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Complete evcc Setup Guide: Step-by-Step Installation and Configuration

Complete evcc Setup Guide: Step-by-Step Installation and Configuration

· 9 min read · < 100 views
electricity ev-charging photovoltaic smarthome home-assistant

In my previous post about evcc, I introduced you to this powerful open-source energy management system and explained why it’s essential for anyone with solar panels and an electric vehicle. Now it’s time to get our hands dirty with the actual setup and configuration process.

This guide will walk you through exactly how I configured evcc with our specific hardware setup: a SolarEdge inverter with BYD battery, Keba P30 charger, and Polestar vehicle. Even if you have different equipment, the principles and process remain the same - you’ll just need to adapt the specific templates and settings.

Let’s dive into the technical details and get your smart charging system up and running!

Installing the Home Assistant Add-On

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As I mentioned in part 1, I chose the Home Assistant Add-On route for our setup. The installation process using the Home Assistant Add-On was straightforward:

  1. Add the evcc repository to Home Assistant - you can do this via the button on the docs page or manually by adding https://github.com/evcc-io/hassio-addon to your Home Assistant add-on repositories
  2. Install the add-on from the Add-on Store - once the repository is added, you’ll find evcc in your Add-on Store
  3. Configure through the built-in assistant or manual YAML editing - evcc provides both options depending on your preference

The entire installation took just a few minutes, and I was ready to start configuring my specific hardware.

Configuring Our Smart Charging Setup

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evcc is configured via a central file, evcc.yaml. For a new setup, it can be created either with the configuration assistant or manually. The configuration assistant guides you step by step through the configuration of the various devices (photovoltaic system, electricity meter, house battery, EV charger and electric car).

A template file is provided for manual configuration. This provides the basic structure, and you can add your own devices and vehicles. There is extensive documentation for individual solar inverters, electricity meters, energy tariffs and vehicles, including customisable examples.

If something does not work or you have problems with the configuration, evcc also offers a debug mode to check the configuration of the individual devices and correct it if necessary.

In addition, evcc can be integrated into Home Assistant with just a REST and an MQTT API, allowing it to be integrated almost anywhere.

Our Hardware Setup

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As you could already read in my Going Green articles, our photovoltaic system features a SolarEdge inverter with a 10 kW BYD Battery. As EV Charger we have a Keba P30 c-series and currently we drive a Polestar. I will now provide an explanation of how to integrate these components into evcc and use them as examples.

The first configuration steps are the global site settings such as name and the existing loadpoints. A load point is the designation for your charging station, for example a garage or carport. evcc supports more complex setups such as apartment blocks with several charging points. In our case it is only one EV charger in the carport.

site:
  title: JaMa Villa
  meters:
    grid: my_grid
    pv:
      - my_pv
    battery:
      - my_battery

loadpoints:
  - title: Carport
    charger: my_charger
    vehicle: my_car

SolarEdge System Integration

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The next step is to define the meters. These are the existing electricity meters for the different sources, but at least the solar inverter and electricity grid. Optionally, if a home battery is installed, it will be metered as well.

Our case the SolarEdge hybrid inverter with battery storage required three meter configurations:

meters:
  - name: my_grid
    type: template
    template: solaredge-hybrid
    usage: grid
    modbus: tcpip
    id: 1
    host: modbus-proxy
    port: 1502
    timeout: 10s
  - name: my_pv
    type: template
    template: solaredge-hybrid
    usage: pv
    modbus: tcpip
    id: 1
    host: modbus-proxy
    port: 1502
    timeout: 10s
  - name: my_battery
    type: template
    template: solaredge-hybrid
    usage: battery
    modbus: tcpip
    id: 1
    host: modbus-proxy
    port: 1502
    timeout: 10s

As you can see as host address I do not use the IP address of the inverter directly, but the host name of a “ModBus proxy”. This is necessary because the SolarEdge inverters only allow one client on the ModBus server. As I had already integrated the SolarEdge inverter directly into Home Assistant, I had to find another solution. A ModBus proxy makes it possible for multiple clients to access a ModBus server, even if this server did not originally support this. There are several options for a ModBus proxy, I use a separate Home Assistant AddOn, but evcc can also take over this task.

The configuration of other solar inverters, especially via ModBus, is very similar.

Once the meters are configured the configuration can be checked via the following command:

/app # evcc -c /homeassistant/evcc.yaml meter
[main  ] INFO 2025/07/05 17:07:51 using config file: /homeassistant/evcc.yaml
[db    ] INFO 2025/07/05 17:07:51 using sqlite database: /root/.evcc/evcc.db
my_pv
-----
Power: 1748W

my_battery
----------
Power:        -0W
Soc:          99%
Controllable: true

my_grid
-------
Power:          -818W
Energy:         23571.0kWh
Current L1..L3: -1.78A 0.817A -2.18A
Voltage L1..L3: 227V 228V 229V
Power L1..L3:   -358W 14W -479W

If you are, like me, running evcc via the Home Assistant AddOn you need to use Docker command to open a shell first, this is described here.

Keba P30 Charger Configuration

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The next and most important device we need to configure is the charging station for our electric vehicle.

chargers:
  - name: my_charger
    type: template
    template: keba-modbus
    modbus: tcpip
    id: 255
    host: 192.168.1.111
    port: 502
    welcomecharge: true

Like the majority of chargers, our Keba P30 c-series Wallbox is also addressed via Modbus TCP. Integration is very simple, you just have to use the correct configuration template and specify the IP address. A sponsor token is always required for a Keba charging station, like for many other charger brands as well.

A special feature of our charger is the authorisation to unlock the car charging. This is valid for 1 minute after the charging station has been activated. If no charging is started during this time, it expires and you have to re-authorise yourself with an RFID card or app. evcc therefore starts a ‘welcome charge’ so that the wallbox is not blocked again after 1 minute.

Unlocking the EV charger can be automated very easily via Home Assistant, with that no RFID card or charger app is needed.

There is also a check command for the charger. In my case the output looks like this:

/app # evcc -c /homeassistant/evcc.yaml charger
[main  ] INFO 2025/07/05 17:10:23 using config file: /homeassistant/evcc.yaml
[db    ] INFO 2025/07/05 17:10:23 using sqlite database: /root/.evcc/evcc.db
Power:          0W
Energy:         8071.9kWh
Current L1..L3: 0A 0A 0A
Charge status:  B
Status reason:  unknown
Enabled:        false
Identifier:     AABBCCDD
Features:       [WelcomeCharge]

Polestar Integration

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Most chargers do not have the capability to read the State of Charge (SoC) of the car. That’s why we also want our car to be integrated with evcc. The software can then communicate directly with the vehicle via the manufacturer’s cloud service. A car integration is not strictly necessary and guest cars can be charged as well. However, if you own several vehicles and want to allocate the charging sessions and costs to the respective vehicle, the configuration is required. It also allows you to setup charging plans.

The Polestar integration, similar to other cars as well, provides state of charge, charging status, and remaining range. This enables evcc to calculate optimal charging schedules and stop charging at predetermined levels.

The config looks like:

vehicles:
  - name: my_car
    type: template
    template: polestar
    user: abcd@gmail.com
    password: my_password
    title: Polestar
    capacity: 100
    identifiers:
      - AABBCCDD # RFID token ID

The capacity is important here as this can not be automatically detected. In some cases, depending on the car brand, there is also a range of advanced options for the vehicle.

Similarly to the above, the vehicle configuration can also be checked via the command line:

/app # evcc -c /homeassistant/evcc.yaml vehicle
[main  ] INFO 2025/07/05 17:23:39 using config file: /homeassistant/evcc.yaml
[db    ] INFO 2025/07/05 17:23:39 using sqlite database: /root/.evcc/evcc.db
Soc:           90%
Capacity:      100.0kWh
Charge status: A
Range:         553km
Odometer:      9999km
Finish time:   2025-07-05 17:24:00 +0200 CEST
Identifiers:   [AABBCCDD]

Energy Tariff Configuration

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In contrast to other countries, dynamic electricity tariffs are not yet widespread in Germany. There is a lack of infrastructure here and our electricity meters are not yet suitable for this. I have already ordered a new meter from our grid operator, but it will probably be a few months before it is installed.

evcc supports dynamic electricity tariffs in various countries and from various providers. When combined with charging plans, evcc automatically schedules charging sessions during low-price periods while still prioritizing solar energy. But we have to live with a fixed electricity tariff for now. The configuration for this is super simple:

tariffs:
  currency: EUR
  grid:
    type: fixed
    price: 0.30 # EUR/kWh
  feedin:
    type: fixed
    price: 0.09 # EUR/kWh

It’s Alive! Let’s Charge

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And that’s it. The complete configuration took about 30 minutes. I already had all the information for the respective devices available. I was able to copy most of it directly from Home Assistant.

Now it’s time to connect the vehicle to the EV Charger and start the first charging process. Ideally on a sunny day. If everything is configured correctly, evcc should now start correctly and in the user interface we should be able to see the power generation data, the consumption, the status of the house battery and, most importantly, the charging process of the vehicle.

evcc - car charging user interface
evcc - car charging user interface

Cost Analysis and Savings

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While it’s still early days, I’m already seeing the benefits:

  • Reduced Grid Consumption: In June & July we charged our car 13 times - 268,4 kWh so far with 71% solar power
  • Better Feed-in Utilization: Rather than selling excess solar power for 9 cents/kWh, we’re using it to avoid buying grid power at 30 cents/kWh
  • Optimized Battery Usage: The home battery provides backup during cloud cover, reducing charging interruptions

Summary: Your Smart Charging System Awaits

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Setting up evcc turned out to be much easier than I expected. Excellent documentation and well-documented templates for devices and vehicles made the configuration process straightforward.

If you have the basic components - solar panels, an EV charger, and an electric vehicle - evcc can transform your charging experience from a simple plug-and-go to an intelligent, cost-optimized system that maximizes your renewable energy usage.

Ready to optimize your own EV charging? The evcc community is incredibly helpful, and the documentation is comprehensive. Whether you choose the Home Assistant add-on route like me or prefer a different installation method, you’ll have your smart charging system up and running in no time.