Launch HN: Enode (YC W21) – API for energy consumption
27 comments
Sounds like you're teeing up to be the pipes for DER management. That's great -- lots of people are coming into the field wanting to be the ones who own the DER management/experience -- but who do you think is going to win the coordination fight?
The EV folks know they have giant batteries on wheels, so they're all wanting to control their schedules to do utility-scale grid services. Smart EV chargers like the JuiceBox try to make their own schedules for the same reason. In California, we have nega-watt companies like OhmConnect that push out their schedules. Folks like Tesla want to sell you a closed ecosystem so they can vertically integrate their schedules. And then there's Nest/Homekit, who want to be the central hub of it all.
It's great to allow all these devices to be connected via API, but as a consumer, who am I going to go to to realize some of this value? And how I am going to make sure my EV's schedule doesn't turn on during my OhmHour or some other combination of aggregators pushing conflicting schedules that will just drive me mad into IoT hell?
The EV folks know they have giant batteries on wheels, so they're all wanting to control their schedules to do utility-scale grid services. Smart EV chargers like the JuiceBox try to make their own schedules for the same reason. In California, we have nega-watt companies like OhmConnect that push out their schedules. Folks like Tesla want to sell you a closed ecosystem so they can vertically integrate their schedules. And then there's Nest/Homekit, who want to be the central hub of it all.
It's great to allow all these devices to be connected via API, but as a consumer, who am I going to go to to realize some of this value? And how I am going to make sure my EV's schedule doesn't turn on during my OhmHour or some other combination of aggregators pushing conflicting schedules that will just drive me mad into IoT hell?
You’re raising a lot of relevant issues! We think that your energy provider is in the best position to realize this value. That's also why we focus on those companies as our customers. Managing conflicting schedules is one of the challenges we have to solve. Don't want anyone to be stuck in IoT hell:)
This is corny but I just want to say thank you. Its a cliche for startups to say they're going to change the world, but I truly believe demand-response/VPP functionality is the limiting factor for fighting climate change and saving the world.
Thank you, really appreciate that! Fun problem to work on too:)
How do you differentiate your company from https://www.bidgely.com
It seems like Bridgely hooks up to the grid while we connects directly to the energy product? so when they sell ML tech to detect EV chargers we help onboard a the customer directly to their app
I feel sadness for the Smartcar company. First they are completely cloned by Otonomo and now YC is investing in another clone?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19719380
YC is becoming a joke. Your website is carbon copy of SmartCar. Not sure if this or the calendar widget company is more amusing.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19719380
YC is becoming a joke. Your website is carbon copy of SmartCar. Not sure if this or the calendar widget company is more amusing.
Wow - you guys have set yourselves up for a lot of work! The amount of different hardware and versioning out there is going to be a lot of data disentanglement and cleaning.
If you can pull it off would be super useful for the undervalued and often difficult to monetize residential space. Sounds like you should partner with Genability and UtilityAPI once you prove out your tech.
Good luck.
If you can pull it off would be super useful for the undervalued and often difficult to monetize residential space. Sounds like you should partner with Genability and UtilityAPI once you prove out your tech.
Good luck.
Thanks! Yeah this will not be easy but I guess that’s also why there’s an opportunity here :)
Awesome suggestions. Will check them out
Awesome suggestions. Will check them out
Great idea. Disclaimer: I’ve never seen an EV up close.
How do you access charge data from a vehicle? Does each EV model have Wifi that it uses to transmit charging data to a remote location like Tesla.com and then you view it in the Tesla app or does it use Bluetooth and that data is not transferred over the internet but only to the app?
How do you access charge data from a vehicle? Does each EV model have Wifi that it uses to transmit charging data to a remote location like Tesla.com and then you view it in the Tesla app or does it use Bluetooth and that data is not transferred over the internet but only to the app?
(Almost) all new EVs have an internet connection through built in SIM card.
Great idea! If I have a "smart" oven, how would I be able to connect it?
Assuming you mean for instance a panel heater, then yes we will support it.
Controlling the charge going to people's cars seems quite invasive -- particularly if you are making the control contingent on their being present at their house or apartment. How do you overcome this?
Not sure I understand. We don’t install any hardware at peoples homes. We connected directly to the charger over the internet (most new chargers are now IOT devices)
Awesome work! I’m actually working on something similar and would love to contact you. What would be the best way to do that?
Cool! You can reach me at nikolai at enode io :)
May be a product idea. May / May not be related to what you are doing. There is a device - which we install at home or an App in my smartphone - that shows price of electricity at any point of time. Now I turn on my washer/dryer or any other electric async device at my convenience when price of power is low.
1. We need that device/app
2. We need that device/app to be hooking up with your API to know price of electricity
3. You guys will work with provider to show this data
4. Pricing - may be monthly subscription model - say $5 per month if my monthly saving is > $10
1. We need that device/app
2. We need that device/app to be hooking up with your API to know price of electricity
3. You guys will work with provider to show this data
4. Pricing - may be monthly subscription model - say $5 per month if my monthly saving is > $10
[deleted]
We are B2B but yes. We are in talks with companies with this approach to help them finalize the connection between prices and their devices :)
Does your API have an OpenAPI definition?
It does :) You can find it at the top of the page at https://docs.enode.io
Thanks! And it validates fine, congratulations. API added to the APIs.guru OpenAPI Directory.
Do you recommend OpenAPI based docs? I used SlateDocs for mine: https://butterflylabs.gitlab.io/api-documentation because I found that generating OpenAPI with NestJS to be kind of a pain as part of a build process.
Oh nice! Thank you so much :)
We’re Thorvald, Nikolai and Henrik from Enode (https://www.enode.io). At Enode we build APIs that allow energy providers to connect to electric vehicles, heating, solar panels and home batteries. Energy providers use our API, for instance, to make sure that your Tesla is being charged when the price of electricity is low, saving you roughly 20% on your charging. Now that we have thousands of EVs connected to our platform, we also build software that bundles them together into virtual power plants that replace fossil fuel driven power plants during high demand.
This all started when Nikolai, our CTO, wanted to add more EV brands to his popular Tesla app. He had seen a broader selection of EVs in another energy app, but couldn't find a simple way to add many at the same time. He therefore started implementing one car brand after another, and after launching it in Norway an energy supplier reached out and asked if they could use his solution in their app. And that is how we got our first customer.
Being from Norway we are seeing the effects of EV adoption and electrification, which has been a huge inspiration for working on Enode. More than 2/3 of new cars sold in Norway are now EVs and 98% of the electricity produced comes from renewable sources. The increase in demand from EVs and electrification, combined with the transition to volatile renewable energy from solar and wind create enormous challenges for the energy grid. The result is that we have to shift from an energy system that responds to demand to one that responds to supply.
Heating and (soon) EV charging makes up a large portion of the total energy demand. In a place with solar production it might be better to start heating a couple of hours before you get home from work because there is excess solar generation. Also, maybe your EV charging should be moved to a time at night when wind generation is expected to increase. The optimal consumption pattern will vary from place to place, from day to day and from season to season. Such as in this example, changing the demand can often be done without affecting your daily life. But to make it possible your EV and heater must be connected to the internet and managed by someone, for instance your energy provider. This is what our API enables.
Our customers are the next generation energy providers that use our API to connect EVs, heaters and other products to their apps. If done right, people are very excited about these apps as they save money on the bill and consume cleaner energy.
We would love to hear what you think. If you have any questions or ideas please let us know! Thank you!