Blog

We are now offering a three-year warranty for all WARP Chargers, starting from the date of the invoice. In the rare instances where WARP Charger owners needed assistance due to hardware issues, we have always been accommodating and promptly replaced defective components. While we haven't publicly communicated this practice in the past, we have consistently worked behind the scenes to ensure our customers' satisfaction.

Formally, we have only provided the legally required warranty. However, because we firmly believe that our WARP Chargers are among the highest quality products on the market, we now want to officially emphasize this through a comprehensive warranty for our customers. Unlike some common practices, there is no need for you to register yourself or their Wallbox separately to avail of the warranty. The three-year warranty automatically applies from the date of the invoice, and this also applies retroactively to existing customers!

From now on, all WARP2 Chargers and WARP Charger Stands will be offered in addition to the V4A stainless steel version, also powder-coated in the color DB703 "micaceous iron ore finish".

DB703

The dark gray tone DB703 contains a special effect pigment that gives the surface a slight metallic sheen. Subjectively speaking, the color is very similar to the well-known RAL7016 color tone, but it has a significantly more high-quality appearance. In combination with the WARP Charger, which is now also available in DB703, a very high-quality alternative to the pure stainless steel look is created. Since we laser the front panel of the WARP2 Charger with a logo, the front panel is always made of V4A stainless steel. The powder coating is therefore an additional option and incurs a small surcharge of 10€. We have consciously decided against using cheaper steel, as there would be a risk of rust due to the laser process.

Powder-coated WARP Charger Stand in DB703

For the WARP Charger Stands, galvanized steel is used as the base material for the powder-coating with DB703. This is significantly cheaper than V4A stainless steel. We can offer the DB703 WARP Charger Stands at a lower price than the V4A Stands, despite increasing the material thickness from 1.5mm (stainless steel) to 2.0mm (DB703).

In addition, we have made changes to the pricing of our WARP Charger Stands. To enable better price comparability with competitor stands, we have now made pre-wiring optional. This has allowed us to significantly reduce the entry price for the stands and offer them at a similar price to those of competitors.

Die WARP Ladesäule für einen Ladepunkt ist nun ab 749€ brutto in unserem Webshop erhältlich. Ohne Vorverdrahtung erfolgt der Anschluss der Wallboxen, wie bei den Mitbewerbern, direkt in den Wallboxen. Wer eine Ladesäule vorverdrahtet bestellt, bekommt diese wie gewohnt mit bereits verbauten und angeschlossenen Verteilerkästen inkl. Klemmenblöcken. Im Webshop kann nun ein direkter Versand per UPS gewählt werden (59,50€ brutto). Hierbei ist es unabhängig wie viele Ladesäulen bestellt werden. Bei höheren Stückzahlen liefern wir nach Rücksprache ggf. per Spedition. Auch eine Selbstabholung der Ladesäulen ist möglich und kann im Shop ausgewählt werden (0€).

The WARP Charging Stand for one charging point is now available in our webshop starting at 749€. Without pre-wiring, the connection to the wallboxes is made directly in the wollboxes, as with competitors. Those who order a pre-wired WARP Charging Stand will receive it with already installed and connected distribution boxes, including terminal blocks. In the webshop, direct shipping via UPS can now be selected (59.50€). This applies regardless of how many charging stations are ordered. For higher quantities, we may deliver by freight carrier. Pickup of the WARP Charging Stands is also possible and can be selected in the shop (€0).

You can find more information in our shop at https://www.tinkerforge.com/en/shop/warp/wallbox.html or at www.warp-charger.com.

Unfortunately this article is only available in german: https://www.tinkerforge.com/de/blog/new-functions-for-warp-charger-and-warp-energy-manager/

Today events are a bit hectic for us:

On one hand, we have released a new firmware for the WARP Charger Wallboxes. This firmware offers various new features (OCPP, charging logbook download as PDF, etc.). For this, we will publish a separate blog post that will introduce the new features in detail.

On the other hand, today we have released the WARP Energy Manager. The development took longer than planned because we had to create various internal technical prerequisites. But now it's finally here, and the WARP Energy Manager can be purchased for 299€ in our webshop. Today we have also released the WARP Energy Manager Firmware in version 1.0.0. We had various requests from you to test the WARP Energy Manager in advance. Thank you very much for that! With the release, we want to fulfill this offer. The reason is that, in our view, an important feature is still missing in the firmware: The energy analysis. We will catch up on this in the next two weeks and release it with a new firmware.

For this reason, the shop entry is marked with the shipping date of March 14th, 2023. This means that after an order is placed, we will ship the WARP Energy Manager as soon as this feature is released (new firmware). We do this so that installers receive a complete product.

If you would like to test the WARP Energy Manager with firmware version 1.0.0 in advance, please write us an email or add a corresponding order comment. Then we will send the Energy Manager with the 1.0.0 firmware immediately.

We look forward to your feedback and your suggestions for improvement!

Current Firmware

The firmware in version 1.0.0 offers the following functions:

Static load management

This is the load management that WARP2 Charger Smart and Pro can perform directly with each other. However, the WARP Energy Manager can now also be configured as a load manager. The Energy Manager then ensures that a fixed phase current is not exceeded. Static load management, for example, makes sense when multiple wallboxes share a power line that should not be overloaded.

PV excess charging

With increasing energy prices, you want to be able to charge your electric vehicle with as much of the produced energy as possible. DIY enthusiasts among you have already been able to achieve this using the open interfaces of the WARP2 Charger (MQTT, HTTP, Modbus TCP and OCPP). Solutions such as EVCC could also be used. However, there has not yet been a plug-and-play solution for this. This is now taken over by the WARP Energy Manager. Using an external RS485 power meter of type SDM72 V2 or SDM630, it determines the consumption or excess at the grid connection and regulates the charging power of the connected WARP Chargers accordingly.

On the status page of the WARP Energy Manager, the user can choose between four different charging modes:

• PV: Only the excess power currently being fed in is used to charge the vehicles. If there is not enough power available, no charging takes place.
• Min+PV: The user can define a minimum charging power. If necessary, this is also ensured via power from the grid. Excess power is used to charge the vehicles. This ensures that charging takes place.
• Fast: Charging starts immediately at the set (maximum) power. The proportion of PV excess is irrelevant.
• Off: No charging takes place.

Phase Switching

The type 2 charging standard defines a minimum charging current of 6A. No charging takes place below this value. In three-phase operation, the minimum charging power is thus approximately 4.1 kW. PV systems cannot always ensure this power, so energy must be drawn from the grid. A 2-pole contactor can be connected to the WARP Energy Manager, which can automatically switch from three-phase operation to single-phase operation. This reduces the minimum charging power to approximately 1.4 kW, making it possible to carry out charging processes with lower power without additional grid connection. As it is never allowed to simply switch off phases during an active charging process, the WARP Energy Manager takes over the switching and guarantees safe operation. The contactor is monitored by the Energy Manager, so malfunctions can be quickly detected.

Relay-Output

External loads can be controlled through a built-in relay (max 30V/1A). The user can define when the relay switches. For example, it can be activated when a certain amount of power is left over.

Inputs

The WARP Energy Manager has two inputs for potential-free contacts. If a phase switching (see above) is to be realized, one input is used to monitor the contactor. Otherwise, both inputs can be assigned functions by the user. For example, limiting the charging current is possible or charging processes can be blocked depending on input state.

Networking with LAN (and WIFI)

The WARP Energy Manager is equipped with an internal ESP32 Ethernet Brick and should be installed in the distribution box. It has WLAN and opens a WLAN access point that can be used for configuration. We recommend using the LAN interface for communication with the wallboxes.

HTTP and MQTT API

As is customary with us, the WARP Energy Manager has an open API. Through this API, the Energy Manager can be controlled, but it is also possible to transmit meter values via this interface, such that no RS485 power meter is required.

Outlook

Software-wise, several additional features are already in progress or planned for the future. In the following we will give you an overview of the functions the WARP Energy Manager will take on in the future.

Energy Analysis

The WARP Energy Manager is equipped with 8GB of internal flash memory. It records data from power meters and charging processes internally. A cloud connection is not necessary. This makes the WARP Energy Manager independent, and the data stays with you. This data can be visualized locally on the Energy Manager. You can view the data in hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly views, allowing you to analyze and optimize your energy consumption. This feature is still being worked on and is scheduled to be released in the next two weeks.

Dynamic load management

The WARP Energy Manager will support dynamic load management, unlike the existing static load management. In dynamic load management, a fixed value for the maximum phase current is not specified (static); instead, a meter is used to determine the current per phase and calculate how much power is still available (dynamic). For example, this ensures that a power connection designed for 63A is never overloaded. The WARP Energy Manager regulates the wallboxes so that the 63A limit is not exceeded. It takes into account that other connected devices can be switched on and off arbitrarily, causing the current to change constantly. This is useful when a specific current for the wallboxes cannot be guaranteed at all times.

Central user management incl. NFC

Currently each WARP2 Smart or Pro wallbox has its own user management system. If a user wants to charge their vehicle using their NFC tag at multiple wallboxes, they have to teach the tag to each box individually. In the future, the WARP Energy Manager is intended to serve as a central management interface where wallbox users can be managed centrally.

Central charging logbook

Similar to user management charging processes are individually recorded on each wallbox. When using multiple wallboxes, this data must then be collected from each wallbox. In the future, this should also be possible centrally via a WARP Energy Manager. You will be able to download the charging logbook as .CSV or .PDF from the web interface.

SunSpec

Currently, the WARP Energy Manager requires a specific power meter at the grid connection for PV excess charging or dynamic load management. We know that often there are already meters at these points, as inverters, heat pumps, or other manufacturers also require power meters . Unfortunately there is no general standard that we could support, which would ensure that we can read all power meters. At least with SunSpec, there is a standard that is supported by many inverter manufacturers. Using this interface, the WARP Energy Manager can use the data of compatible power meters and no additional power meter needs to be installed.

The year 2022 is slowly coming to an end. We would like to give you a small look behind-the-scenes.

Parts procurement and manufacturing
2022 was very challanging for us. The issue of the availability of parts and the associated problems during manufacturing of our products resulted in a significant increase in the amount of time needed. Previously, we always kept some parts in stock for the production of our products, and we would order the missing parts just in time for each new production run. The effort for that was kept within limits. This approach simply stopped working mid to end 2021. We started to increase our stock of parts significantly. Nevertheless we were not able to procure all of the necessary items. As an example the DAC7760 (analog to digital converter used on the Industrial Analog Out Bricklet), is not available anymore for over a year now. Because of this we go through parts that are available at ditributors every day now to buy parts that are difficult to procure, even if we don't need this specific part at the moment. One of the most annoying aspects of this whole situation is that distributors stopped to honor delivery dates. They may say that a part will be deliverd in 3 months, but 1 week before the delivery date they will push it back for another 3 months. This happens all the time now. Because of this we needed to stop an already scheduled production run several times this year.

Price increases / inflation
Additionally, some of the parts that were not available anymore are now available again, but multiple times more expensive. As an example, the INA226 (analog to digital converter used by the Voltage/Current Bricklet) was priced at ~40USD (instead of the normal ~4USD) on the market. This is more expensive then the sales prices of the whole Bricklet. Electronic parts have become more expensive across the board. We are currently not sure if this price spiral will stop in the near future of if the inflation in this category will persist for a while. For now we have just accepted big parts of the price increases. It is unfortunately very much possible that we will have to increase our prices again in the near future.

WARP2 Charger
But not everything was bad in 2022, the opposite is actually true! Our WARP2 Charger wallboxes are a huge success. We were able to implement lots of new features this year. They include the charge tracker, user management, MQTT, HTTP API, Wireguard, Modbus/TCP and also our OCPP implementation is nearly ready. Most of the improvements are based on your feedback and improvement suggestion. Many thanks for that!

WARP Energy Manager
Unfortunately we were not able to fully implement the WARP Energy Manager as fast as we wanted. The Energy Manager was supposed to be available in our shop already. We also actually now have the hardware in stock already, but the software needs some more time. Very sorry for the delays!

Bigger team
In 2021 and 2022 the Tinkerforge team has grown! We actually have not even put Vincent, Michael, Frederic and Matze on our team webpage. We will have to make sure to catch up with that next year.

What will be new in 2023?
For 2023 we plan with lots of improvements for the WARP Charger. We will release the the WARP Energy Manager and lots of other new features will be available with a software update. If you are here for the Tinkerforge building blocks you do not need to worry, we also plan to release new Bricklets soon. However, our personal highlight for 2023 will be our new industrial real estate. Our current building is simply full by now. With the increased stock and new employees we are using up every square millimeter now. With the new modern building that we bought we will have a huge amount of space for offices and warehouse.

That's it for our little review and outlook!
We thank you for your trust and wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023!