Is your building prepared for the EV wave?
As the EV movement gains traction in Australia, body corporates and strata managers are recognizing the advantages of incorporating EV charging infrastructure sooner in terms of their environmental impact, property values and ongoing costs.
However, integrating and retrofitting EV charging stations into strata communities can be a complex process. It’s important to choose a technical partner that’s equipped to handle the EV transition for your property now and into the future.
EV charging options for apartments
The viability and costs for each option will vary substantially based on your existing electrical infrastructure, parking lot layouts, and other factors. We recommend to all Body Corporates organise an initial site visit and site energy assessment report.
1. Staged delivery
- Phased rollout of EV infrastructure
- Triggered upscaling from monitoring
- Needs-based scaling through zones
2. Whole of building
- Full-scale rollout at one time
- One-time cost + ongoing support
- Total ownership of infrastructure
3. Visitor bays only
- Fast solution for EV capability
- Interim measure before full solution
- Can be done alongside or separate
4. Ad-hoc charging
- Level 1 / “Trickle” chargers
- Not suitable for apartments
- Contains many drawbacks
Process to implement EV charging stations
Your EV infrastructure installation will follow four key steps:
- Enlist an EV infrastructure specialist to assess the building’s load capacity and site suitability for EV charging stations.
- Collaborate with your specialist to determine right EV charging solution for your needs and compare supplier quotes.
- Present the obtained quotes to the Body Corporate for review and oversee the installation process once a contractor is chosen.
- Formalise documentation regarding the operation and management of the EV solution and communicate that to your community.
With EVIAM, you own the infrastructure.
At EVIAM, we install EcoStruxure EV Charging Expert by Schneider Electric, a hardware load management solution for EV infrastructure that communicates with both AC and DC groups of charging stations.
This technology optimises your EV power usage in real-time without compromising the building activities, avoiding costly penalties or even outages caused by the use of multiple EV charging stations at the same time.
We want to keep capital expenditure as exactly that, capital expenditure. There’s no need to pay monthly or annual subscriptions to access the EV infrastructure you have already paid for.
Just like switchboards, distribution boards and power points, it is yours to own for now and always.
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.
Manage it all with one dedicated provider
With EVIAM as your dedicated asset manager, we protect your investment for years to come and ensure future upgrades and scaling projects are executed properly.
Learn more about we support your building.
Latest articles
From recent case studies to technology news and general tips, learn more about EV charging in Australia.
