Is your new or existing residential apartment EV ready?

Key points

• Your current car is more than likely the last petrol or diesel powered vehicle you will own

• Why EV charging planning is important to ensure your apartment is ready for the EV.

• The power consumption from one 22kW three phase EV charger is equivalent to around six average household air conditioners units.

• Jet Charge is one company that has solutions for EV charging to future-proof both new and existing apartment complexes.

• Ensure the body corporate has an EV charger plan in place, sooner rather than later.

You may not realise it, but your current car is more than likely the last petrol or diesel powered vehicle you will own. As I’ve mentioned in several articles, the EV revolution is not just coming, it's here now. With many governments worldwide banning ICE ( internal combustion engines vehicles ) as early as 2030, all of the vehicle manufacturers are now committed to the transition with some only producing EVs from 2024. And with this evolution in the automotive industry, whether Australians realise it or not, EVs will become the norm.

So with this changeover period upon us now, we have seen some of Australia’s states develop their EV Strategy, with the expectation EVs will make up more than half of new car sales by 2030. Achieving this ambitious goal will require economic and other incentives and appropriately directive planning controls to support the delivery of charging infrastructure for EVs.

To date, most Australian states' have largely relegated the provision of EV charging infrastructure to the public domain, along highways, and within carparks. At present, it lacks the appropriate guidelines and even incentives to encourage the installation of charging facilities in residential and commercial settings, which is a concern, considering more than one in ten Australians live in multi-unit dwellings, with more making the move every year.

Given that upwards of 80% of charging tends to occur at home, owning an apartment with simple and easy charging will become increasingly valuable as electric vehicle uptake increases across Australia. A specific developed tailored system will be required to maximise the output and efficiency of EV charging within any new or existing apartment complex. Widespread EV adoption requires sophisticated power management electric infrastructure, so it’s important to ensure electrical load across apartments are managed. Just to give you an example, the power consumption from one 22kW three phase EV charger is equivalent to six average household air conditioners units. So once you extrapolate this out too, 10, 20, or more EV cars charging at the same time, this will impact on the apartment complex electrical system, if it’s not designed for such an electrical load increase.

Whilst there are several companies to provide support and recommendations for infrastructure implementation for EV chargers, I found the Jet Charge website provided a non industry person with a good example and explanation for both new and existing apartment complexes.

The Jet Charge website explained how EV chargers can be installed and what is required for a few parking spaces, to the total complex. This will provide you with a good understanding of what to look for or what is required depending on the number of parking spaces the apartment complex has.

Below is a summary outlining a few options.

Pic 1 - An example of retrofitting existing infrastructure. The number of charging stations that can be installed will be limited by the maximum demand of the network (generally between 2-6 stations).

Pic 2 - An example of an Electrical infrastructure upgrade. When there isn’t enough capacity to meet the incoming demand, buildings will need to consider upgrading their electrical infrastructure. This allows residents to retrofit chargers to their private parking space using the new system at any time.

Pic 3 - An example of Load balancing across the entire building. Systems to monitor individual floors’ usage. Detailed engineering is required to design the required load balancing solution for the specific needs of the building.

Illustrations from Jet Charge website;https://jetcharge.com.au/innovation/load-management-system

As you can see, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, strata schemes when it comes to charging stations with apartment parking spaces, but the good news is there are solutions.

So with Australia being on the precipice of the shift from combustion-powered vehicles to electric vehicles that are already well underway overseas, many body corporates will see the value in access to electric vehicle charging to their carbon footprint, wallets, and property values.

The future is Electric vehicles for sure, it’s pretty clear now this train is moving and it’s gaining speed and getting momentum. So if you are looking at moving into, or are already living in an apartment complex, make sure the body corporate has a plan in place, sooner rather than later.