Image credit: Alfen
Alfen units can only be configured by using Alfen’s own configuration tool. This tool only runs on Windows, so as a Mac or Linux user, you might be in trouble if you don’t have a virtual machine, etc., on your computer.
While you can download the configuration tool installer from the manufacturer website free of charge, unfortunately, you also need to register your credentials in order to start the application. The configuration tool won't start if you don’t give valid credentials. In order to get these credentials, you need to first register on the manufacturer site, and then it takes a few business days to get the credentials. Additionally, when using the windows configuration tool, you need to be careful about your network access because if your network is filtering access to Alfen servers, the configurator might not start.
The biggest issues we had with this product were actually about the configurator application, not with the actual product.
This product’s construction is more for home and semi-public, but the connectivity of the product makes it also a good candidate for the public charging segment.
The device supports even the latest OCPP 2.0 version. As stated, we had some problems with the configurator setup, but after that, the integration was rather easy. This unit has so many configuration options that you need to know what you want beforehand in order to get the unit working as desired. We also noticed some inconsistent behaviour in our tests that might be a result of the device firmware supporting so many use cases.
Where to buy the product or service
https://alfen.com/en/ev-charge-points
The device brings you more than enough options and will not let you down whether you wish to do public charging or home charging. The unit also has so many options that it could leave users feeling overwhelmed.
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