Do you own a JuiceBox charger? Has your organization, power company, or government energy board developed arrangements with consumers that rely on the JuiceBox? Are you frustrated and worried that Enel X Way is shutting down its North American operations, including key software the chargers rely on?
Here are three things you can do:
- Complete this short form to tell us about you, describe your needs, and share ideas for how you can help. We will use this information for collective organizing and may email you with an occasional update. We will not share your contact information without your permission.
- If you are a writer, organizer, designer, or software developer, please consider joining the “Juice Rescue” open source software project:
- Join the Discord Server
- Follow the Juice Rescue Project on Github
Update Oct 9: We have compiled a short PDF guide on Preparing for Enel X Way's Abandonment of JuiceBox EV Charging Software
Update Oct 10: Contributors to Juice Rescue have worked with Consumer Reports to send a letter to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission urging. Here are two quotes from the longer letter asking the FTC to investigate the behavior of Enel X. And here's
- "The decision to stop supporting the app that thousands of consumers use to control the charger and the complete loss of functionality for the commercial EV chargers represents an egregious example of how companies are controlling the functionality of a product even after the consumer has purchased the device."
- Here's the story on the CR site: Consumer Reports, U.S. PIRG, and 60 self-reported owners of JuiceBox EV chargers call on the FTC to investigate Enel X after abruptly discontinuing sales and support of its EV chargers. We are deeply grateful for everyone at the CR team for working with us so quickly to establish the facts collaborate on a productive path with federal regulators.
Now that Enel X is shutting down key infrastructure for these devices, Juice Rescue is organizing a collective effort aimed at keeping JuiceBoxes running with full functionality:
- Educating people about how to safely keep charging with your JuiceBox charger
- Organizing technology development on projects like Juicepassproxy that can replace some of the functionality that will be lost once Enel X shuts down
- Coordinating efforts across customers and clients of Enel X to:
- Advocate that Enel X release JuiceBox-related intellectual property and source code, allowing customers to keep the chargers' full functionality
- Direct public pressure, policy, and legal strategies that could help Enel X meet its promises to customers/clients, and its obligations under the law, including right to repair laws
Will my JuiceBox shut down on October 11? Residential JuiceBoxes will continue to charge fine, even after Enel X shuts down their infrastructure. However, after this day, users won't be able to change the settings, monitor charging, schedule or initiate charging, because these functions are dependent on Enel X's network and app. Commercial users and those with special deals with power companies, on the other hand, may not be able to charge at all; they should contact their commercial operator or power company with questions.
Will my JuiceBox become a fire hazard? Probably not. But if your circuit breaker and wiring are not properly matched (i.e., sized too low) to the output of your JuiceBox, then you should make sure to configure the charger and lower the maximum output before October 11. Otherwise the charger may draw more amps than your system can provide, which could either trip your breaker or become a fire hazard. efforts like Juicepassproxy should eventually make it easier for users to modify these settings even after Enel X shuts down.
Can I connect my JuiceBox to other systems like Home Assistant? Yes. The Juicepassproxy project allows someone with technical skills to get data out of the JuiceBox. We are working to make this software more functional and easier to set up with Home Assistant and other systems.
Juice Rescue is organized by a group of people who own JuiceBoxes or whose organizations rely on them. If you have questions about the group, please join the Discord server and ask. The Discord conversation includes:
- Residential JuiceBox owners who want to continue to monitor and manage their EV chargers over the network
- A co-op in upstate New York that has 43 chargers
- Internet of Things developers with experience working with EV charging systems
- Organizers with experience in relevant intellectual property issues and federal/state regulations