What's the difference between Essential (free) and Autopilot for compatibility?

Essential (free) includes all local protocols: Modbus TCP/IP, Modbus RTU, OpenTherm, SG-Ready, sensor spoofing, OCPP 1.6, and community-built Modbus. If your device connects locally, you get full control for free, forever.

Autopilot (€4.99/month) ★ adds cloud API connectivity for devices that either don't support local protocols (e.g., electric vehicles, Tesla Powerwall, Sonnen, Enphase) or where cloud data supplements local control (e.g., pulling solar forecast data to improve battery scheduling). It also unlocks the intelligence layer: dynamic price optimisation, weather-predictive control, multi-asset coordination, and the thermal learning model.

The split maps directly to Alva's real cost structure. Local protocols cost nothing to maintain — the hardware does the work. Cloud APIs cost money with every call: electricity price forecast APIs, weather data services, vehicle manufacturer API access fees (per-call via Enode), cloud compute for optimization algorithms, and ML model training. You're never paying for something artificial.