chargebot.io

chargebot.io allows for charging your Tesla from your solar power plant and/or at the lowest grid prices (i.e. when using Tibber). Works with any wallbox and any inverter.

Features

• Controls a Tesla's charging process (start, stop, amps) via Tesla's new Fleet API
• Supports charging on solar surplus and/or when dynamic grid prices are at their lowest
• Queries Tibber's API to retrieve upcoming grid prices
• Gets input regarding your current solar surplus via REST API push of by subscribing to an MQTT topic
• Easy to use web frontend for setting parameters and checking your vehicle's charging process
• Freely settable options for minimum surplus, minimum charge time, surplus buffer and more
• Hosted locally in your own network using Docker

Get started

1. Create an account at: https://chargebot.io
2. Link your Tesla Account with chargebot.io and note down:
   • Your Tesla Token
   • Your chargebot.io Token and Token Password
3. Set up your chargebot.io remote controller node using a docker-compose.yml file for Docker Compose:

   services:
     node:
       image: ghcr.io/virtualzone/chargebot:latest
       restart: always
       ports:
         - 8080:8080
       environment:
         TESLA_REFRESH_TOKEN: 'initial-tesla-refresh-token'
         DB_FILE: '/data/chargbeot.db'
         PORT: '8080'
         TOKEN: 'your-chargebot.io-token'
         PASSWORD: 'your-chargebot-io-token-password'
         CRYPT_KEY: 'a-32-bytes-long-random-key'
       volumes:
         - db:/data
     volumes: 
       data:
   

4. Run using: docker compose up -d
5. Access the web frontend at: http://localhost:8080

How it works

chargebot.io uses the Tesla Fleet API and Tesla Fleet Telemetry in order to control your vehicle's charging process.

The actual work is done by your local remote controller node. It decides whether there's enough surplus from your solar power plant in order to charge your Tesla. It checks your grid provider for the current prices and starts charging if the prices are below your defined maximum.

The centralized chargebot.io instance serves as a proxy for your local node's command and forwards them to the Tesla Fleet API. The centralized instance is required as it signs requests from your local node to your Tesla with a private key and forwards incoming Fleet Telemetry data to your local node.

Only your local node knows and saves your personal Tesla Token. It is neither stored nor used by the centralized chargebot.io instance.

Push notifications

chargebot.io supports sending push notifications using Telegram. To set it up, follow these steps:

1. Create a bot by sending /newbot to Telegram's @BotFather by following these instructions and note down the displayed token.
2. Find out your Telegram User ID by i.e. sending any message to the GetIDs bot.
3. Set the TELEGRAM_TOKEN and TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID environment variables and restart your node.

Environment variables

Environment Variable	Type	Default	Description
TESLA_REFRESH_TOKEN	string		Tesla Refresh Token shown after linking your Tesla Account with your chargebot.io account (only needed for initial setup)
DB_FILE	string	/tmp/chargebot_node.db	SQLite database file
PORT	int	8080	HTTP listening port
TOKEN	string		Your chargebot.io token
PASSWORD	string		Your chargebot.io token's password
CRYPT_KEY	string		A key for encrypting your Tesla Refresh Token in the SQLite database
TELEGRAM_TOKEN	string		Telegram Bot Authentication Token for push notifications
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID	string		Telegram Chat ID for push notifications
PLUG_AUTODETECT	bool	1	Automatically detect vehicle's plugged in state (else, use the webhooks to notify node about plugged state)
MQTT_BROKER	string		MQTT Broker address (i.e. 'tcp://broker.hivemq.com:1883')
MQTT_CLIENT_ID	string	chargebot	MQTT Client ID
MQTT_USERNAME	string		MQTT username
MQTT_PASSWORD	string		MQTT password
MQTT_TOPIC_SURPLUS	string	chargebot/surplus	MQTT topic for solar surplus

More help

Visit https://chargebot.io/help/ for more information.