Anyone else unhappy about GivEnergy charging for previously free cloud access

[InveterateWineDrinker]

Not sure if this is the best section of MN, but I was wondering if there are any other ownwers of GivEnergy storage batteries and inverters who received the same email I did yesterday, namely that they are going to start charging for cloud access to the software that manages the systems and stores historical data. This access was described as "free for life" in the sales pitch.

I'm not on a smart tariff, so that aspect doesn't bother me at the moment but once my SEG contract expires in Sep 2027 I was thinking of moving to a smart tariff. However, I rely on acessing data through the portal to see batter charge state, power generation stats and so on so that I can manage my energy consumption best.

What's everyone else doing? I've already written a letter outlining that the "free for life" claim in the promotional literature is part of the contract but to be honest I'm a bit miffed not just at this level of enshittification but that they have the nerve to tell me that paying a monthly subscription for a service currently free will actually save me money.

Never heard of them, but a bunch of folks on Reddit are pretty unhappy about it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SolarUK/comments/1s8r3q7/givenergy_to_charge_for_cloud_control/

Thanks, glad I'm not the only one.

GivEnergy is a manufacturer of the batteries and inverters used in solar microgeneration systems. We procured and installed ours through E.On, but the equipment is made by GivEnergy. The software controls how and when the solar production from your roof goes to your house, the battery, or back to the grid and also tells you how much you're generating, how full your battery is, how much you're using and from where. That is all done in the cloud, where historical data is also stored. I can see everything through a web portal or an app, if I were inclined to install one, and if I had a tariff that charged more or paid more for consumption and export at different times of the day I could use the software to direct how electricity flows around the system (at the moment it's all automatic based on a preset algorithm).

They're suggesting that there would be a local alternative to the cloud service which would remain 'free', but that would require more home equipment (at a cost) and a far deeper technical knowledge than I or most people have. We were quite happy with the service we were told we were getting for life as part of forking out £10k upwards for the systems up front.

They're now saying that this model is unsustainable. I've read that since the Iran war started enquiries about home photovoltaic installations have increased tenfold, and there's lots of talk about simple plug-in solar panels being authorised for use in the UK this year (which would cannibalise their business) so maybe that's focussing their minds.