANDS:
    help     Prints this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
    read     Read values from the Alfen
    write    Write values to the Alfen

Use the read or write subcommands to do something useful. Use the --address option to specify the address.

A configuration file can be used to read the value of the --address option. Use --print-config-path to get the path to the configuration file.

Let's see alfen read --help:

alfen-read 0.0.1
Read values from the Alfen

USAGE:
    alfen read [FLAGS] [OPTIONS]

FLAGS:
    -h, --help          Prints help information
    -t, --into-thing    Turns this program into a Thing, i.e. a new Web of Things device
    -V, --version       Prints version information

OPTIONS:
    -f, --format <format>            Define the kind of outputs [default: Text]  [possible values: Text, Json]
    -p, --thing-port <thing-port>    Port of the Thing. Requires `--into-thing` to be effective. This option overwrites
                                     the value read from the configuration file

And let's see alfen write --help:

alfen-write 0.0.1
Write values to the Alfen

USAGE:
    alfen write [OPTIONS]

FLAGS:
    -h, --help       Prints help information
    -V, --version    Prints version information

OPTIONS:
    -c, --socket-current <socket-current>    Update the applied current of the socket

Format

The alfen read tool is designed to work in multiple environments.

Text

By default, the text format is selected.

State {
    station_information: StationInformation {
        name: "ACE0196818",
        manufacturer: "Alfen NV",
        platform_type: "NG910",
        serial_number: "ACE0196818",
        firmware_version: "5.8.1-4123",
        date: 2022-10-10T11:37:36+00:01,
        uptime: 2097199.489s,
    },
    station_status: StationStatus {
        max_current: 15A,
        temperature: 36.75°C,
        is_ocpp_connected: false,
        number_of_sockets: 1,
    },
    socket: Socket {
        availability: Operative,
        status: Disconnected,
        number_of_phases: Three,
        l1: SocketPhase {
            voltage: 229.90999V,
            current: 0A,
        },
        l2: SocketPhase {
            voltage: 228.94V,
            current: 0A,
        },
        l3: SocketPhase {
            voltage: 229.19V,
            current: 0A,
        },
        power: 0W,
        frequency: 52.640003Hz,
        total_delivered_energy: 301606Wh,
        session: SocketSession {
            max_current: 6A,
            actual_applied_max_current: 10A,
            remaining_time_before_fallback_to_safe_current: 0,
        },
    },
}

JSON

JSON can be used in a Web environment. Example with alfen read --address <addr> --format json (formatted with … | python -m json.tool):

{
    "station_information": {
        "name": "ACE0196818",
        "manufacturer": "Alfen NV",
        "platform_type": "NG910",
        "serial_number": "ACE0196818",
        "firmware_version": "5.8.1-4123",
        "date": "2022-10-10T11:40:07+00:01",
        "uptime": {
            "secs": 2130759,
            "nanos": 118000000
        }
    },
    "station_status": {
        "max_current": 15.0,
        "temperature": 37.0,
        "is_ocpp_connected": false,
        "number_of_sockets": 1
    },
    "socket": {
        "availability": "Operative",
        "status": "Disconnected",
        "number_of_phases": "Three",
        "l1": {
            "voltage": 230.12999,
            "current": 0.0
        },
        "l2": {
            "voltage": 229.01,
            "current": 0.0
        },
        "l3": {
            "voltage": 229.37,
            "current": 0.0
        },
        "power": 0.0,
        "frequency": 52.640003,
        "total_delivered_energy": 301606.0,
        "session": {
            "max_current": 6.0,
            "actual_applied_max_current": 10.0,
            "remaining_time_before_fallback_to_safe_current": 0
        }
    }
}

Web of Things

To turn the Alfen device into a standardized connected things, use the --into-thing option: It will start a local Things server. The --thing-port is useful to set the server's port.

One the Things server is running, use a gateway like the WebThings Gateway to interact with the Alfen device. Enjoy!

$ /target/release/alfen read --address 192.168.1.107:502 --into-thing --thing-port 8088
Starting the Things server (port 8088)…