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It’s funny you should ask that … about a year ago I wrote a document for Audi that married the needs of electric car owners and owners corporations. As this is an area that’s bound to be growing, it’s something all large buildings should be looking at.
In very simple terms, unless you have a dedicated power source connected to your unit’s electricity supply, you need:
- a way to connect your high voltage charger to the building’s mains,
- a meter so the building’s management knows how much to charge you for using its power,
- by-laws that ensure the installation is done safely and professionally and that ensures the installation and ongoing maintenance of the supply is the responsibility of the owner.
It would benefit all strata schemes to have a policy worked out, with attendant by-laws ready to roll, as the popularity of electric cars spread.
As this article by a commercial installer explains, the high voltage wall-mounted kit supplied with most electric cars is a “dumb” unit that doesn’t measure the amount of electricity used. However, you can add your own meter which can be monitored remotely.
So it is worth approaching your committee now and asking them how they plan to respond to future requests for installation and, at the same time, provide them with information and options that may be open to them.
One thing you can’t do is just hook your car up to a mains socket like it was a trickle battery charger. You need a professionally installed three-phase supply that is connected to the buildings power supply. For that you will need:
- Permission from the Owners Corp
- A special resolution by-law allowing you to change common property (and take responsibility for the installation)
- Safe and secure cabling from the building’s power board to your parking spot
- A secure wall-mounted supply with a sealed meter of some description. All of this will have to be installed so that you can’t fiddle the meter and your neighbours can’t steal your power.
Good luck.