Living in an apartment shouldn’t be a barrier to having an electric vehicle.
Apartment EV charging presents unique challenges to EV owners. Parking spaces are generally communal areas, and body corporates need to balance the needs of current EV owners as well as non EV owners and the future uptake of EV in their building.
Discover key considerations for EV charging in apartments in Australia, including overcoming body corporate EV charging issues and installation tips.
Working with your body corporate
Engaging your body corporate or strata management is often the first key step to get your building ready for electric vehicle charging.
Find out the steps for understanding if your building is already EV-ready, charging options for your vehicle and how to lodge a formal request with your strata or body corporate.
Understanding EV charging
If you live in an apartment building or high rise, we will likely recommend a solution involving AC fast chargers that balance the charging needs of multiple EVs with the power demands of the rest of the building.
Level 1 – AC Slow Chargers
These EV chargers can be plugged into a standard powerpoint or outlet. Although, they are handy to have, they will charge your EV very slowly and cannot be a sustainable or fair ongoing solution in communal parking areas of apartment buildings.
Level 2 – AC Fast Chargers
Five times faster than a Level 1 EV AC Charger, these units do need a dedicated circuit, and when installed, can be separated for individual use and metering. This is the most powerful EV charger you can install at a residential location.
Level 3 – DC Fast Chargers
These chargers are the fastest on the EV market and are most suitable to commercial or fleet environments. Due to the extensive infrastructure needs and high energy draw, DC fast charging in apartment buildings is not practical.
Why apartment buildings need an EV strategy
It’s possible that your building isn’t built to accommodate the power required for future EV uptake and could result in a host of future issues and penalties.
Usually, installing the first few chargers stations is easy and seamless. However, as EV uptake in you building increases, the Building Power Supply Capacity vs EV Charging Load will need to be managed.
That is why we recommend residents consider approaching their Body Corporate to discuss their building’s EV Charging strategy.
Consider the following compliance areas:
Approvals and installation
After your strata committee has settled on a strategy and roadmap for EV charging, and established a scope of work, it’s then time to go out to tender for works move onto to the approvals and installation project management and site commissioning.
If your building hasn’t reached that level yet, various common area approval processes will be laid out in your building by-laws. Approval permissions needed for EV charging infrastructure systems in strata are different in each Australian state, and are dependent on the local grid supplier, and the ownership of the electricity metres.
Helpful regulations info by state:
Download a sample body corporate letter
If you are a resident of an apartment building, you can use this sample letter of engagement to introduce us to a body corporate on your behalf.
Latest articles
From recent case studies to technology news and general tips, learn more about EV charging in Australia.
