I would love to see more DESS development and regular new features. I have seen so many good ideas here on the forum.
Would a paid subscription based DESS with regular new features be something you would support?
I live in the USA where we hope to someday have ESS. DESS is but a dream…
However, I think DESS should get more development resources and continue to come included with the Victron Ecosystem. In short order DESS is going to be a necessary feature to compete and Victron can already be ahead of the competition. At least, in places other than the USA. 
nudge nudge MPV
Instead of paying for DESS optimization make it open (source).
We will see good progress immediately.
As a costumer I pay for good HW, SW should be open.
I do not like yearly payments, of course I also know that for a company it is quite good to have yearly revenues.
(only my 2 cents)
I wish Victron would step up development on DESS. Simply don’t want to use 3rd party hacks for all the obvious reasons. A fully supported solution from Victron should always be preferred. Happy to pay a monthly subscription of ~€5,- if that helps paying for development.
I don’t know exactly what the reason for this vote is. I have been involved in the last 15-17 months of the DESS development period, including the beta phase. It was very eventful, with many sobering events. If I interpret direct and indirect statements correctly, Victron would like to carry out a certain consolidation phase to see whether the elementary functions are working properly. During the development phase, due to the many changes, it was sometimes impossible to pinpoint where the actual malfunctions were. I assume that new functions have long been in the works and will be released in due course. I doubt that this vote will change anything. Victron has set new standards with the development of the current DESS and will continue to push them forward. When I look at many other attempts by other manufacturers, I find this very remarkable. I think we should all be patient and give the developers the time they need to do their work.
One of the reasons I choose Victron is there “free” dess service.
As a recent adopter of ESS in Australia, I can comment that the software the way I am using it currently is remarkably versatile and very effective. The complexity of dealing with DESS for a worldwide market is considerable given all of the different rules and regulations for the various markets.
I would like the wholesale energy provider here (amber electric) to be installed as a part of the drop down menu of DESS but understand a very many places would
feel the same way so I will either implement my own system or wait for it to be deployed by Victron.
The more I delve into it the more I realise the complexity of the various scenarios we all have locally. In most cases the software can handle that complexity and do even more.
I don’t welcome a subscription and enjoy the work being done by the very capable Victron developers and the enthusiasts as well. We are on the bleeding edge of this work and the refinements are helping to reduce carbon emissions and reduce our costs considerably. I am enjoying the journey…….its a lot of fun.
I would consider it wise to keep developing it beyond its current teething troubles, watch the competition, and work very closely with everyone who tries to integrate DESS into their systems.
Due to the very nature of solar/storage installations, it’s almost a reversely proprietary situation, making it very difficult to focus the beam on a single solution – this can easily be observed when trying out the current DESS version on basically any live system. On a good day it seems to go about its task, but often it would do the exact opposite of how I would optimise the energy flow in my installation, partly due to the very limited prediction window. I can then go and adapt the algorithm myself, or switch it off altogether while applying my own, much simpler Node Red flow.
To sum up, I would welcome an open approach for DESS, getting the core functionality right, and adding a few universal “tweaking knobs”, which would likely double or triple the potential system coverage compared to the current version.
As for a subscription model, yes, I would pay for it, but not until it’s a discernible product, and definitely not if it’s a black box without tweaking options.
I understand the sentiment that software like DESS should remain free, especially since Victron has built a strong reputation on providing excellent Venus OS and inverter functionality at no additional cost. However, it’s important to recognise that Victron is a commercial company, and software development is not free. The ongoing development of DESS, integrations with energy providers, and maintaining compatibility with evolving grid regulations all require significant resources—developers, testing, infrastructure, and support.
Unlike traditional inverter firmware, DESS is not just a static feature, but a complex, evolving system that must continuously improve. A one-time hardware sale cannot cover the ongoing development costs, maintenance, and future enhancements. If Victron wants to provide a reliable, well-supported, and future-proof DESS, it needs a sustainable funding model. Otherwise, we’d risk seeing either stalled development or increased hardware prices to compensate.
I’m also a supporter of open-source software, and I agree that transparency and community involvement can be beneficial. However, when it comes to commercial integrations with energy providers, grid services, and market-specific optimizations, these are not things that can be crowd-developed efficiently. These integrations often involve agreements, licensing fees, compliance work, and ongoing maintenance—all of which have real costs. If Victron offers grid-aware optimisations, market-based (onbalans) energy trading, or demand-response functionality, someone has to pay for the engineering and regulatory work behind it.
Another factor to consider is support and reliability. A paid model could ensure faster bug fixes, and prioritised feature development—instead of relying solely on forum discussions and community-driven solutions.
That said, I understand the hesitation towards subscriptions. Perhaps a tiered model could work—where basic DESS remains free, but advanced optimisations, integrations, and premium support come with a reasonable subscription fee. This way, everyone has access to a functional system, but those who want cutting-edge features can contribute to making them possible.