GivEnergy to start charging for online (cloud) services.

[Morningside]

Did anyone else get an email saying that from May they are "thinking" of charging to access their system online. They say that local will always be free....

Bloody cheek! After choosing their system that cost thousands we are now needing a subscription. Certainly not happy about it at all.

We do tend to look when away to see what the house is up to and find it very useful.

[gmaz]

Yes I got the same.

Annoying as I have just spent time and money integrating the API with Home Assistant.

[OutInTheShed]

It's pretty naive to expect an IT service to be free forever.

[SoliD]

When their literature said exactly that, it's hardly surprising people are annoyed.

[No ideas for a name]

As a general point, don't use anything that has an external dependancy.
Regardless of free or paid for, the day will come when the provider stops support or just goes out of business.

Use local control, and if you want remote access, then do that via something like HomeAssistant. It is then fully in your own control.

I accept, however, that this may be someway off the 'convenience' (not functionality) that a manufacturer's supported system appears to give, and might be outside the scope of the average user.

Same applies to all these 'smart' home automation/heating and EV charging solutions.

[Evanivitch]

Now filed for administration.

OutInTheShed said:

It's pretty naive to expect an IT service to be free forever.

But for the warranty life of the product, it's not.