Missing load management control entity (previously known as powerboost) in the Wallbox integration

[gsxr2001]

The problem

Hello,
I have noticed that the current Wallbox integration in Home Assistant is missing the load management control entity (previously known as "powerboost"). This feature is already supported by the underlying Wallbox library, but it is not available in Home Assistant's integration.

Details of the Issue:

• Missing Feature: The Wallbox integration is currently lacking support for the load management (powerboost) feature.
• Library Support: The Wallbox library, which this integration relies on, has already been updated to include the load management functionality.
• Expected Behavior: The integration should expose an entity to control the load management feature directly from Home Assistant, allowing users to manage their energy usage effectively.

Impact:

The lack of this feature limits the ability of users to fully utilize their Wallbox charging station within Home Assistant. The load management feature is crucial for:

• Avoiding exceeding the maximum contractual power limit, preventing potential penalties from energy providers.
• Taking advantage of country-specific programs, such as the experimental program in Italy that allows for a higher contractual power limit during nighttime and on holidays. Currently, the official Wallbox app does not allow such scheduling, making the integration with Home Assistant even more important.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Use the current Wallbox integration in Home Assistant.
2. Attempt to configure or control the load management (powerboost) feature.
3. Notice that no entity or control is available for this functionality.

Additional Information:

This missing feature significantly impacts users who rely on dynamic energy management solutions through Home Assistant. Adding this support would align the integration with the capabilities of the Wallbox library.

Thank you for considering this issue, and I hope it can be addressed soon!

Next Steps:

• Update the Home Assistant integration to include the missing load management control entity from the Wallbox library.

What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue?

core-2024.8.3

What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core?

No response

What type of installation are you running?

Home Assistant OS

Integration causing the issue

Wallbox

Link to integration documentation on our website

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/wallbox

Diagnostics information

No response

Example YAML snippet

No response

Anything in the logs that might be useful for us?

No response

Additional information

No response

[home-assistant]

Hey there @hesselonline, mind taking a look at this issue as it has been labeled with an integration (wallbox) you are listed as a code owner for? Thanks!

Code owner commands

Code owners of wallbox can trigger bot actions by commenting:

• @home-assistant close Closes the issue.
• @home-assistant rename Awesome new title Renames the issue.
• @home-assistant reopen Reopen the issue.
• @home-assistant unassign wallbox Removes the current integration label and assignees on the issue, add the integration domain after the command.
• @home-assistant add-label needs-more-information Add a label (needs-more-information, problem in dependency, problem in custom component) to the issue.
• @home-assistant remove-label needs-more-information Remove a label (needs-more-information, problem in dependency, problem in custom component) on the issue.

_{^{(message by CodeOwnersMention)}}

---

wallbox documentation
wallbox source
_{^{(message by IssueLinks)}}

[hesselonline]

Hi, what function in the upsource package are you referring to? And how does this differ in practice from using the SetMaxChargingCurrent?

[nanomad]

Hi @hesselonline the function is "setIcpMaxCurrent" it is used to limit the power draw at the main meter for the whole house while "setMaxChargingCurrent" is used to limit the power output to the car. Depending on the tariff you're on and the installation type you may need to control both factors.

e.g. in Italy and Spain you can enter contracts with 32A max draw (at the meter, so house + wallbox) during night and weekends while only 16A or 20A during the day.

What you want to do is set maxChargingCurrent to e.g. 32A statically and then control setIcpMaxCurrent to tell the wall box how much total current you can theoretically draw from the main meter. The EVSE will internally compute the max allowed charging current so that the main breaker at the meter doesn't trip, taking into account the current household consumption (dynamic power management, formerly power boost).

Original ticket with more in-depth discussion is here: cliviu74/wallbox#32

More discussion can be found in the referneced PR: cliviu74/wallbox#35 (comment)

You can figure out if you WB supports ICP MAX CURRENT by checking the state of the wallbox and looking for

• Is power boost supported? 'POWER_BOOST' in status['config_data']['plan']['features']
• Is power boost enabled and if so, what's the current setting? status['config_data']['icp_max_current'] not None and > 0

[hesselonline]

Ok, will have a look at adding this as it seems quite straightforward. I do suggest closing this issue (as it is basically a feature request and not an issue ;-))