Resident wants charging point for electric scooter

Here is an article I wrote for the ACT branch of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association. https://www.aeva.asn.au/retrofitting-electric-vehicle-charging-in-strata-properties/ Some of the details are ACT-specific but many points are relevant anywhere. The WattBlock report referenced in this article has step by step guidelines and advice for retrofitting in strata properties.

A key point is that what is the best solution for one OC is not necessarily best for another. One key concept to grasp is that people who don’t yet have EVs tend to think they need much faster charging than they really do. I routinely charge my car from an ordinary 10A power point and have been charging electric cars like that since 2009.

Another key point is that it is possible to do a staged roll out. At first, a few people could charge from ordinary power points without overloading anything. At some point, there might be enough cars charging that their extra demand is a problem for the building’s maximum load capacity. The key thing to understand here is that the building’s electrical supply was designed to cope with the evening peak. Outside a few hours of late afternoon to early evening, there will be more than enough spare capacity to handle car charging. There are various systems that can be installed in due course to manage load sharing and to avoid exceeding the building’s peak demand. That only needs to be put in place once a higher proportion of residents have EVs. For the first few, low tech solutions will be fine.

Owners will probably want user-pay. The best way to enable that is for each owner to have permission to run cabling back to their own meters. Then the OC does not have an extra admin burden. If that is not practical (eg. a unit’s distribution board might be many floors above the car), then a simple kWh counter in line with a power point might be enough.

NB. The strict regulations about embedded networks for electricity supply to units do not apply when the supply is to vehicles because vehicles are not regarded as premises.

This resource discusses EV charging more generally but includes a section on what ‘EV readiness’ looks like for new strata properties: https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au/reports/local-government-resource-pack/

Feel free to send me a personal message to set up a phone call if you would like to talk about EVs more and better understand what is and is not really needed and pros and cons of different ways to accommodate charging. I can speak from over a decade of experience with electric cars as well as being an executive committee member through much of that period.

Jimmy-T wrote:

… I also have to confess that I thought this question was about one of those trendy electric scooters we see around the city (or used to, before lockdown). I now realise I am simply too hip for my own good.

I made the same assumption but I have never been accused of being hip.

Jimmy-T wrote:

On second thoughts, having sifted through pictures of all kinds of electric scooters, I wonder if we can get Marbles (the OP) to tell us what kind of scooter he’s talking about.

My impression of the original post was that the question was more about “How can we handle EVs in general that might come along later if we say yes to the scooter person?”  So, it doesn’t really matter what sort of scooter it is.

Marbles wrote:

I am interested to know how to manage an expected demand some time the future when the need arises.

I think Sir Humphrey’s post above pretty much spells it out. If you want to know the specifics for your strata scheme, ask the owners what they want – they’re the ones who’ll be paying for it, after all (but it will also enhance the saleability of their properties in the future).

What you want to avoid is having to react to each request as and when it arises. Formulate a policy and then respond accordingly.

Here’s what to ask the owners – do they want:

1. No change – no cost?
2. Cabled power to their own meters – low cost (if feasible) but slow charging speeds,  exclusive access?
3. Metered power from common property power sources – low cost, slow charging speeds, exclusive access?
4. Three-phase power to their individual parking spots – higher cost, faster speeds, exclusive access?
5. Communal high-speed charging stations – moderate costs, faster speeds, shared access?

This is very much a user-pays consideration.  Owners will only get what they are prepared to pay for, individually and collectively.

For the latter two options you can install a system that diverts the power to where its most needed, avoiding overload and brown-outs during peak periods and sharing the power fairly between multiple charging points that are in use at the same time.