#SolarUpdate Bit of a saga unfolding with the company we got out solar and battery system from.

Apparently... in dire financial problems due to mismanagement and the cancellation of contracts with companies like octopus after they cut back their support staff and failed to do some of the most basic customer support... they enshitified the web portal that we access for our data.... and have applied to appoint and administrator.

So what do they do... fuck over their customers.

We were promised 'FREE' access and control to our data and systems.

They've just announced a £5 a month subscription fee... claiming that a majority of people who responded to the survey wanted it... Which is a lie... because we all told them to fuck themselves for their bullshit bait and switch arseholery.

What happens next...I'm betting on the following...

The company goes under, is 'bought' out (by existing owners) and phoenixed into a new one... all warranties and guarantees wiped out and more charges for everything coming. Or the company goes under and it's just a giant FUCK YOU to the customers.

My system is 3yrs old... there's 2yrs warranty left on the inverter, 9yrs left on the batteries and 22yrs left on the solar panels... I think the only warranty that will be left is on the solar panels.

People are already talking about hacks and other stuff. Some already running home setups to control their own systems.

So... I decided to join them.

I've just order a Raspberry Pi 5 (4GB) and some extras (case, power supply, SSD addon and some cables) For £210

Now.. you might wonder if spending that much vs paying £5 a month was worth it... But that's £5 a month FOREVER... the £210 is a ONE TIME FEE.

I can run home assistant on it, allowing me to control the system more, I can add other devices to it and control them... and the best part... NO CLOUD storage, no sending your data out to some 3rd party servers... it's my data from my system and I want fucking control over it free from these greedy cunts who think your pockets are there for them to dip into any time they want.... NO... Fuck em.

So... when all that arrives... I need to put my 'learning hat' back on... I've become very lazy and disinterested in new tech these last few years... I fear a rabbit hole of tinkering and watching of youtube vids about to suck me in and occupying my free time since giving up work recently.

#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen
#HomeAssistant
#RaspberryPi