November 30, 2023: Power management in the dashboard, Edit OCPP ID
Full release notes: November 30, 2023: Power management in the dashboard, Edit OCPP ID
Power management in the dashboard: Power management is accessed via the “Power” tab on the navigation sidebar of the dashboard.
The power management dashboard experience is designed for three use cases:
Demoing of power management system through a visual interface that empowers sales teams to effectively demo and showcase the system’s capabilities.
Visual feedback so that installers can receive confirmation of successful deployments with accurate power management rules for a location, giving confidence during and after installation.
Insight into live power allocation when troubleshooting chargers to to view power allocation for individual chargers and power management groups at any point in time. The electrical infrastructure is represented, including:
All main panels and any sub-panels for a circuit with chargers with their names/labels, breaker ratings, and maximum continuous load.
Charger phase wiring
Other power-consuming devices sharing a circuit with chargers (referred to as “unmanaged loads” in the dashboard)
- Edit OCPP ID: A charger’s OCPP ID must be set the same in ChargeLab's system as the charger’s configuration in order for it to connect. If a mismatch exists, chargers will not connect to ChargeLab’s system. To help with troubleshooting charger connection issues, the OCPP ID as set in ChargeLab’s system can now be edited in the dashboard.
November 14, 2023: Move charger to another company, Expired credit card driver email notifications
Full release notes: November 14, 2023: Move charger to another company, Expired credit card driver email notifications
Move chargers between companies: Chargers sometimes need to be moved from one company to another. This can happen when charger ownership transfers between companies (e.g. a new property management company), a single company is split into multiple companies for various reasons or a charger otherwise needs to be moved to another company. Now, you can move chargers via the actions menu of the charger details card on the Charger page
- When a charger is moved to another company, historical charging session data is retained by the company that previously owned the moved charger. Historical sessions will appear in the dashboard (e.g. Overview page, payout reports, etc.) for the prior company.
Failed session emails for expired credit cards: Drivers receive email notifications when attempts to start a charging session fail due to the user having an expired credit card with guidance for how they can update their payment method and start charging.
- Additional:
- When adding chargers in the dashboard, there is now an optional checkbox to use the charger’s serial number as the OCPP ID.
Fixed a bug preventing certain users from being able to open the full OCPP message on the Charger page in the dashboard.
Improved page navigation experience in dashboard lists when filters are applied.
Minor driver web app UI updates: set theme color to white, disable the “Stop” button when a charger is offline or reporting itself as unavailable.
October 18, 2023: Charger page in web app, Smaller screen sizes in dashboard + Delete chargers
Full release notes: October 18, 2023: Charger page in web app, Smaller screen sizes in dashboard + Delete chargers
Charger page in the driver web-app: The charger page of the driver web app has a refreshed look to achieve several goals:
Improve the clarity and usability of the core charging experience
Bring attention to the most important information (e.g. pricing and description)
Align the charging experience with the design system used throughout the rest of the user experience
- Dashboard display for smaller screen sizes: In order to support smaller screen sizes including laptops and mobile tablets, the dashboard has improved adaptability in its display.
- Delete chargers: Chargers sometimes need to be removed (deleted) from a company. This can happen when swapping/replacing new chargers for faulty units, or even to start over the deployment process freshly for various troubleshooting purposes.
- Additional:
- When starting a charging session on power managed chargers, the initial power allocation will now be the maximum of the available capacity. This will provide a faster charging experience for drivers.
UI cleanup for the OCPP messages feature.
Improved RFID card linking experience to support select card formats other than ChargeLab-provided cards. Note that this update applies to the dashboard and web app; the mobile app in an upcoming update.
Increased resolution of QR code images exported from the Charger page in the dashboard.
September 27, 2023: Transparent deployments
Full release notes: September 27, 2023: Transparent deployments
Blue-Green deployments: This release is a system update that does not include feature changes or bug fixes, but does provide significant benefits: zero downtime during releases and significant improvements for developer efficiency.
- Zero downtime. During production releases, chargers will no longer briefly disconnect from
the CSMS and user applications (driver web/mobile app, dashboard) will be fully available. - Faster troubleshooting. Addressing bugs or production issues becomes significantly
easier and faster. If a rollback is needed, user traffic can quickly be diverted to an
alternative production stack. - Gradual rollouts. User traffic can be gradually transferred from previous versions of apps
or microservices during new releases, which allows us to test feature changes with a small
population of users before expanding more broadly, ultimately further increasing overall
reliability.
September 7, 2023: Bug fixes and minor UI improvements
Full release notes: September 7, 2023: Bug fixes and minor UI improvements
Additional:
- Updated search for OCPP messages to be case agnostic.
- When chargers are faulting, the driver web app will now display “Out of order” instead of “Unavailable”, based on feedback from drivers for clarity of statuses.
- Various small improvements and fixes to dashboard and driver web app dropdowns, page
layouts and other UI elements.
August 31, 2023: Bug fixes
Full release notes: August 31, 2023: Bug fixes
Additional:
- User interface cleanup for login pages of the driver web app
- Fixed an issue with charger provisioning workflow not appearing in certain browser settings.
- Otherwise, the majority of changes in this release are internal for the ChargeLab system’s long-term performance and stability, as well as system enhancements to improve release efficiency.
August 24, 2023: Charger OCPP messages
Full release notes: August 24, 2023: Charger OCPP messages
Charger OCPP messages:ChargeLab’s charger management system uses the OCPP 1.6 protocol to communicate with networked chargers for all aspects of the experience (authorizing drivers for charging sessions, tracking energy dispensed, load management, etc.). OCPP messages often include information about the charger, configuration settings, availability status and session details. The Charger detail page has a new tab for viewing a stream of OCPP messages.
- Additional:
- Terms of service added to additional surfaces throughout the dashboard and driver applications.
Improved UI for managing charger auto-start settings in the dashboard.
Other minor UI improvements in the dashboard throughout.
Bug fixes:
Error messages when certain users accept company access invitations.
Missing data in Overview > session history for certain custom date ranges.
CTEP messaging for chargers that have CTEP enabled and then disabled.
August 17, 2023: Driver billing info + Tiered pricing improvement
Full release notes: August 17, 2023: Driver billing info + Tiered pricing improvement
Driver billing improvements: To decrease credit card decline rates for driver billings, additional information is now collected (card holder name, billing address, etc.) when adding a payment method to their account. This will reduce cases of banks or card issuers declining transactions and, thus, driver friction. This change has been implemented across both the mobile and web driver applications. The payment page in the driver mobile app has been redesigned to include the additional billing information as well as a general interface refresh.
- New tiered pricing option: This provides additional flexibility when setting pricing, a new option has been added to Tiered pricing to allow tiers of per-kWh prices over different periods of time. For example, $0.20 per kWh for the first two hours and $0.35 per kWh thereafter.
- Additional:
The mobile app now displays a custom driver-facing message that can be configured in the dashboard on the Charger details page.
Driver Information has been added to “Session details” for charging sessions throughout the dashboard for more efficient driver support and troubleshooting.
Charger statuses will now display as “Out of order” in driver applications when they disconnect from the CSMS or are faulting. Previously, chargers in these states displayed as “Unavailable”, which UX research indicated was unclear for drivers.
Note: This release will only update the mobile app with the web app being updated in a subsequent upcoming release.
The mobile app charger page was updated to use a new method for mapping connector locations. Hardware manufacturers use different methodologies for assigning connector index numbers for multi-connector chargers, and OCPP does not model physical location of connectors. This improvement will allow us to correctly set connector locations by charger model.
Note: This release will only update the mobile app with the web app being updated in a subsequent upcoming release.
Improved UI for organization-based rules using email domains for pricing discounts and access control settings.
Fixed a performance issue with slower loading times on the “RFID cards” page in the dashboard for some companies.
Fixed an issue with some driver sessions not being billed depending on the timing of the charging session completing during transitioning between calendar months.
Fixed loading issues with the mobile app when users were not logged in.
Fixed a UI layout issue for charger images and headers in the driver web app.
July 27, 2023: Power management + Multi-company user invites
Full release notes: July 27, 2023: Power management + Multi-company user invites
Power management: ChargeLab’s power management system enables site hosts to defer or minimize costly investments in electrical infrastructure by making the most efficient use of power to provide maximum charging speeds across chargers.
- More efficient allocation of power across vehicles: With this update, ChargeLab’s power management system will monitor actual power draw derived from meter values reported by chargers. When less power is being consumed than previously allocated, the unused power will be reallocated to other chargers. This opens up faster charging
for vehicles that can more efficiently use the available power. - Improved handling for loss of internet connectivity: Previously, when a charger disconnected from our system, our power management algorithm conservatively assumed a charger may consume its maximum capable power. This assumption was made for safety reasons to not exceed breakers’ power limits. As part of ChargeLab’s hardware approval process for power management, we test and verify that chargers store the last set charging profile and that this is respected in regular use conditions, including loss of internet connectivity, reboots from power loss and firmware upgrades. With this release, when chargers disconnect from our system, we will now reserve the last allocated power rather than increase allocated power to offline chargers.
- Multi-company user invites:A new streamlined user invite experience tailored for VARs and site hosts handling a portfolio of companies within the dashboard. Inviters can send invites for multiple companies to multiple users at once, invites for multiple companies are consolidated into a single email notification for invitees, and invitees can accept all company invites at once in the dashboard.
- Support for Nayax payment terminals: Sessions authorized via Nayax credit card readers are now supported on ABB Terra 184 chargers, and compatibility with Nayax devices on other charger models cannot be guaranteed.
- Download charger QR codes in the dashboard: QR codes for chargers can now be downloaded from the dashboard. This allows site hosts to create signage for chargers when replacing weather-worn stickers, creating custom signage, modifying a charger’s ID or otherwise requiring QR codes for chargers.
- Additional:
- Access a charger in the driver web app on the Charger page > menu > View as driver.
- View detailed receipts for charging sessions from the Session detail pages > View receipt.
- Fixed an issue with showing chargers in the “Out of order” status on the Overview tab > Charger status widget.
July 18, 2023: Account management in web app + CTEP
Full release notes: July 18: Account management in web app + CTEP
Account management in the driver web app: We're introducing new account management features to the driver web app, enhancing the driver experience and making the charging process effortless.
- Payments: Drivers can now easily manage their payment methods for paid charging sessions. They can add, edit, and delete their credit card information directly within the web app.
- RFID cards: Drivers can enjoy the convenience of quickly and securely authenticating charging sessions with a simple tap of their RFID card. They can now order and register new RFID cards directly to their account.
- Personal information: Whether drivers have moved, changed their phone number, or simply want to update their contact information, they can now do so conveniently within the app. They can edit their personal details, including their name, email, phone number, and address directly within the web app.
- California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP): ChargeLab’s production CSMS now supports the specifications of California’s CTEP regulatory requirements and can be integrated with any EVSE running OCPP firmware that meets CTEP requirements as specified by Open Charge Alliance (OCA).
CTEP applies to all paid chargers in California, defining standards for (among other areas):
Accuracy of dispensed energy measurement
Display on the charger’s screen for of pricing information and session cost before, during and after charging sessions
Loss of connectivity during charging sessions
Transparent and detailed receipts
Additional:
Page deep linking has been added to allow for a smoother and more efficient navigation experience throughout the dashboard. Two examples include:
Persistent list filters when navigating between pages. For example, if one filters for in-use chargers at a specific location and clicks into a specific charger, the same filters will apply when returning to the charger list page.
Direct page URL links. URL links direct to specific companies, chargers and vehicles, allowing for link sharing directly to specific areas. For example, charger monitoring notification emails will soon link directly to the specific company and charger(s) requiring attention.
July 5, 2023: Technician view and Google analytics
Full release notes: July 5, 2023: Technician view and Google analytics
Technician view for maintenance mode: As an enhancement to the previously released maintenance mode feature, we are adding the technician view for chargers under maintenance.
Maintenance mode allows site hosts to manage chargers undergoing maintenance with the ability to enable or disable this setting via the dashboard. When a charger is in maintenance mode, driver apps display the charger as 'Unavailable” and charging functions are disabled.
Technician view is a dedicated bypass for technicians to gain access to the charger's true status and full charging functionality, so they can efficiently perform testing and troubleshooting tasks for chargers under maintenance.
Site hosts also benefit from this feature as it enables faster maintenance and troubleshooting, reducing charger downtime.
- Additional:
Addressed a rare issue that resulted in an empty serial number field being displayed for chargers that were provisioned and connected to our system.
Maintain notification settings for users with multi-company access post-product releases.
Revised the "last used" field on the charger detail page to reflect the start time of the most recently successfully completed transaction, and exclude any failed transactions.
June 22, 2023: Pricing discounts, Auto-enforce configurations, Data in Athena
Full release notes: June 22, 2023: Pricing discounts, auto-enforce configurations, data in Athena
Pricing discounts: Many site hosts want to set their chargers for paid charging for the general public, while at the same time provide free or discounted rates for certain groups of users, such as their own employees. This release introduces Pricing discounts, a way for site hosts to define pricing discount rules in a flexible manner to tailor their charging experience according to their business goals.
- Additional:
- We have updated our system to streamline the power management onboarding process and make it faster and easier for installers. Chargers onboarded to power management groups will no longer require a test charging session. Power management will be active once chargers are provisioned and load management rules are set up in the CSMS. Similarly, when chargers are offboarded from a power management group, their charging profiles will automatically be cleared.
Dots / periods are now accepted in the OCPP ID and serial number when adding chargers
Validation rules were added for RFID card number when registering cards to a company
June 16th, 2023: Maintenance mode
Full release notes: June 16th, 2023: Maintenance mode
Maintenance mode: ChargeLab is introducing maintenance mode for chargers. This new feature allows site hosts to effectively handle situations where chargers are undergoing maintenance or are temporarily unavailable for use.
Chargers can encounter issues that render them temporarily unusable, such as hardware failures or damage to components like cables or connectors. However, it is essential for site hosts with public chargers to maintain visibility and provide accurate information to drivers, even when the charger itself is still online. Additionally, technicians need to efficiently troubleshoot and test chargers as part of the maintenance operations.
- Additional:
- Minor user interface styling improvements on the driver web app
May 17th, 2023: Account management driver in web app + explore map enhancements in mobile app
Full release notes: May 17th, 2023 Account management driver in web app + explore map enhancements in mobile app
Account Management in driver web app: Drivers can manage their account, personal information and settings from within the web application. This functionality was previously available only in the mobile application.
This first release includes:
Account management page
Language preferences
Access to support
Terms of service
Logout
- Explore map enhancements in driver mobile app: We've improved the Explore map with several features aimed at helping drivers find charging locations easier and faster:
Map location clusters. When zoomed out, drivers will see clusters of locations labeled with the number of available chargers. This significantly improves the app’s load speed and reduces map clutter.
Nearest and recently used. Drivers can now quickly see lists of relevant charging locations for faster access without needing to manually search:
Nearest: Shows nearby charging locations to the driver’s location
Recently used: Shows the driver’s past charging locations
- Additional:
The web app now provides additional information about ongoing charging sessions, including duration, cost, and energy.
Internal update to automate localization processes for the driver web app.
A bug was fixed related to white labeling components in payout reports.
The driver web app has been refactored for (1) use of our latest APIs and (2) white labeling support for the account management features (described above).
For API security purposes, charger, location and company information for private chargers is no longer available to users without access.
Older chargers provisioned at testing companies can now be claimed.
Vehicle name is now included on session reports of the Payouts page.
Pricing updates are more frequently sent to CTEP-enabled chargers.
Addressed inaccurate currency on fees collected summary on the dashboard
Tech debt:
Improved error logging for charger monitor notifications
Expanded reported session failure code reasons and categorize as internal vs external
Load testing for provisioning a larger number of chargers
May 3rd, 2023: ChargeLab Partner API V1.1
Full release notes: May 3rd, 2023 - ChargeLab Partner API V1.1
ChargeLab API V1.1: ChargeLab is excited to announce the release of v1.1 of our API, designed specifically for our partners. Our API provides you with a convenient way to retrieve charging data associated with your company and your clients' companies. With this tool, you can streamline your data reporting and billing processes, allowing you to focus on growing your business.
Our API enables you to access and retrieve important data, including:
All chargers for companies to which you have access
Charging sessions and transactions that belong to your companies
- Additional:
Pricing enhancement to easily add chargers back to the default pricing rule
Improve charger status ‘Out of order’ and ‘Offline’ definitions to include additional transient use cases for when a charger is rebooted or initially comes online
Bug fixes including:
Fix session sorting and remove limit for number of sessions displayed on the overview tab
Remove limit for number of sessions exported on .csv session history exports in dashboard
Ensure consistent white label branding for all chargers
Accurately display itemized pricing for receipts with same every day pricing
Ensure SIM card information is accurately displayed
User invite error on the company dashboard
Prevent optional data entry from disabling selected radio fields when adding a charger
Address rare cases of chargers appearing as available when they are offline
Display charger status as 'Charging' for use cases currently displaying as ‘Idle’
Enhance user interface for pricing rule creation with longer rule names
April 20th, 2023: Bug fixes & improvements
Full release notes: April 11th, 2023: Bug fixes
Stability improvements for reporting and exporting metrics in the dashboard
Driver subscriptions are now attached to white label networks rather than specific companies, to allow for network-wide subscription options
Addressed rare cases of inaccurate reported energy dispensed on driver receipts
Addressed situations where drivers who have access to private chargers are not able to view them in the mobile application
Improved the styling and display of parts of the dashboard, driver web application as well as company invitation emails
Improved editing and managing of company/location/charger information in the dashboard for deployment purposes
Improved handling for chargers with auto-start enabled but no specific driver assigned to the charger (“company auto-start”)
Detached company contact information (email/phone) to improve the user invite flow
Code deployments for upcoming features not live as part of this release:
Specifically, preparations for an upcoming feature release that will enable management of free or discounted pricing settings for specific drivers within the dashboard
April 11th, 2023: Bug fixes
Full release notes: April 11th, 2023: Bug fixes
System stability: A host of internal system improvements to help with overall stability and to reduce service disruptions. Note that we are currently developing changes that will eliminate the impact altogether for releases. Thank you for your patience as we roll out this important change.
Charger monitoring notifications for faults: We introduced rate-limiting on charger monitoring notification emails, specifically to address situations when chargers report faults.
Some charger models were found to rapidly cycle back-and-forth between reporting faults and health messages, resulting in extremely high volumes of monitoring notification emails being triggered.
- We updated the definition of a “healthy” charger to account for this and require a minimum amount of continuous time a charger is reported as healthy before sending subsequent alerts for new faults.
- Stale "Charging" status for offline chargers: We addressed situations where a charger appears as “Charging” in the dashboard or other interfaces after it has disconnected for long periods of time.
- Additional:
- Addressed edge case scenarios for white labeling branding not rendering correctly for unauthenticated users pre-signup/login, as well as in certain email messages.
Addressed scenarios where Free time periods were not applied for chargers utilizing tiered pricing.
Addressed certain scenarios where charging session start/stop times were not reported correctly on web receipts.
Security checks for internal tooling.
March 21, 2023: Charger claiming and additional updates
Full release notes: Charger claiming and additional updates
- Charger Claiming: ChargeLab is pleased to announce charger claiming functionality. Many partners first provision, configure and test chargers in facilities before they’re installed on-site at the customer’s location. We’re making improvements that will make this workflow more efficient and seamless.
How it works:
Test company: Your ChargeLab Customer Success Manager will enable your company or create a new company for “testing” purposes.
Provision, configure and test: Provision chargers to your company as usual under Chargers > “+ Add charger” in the dashboard.
- Installation: When it's time for installation, chargers can be moved to your customer by adding a charger to the customer's company in the dashboard and entering the matching serial number and display ID. This will claim and move the charger to their company, no longer requiring requests to ChargeLab Support.
- Additional:
A series of user experience improvements have been added to improve the speed and fluidity of loading in the dashboard
Pricing periods with the same price are now visually grouped together in the preview of each pricing rule
Bug fixes including:
Chargers assigned to an access rule are now shown when editing that access rule
Fixed issue where user would occasionally receive an error when entering a correct one-time login code
Fixed rare issue where session duration would be incorrectly displayed on driver receipts
Various UI fixes and improvements in the dashboard related to filtering and sorting data, as well as display scaling.
Various security enhancements
February 27, 2023: Tiered pricing, driver charging experience, and additional updates
Full release notes: February 27, 2023: Tiered pricing, driver charging experience, and additional updates
- Tiered pricing: With tiered pricing, charging rates can be progressively adjusted throughout a session, allowing for promotional pricing and incentives for limited usage. Site hosts can define pricing tiers as time blocks that each carry a different rate.
- Driver charging session experience update: To support the introduction of tiered pricing as well as future upcoming pricing options, the driver session experience has been updated to provide clarity of price before, during and after charging:
Before: Drivers can view details of how prices will change throughout the session, depending on the TOU or tiered pricing rates set.
During: Drivers can track charging progress, energy usage and detailed cost breakdown with an easy-to-use accessible session tracker.
After: The in-app charging history now links to the web-based receipts, which are also emailed to drivers after each session.
- Additional:
- Charger settings can now be edited in bulk from the dashboard, including pricing rules, map visibility, installation and deployment information.
Added support for Tesla connector type to dashboard.
Charger page in the dashboard has an improved filter for quickly searching for chargers and locations.
Improvements to make adding chargers and locations more clear and easier in the dashboard.
Bug fixes including:
Payout reports to now include all lifetime historical sessions
Display of kWh on new web receipt
Removal of chargers from access rules
Multiple time slots pricing within 24 hours
Default pricing rule is now always displayed at the top of the Pricing page
Added charger make in addition to model in the charger detail page
Various security enhancements
January 25th, 2023 Upcoming new pricing options + additional fixes
Full release notes: January 25th, 2023 Upcoming new pricing options + additional fixes
- Upcoming new pricing options: We’re currently working on the development for several key new pricing schemes, which will be released over the next few months: Tiered pricing, Idle fees and Base session fees.
- Additional:
Fixed a critical bug related to the chargers set to auto-start mode and with access control settings enabled.
Improvements to logging services
January 11th & 13th, 2023 - California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) compliance, new charging receipts, and additional updates
Full release notes: January 11th & 13th, 2023 - California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) compliance, New charging receipts, and additional updates
California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) compliance: Changes to meet the specifications of California’s CTEP regulatory requirements. ChargeLab’s CSMS can now be integrated with any EVSE running OCPP firmware that meets CTEP requirements as specified by OCA.
New charging receipts: Drivers will receive new receipts for charging sessions, including an email that links to a web-based receipt (example) with complete details and itemized cost breakdown.
- Additional:
Added support for Tesla connector type to driver applications
Improved UI for managing certain charger settings rules in the dashboard:
Enabling chargers in auto-start mode
Management of public/private charger access rules
Improved in-app error handling messages when drivers are unable to use paid chargers due to having an expired credit card on-file
Improved scaling of the dashboard on different sizes of web browsers and device screens
More streamlined white label setup and management for branded chargers, companies and dashboard URLs
Various security improvements
Fixed bug related to setting restricted charger access rules using email domains within an organization
Fixed issues that can happen in Safari web browser when viewing charging session details in the dashboard
Fixed rare issues where drivers were able to use private chargers without having been granted access
Added self-healing mechanisms to backend microservices to strengthen system reliability and uptime