The “known” brands here are often 4-5x more expensive, while still being made in China anyway, so I’m trying to understand where the real difference is in practice: safety, reliability, certifications, firmware/app quality, long-term support, or just branding/distribution.
Context: home install in Belgium, 3-phase, Polestar 4, and I’d like decent Home Assistant integration if possible.
Questions:
- Has anyone here actually installed and used an AliExpress wallbox long-term?
- Which brands/models are acceptable, and which should be avoided?
- Can they usually be integrated into Home Assistant in a clean way (local API, MQTT, Modbus, OCPP, cloud hacks, etc.)?
- Any regrets, failures, safety issues, or surprisingly good experiences?
I’m not looking for real user experience. Thanks everyone ! 😉