Charging in an Apartment Building

[FormationLap]

Tesla family, looking for you guidance.

I’ve had my Model Y for the past 2 years and have been happily charging it in our house, inside the garage.

However, we’re now considering moving, and potentially looking to move into an apartment building. All the apartment buildings in the areas we’re looking at, don’t have any electric car chargers available. Our realtor has suggested asking the apartment building to install one at our parking spot. This would be a charger that would be specifically for us and would (ideally) be installed prior to move in date.

Questions:

1. Has anyone lived in a (large) apartment building and had a charger installed for them specifically? How difficult and more importantly, how expensive was the job?
2. Are you charged per usage? Is your building able to find out how much electricity you’re using on the charger and bill you accordingly? Or do you have a monthly rate?
3. How do you ensure no one else uses your charger? I believe many of these underground garages will be out of cell service and won’t have wifi. Have you built a lock box around your charger to ensure no one uses?

Interested in your experiences and open to any advice.

Thanks

 

[davewill]

If you end up installing a Tesla Wall connector, it can be configured with a white list of cars it will allow to charge.

 

[FormationLap]

If you end up installing a Tesla Wall connector, it can be configured with a white list of cars it will allow to charge.

Thanks for your response! Interesting, does this require WiFi to setup/maintain? Or can that be done over Bluetooth?

 

[father_of_6]

Thanks for your response! Interesting, does this require WiFi to setup/maintain? Or can that be done over Bluetooth?

You connect to the HPWC as if it were a WiFi hotspot, then when you open your browser you'll get the settings page.

Edit: just wanted to clarify - the Tesla Wall Charger doesn't need WiFi itself to function in any way, although it *can* get OTA updates just like the car if it's connected. I'm not aware of any actual updates that have happened though... it's basically just a fancy plug.

 

[father_of_6]

This thing might be helpful to know about for anyone searching for charging solutions in an apartment:

Siemens' new home EV charger adapter ends need for electrical panel upgrades

Siemens' game-changing EV charger adapter can end costly electrical panel upgrades and enable home chargers to be connected in minutes.

electrek.co

 

[nagleess]

Hi there, Ive been working on solving the apartment charging issue for about a decade now. Worked for EverCharge and now Orange, not here to sell you either solution, just share my knowledge.

The problem with apartment charging is that its a delicate balancing act between the EV driver, Landlord, and apartment community as a whole. The driver just needs reliable access to power, whether that's a simple plug on the wall or a full-blown station. The community wants that amenity to be available to everyone equally. The landlord/property owner and ultimate decision-maker wants a few things: 1) keep costs down, both from adding infrastructure to not paying higher electricity bills, and 2) potentially recouping the investment either through higher rent, paid parking, or upping the cost per kWh.

So while it seems relatively simple its actually quite complex because each of these needs MUST be met in order for everything to work smoothly and not turn into a headache. The problems usually start when the landlord agrees to install a station or a couple of stations that meet the current building need. This works when there are always enough chargers to serve residents conveniently ie. not having to share. People really hate having to move their vehicles once they're home so you'd ideally want 1:1 charging. This creates a cascading effect, where the landlord needs to put more money into building more stations because its causing too many problems in the community. They start to realize its a huge money suck and they quickly lose interest.

Beyond that maintenance becomes a big issue. Depending on if the landlord took state, utility or federal funds to offset costs they could be on the hook to maintain the equipment for at least 10 years. Unfortunately, most L2 chargers, especially public and shared, get abused a lot and rarely last more than 5 years. For example, at EverCharge we started by consistently maintaining the chargers as long as they paid the $20/month fee, however as we grew it became clear this was bankrupting the company. We changed it to a 3-year warranty as most chargers lasted slightly longer than that and once a break did occur the company was off the hook. Why do they break so much? Its the cables. People really do not take care of those things, they drop them, run over them, don't hang them properly, and they break constantly. Which usually costs a minimum of $200 to replace + the electrician to make the replacement. In total its usually about $450.

 

[exxxviii]

I wonder if the mid-term answer will be that apartments and condos just run a lot of 240V circuits to outlets? Then the residents can provide their own portable chargers. That way, the apartment deals with the biggest challenge (just getting power to a parking space) and the residents take on the cost and risk of the expensive EVSE.

Long-term, it seems like apartments and condos will offer ample EVSE access as a competitive amenity.

 

[GSP]

Hi there, Ive been working on solving the apartment charging issue for about a decade now. Worked for EverCharge and now Orange, not here to sell you either solution, just share my knowledge.

The problem with apartment charging is that its a delicate balancing act between the EV driver, Landlord, and apartment community as a whole. The driver just needs reliable access to power, whether that's a simple plug on the wall or a full-blown station. The community wants that amenity to be available to everyone equally. The landlord/property owner and ultimate decision-maker wants a few things: 1) keep costs down, both from adding infrastructure to not paying higher electricity bills, and 2) potentially recouping the investment either through higher rent, paid parking, or upping the cost per kWh.

So while it seems relatively simple its actually quite complex because each of these needs MUST be met in order for everything to work smoothly and not turn into a headache. The problems usually start when the landlord agrees to install a station or a couple of stations that meet the current building need. This works when there are always enough chargers to serve residents conveniently ie. not having to share. People really hate having to move their vehicles once they're home so you'd ideally want 1:1 charging. This creates a cascading effect, where the landlord needs to put more money into building more stations because its causing too many problems in the community. They start to realize its a huge money suck and they quickly lose interest.

Beyond that maintenance becomes a big issue. Depending on if the landlord took state, utility or federal funds to offset costs they could be on the hook to maintain the equipment for at least 10 years. Unfortunately, most L2 chargers, especially public and shared, get abused a lot and rarely last more than 5 years. For example, at EverCharge we started by consistently maintaining the chargers as long as they paid the $20/month fee, however as we grew it became clear this was bankrupting the company. We changed it to a 3-year warranty as most chargers lasted slightly longer than that and once a break did occur the company was off the hook. Why do they break so much? Its the cables. People really do not take care of those things, they drop them, run over them, don't hang them properly, and they break constantly. Which usually costs a minimum of $200 to replace + the electrician to make the replacement. In total its usually about $450.

Good info on the various challenges. It is great that you have been working to overcome them. The cable issue highlights the wisdom of Europe’s approach to have drivers carry their own cables with them. That way the cables are taken care of, and L2 charge points are less expensive to install and maintain. I wonder if there would be a way to extend the J1772 standard to allow this option here.

They do also have an option to install EVSE with “tethered“ cables, like we have in the US, and that is convenient for homeowners with garages.

GSP

 

[davewill]

Good info on the various challenges. It is great that you have been working to overcome them. The cable issue highlights the wisdom of Europe’s approach to have drivers carry their own cables with them. That way the cables are taken care of, and L2 charge points are less expensive to install and maintain. I wonder if there would be a way to extend the J1772 standard to allow this option here.

They do also have an option to install EVSE with “tethered“ cables, like we have in the US, and that is convenient for homeowners with garages.

GSP

I know that in Europe the early LEAFs came with J1772 inlets and owners needed a Type2 to Type1 (J1772) cable to charge.

There isn't any reason I can think of why a provider of EVSEs couldn't design one with a detachable J1772 cable. The provider could sell a cable to each tenant and in the case of accidental damage to the cable or one wearing out after the warranty, the individual tenant would simply buy another. Knowing they're on the hook if it gets damaged would probably encourage them to take more care. This would also save the cost of a service call to install a new cable into the EVSE or to replace it alltogether.

They could even offer one with a Tesla plug, I suppose.

There's no free lunch, of course. Daily plugging and unplugging the detachable cable would introduce wear at that point, but it shouldn't be too bad if designed correctly.

 

[exxxviii]

I know that in Europe the early LEAFs came with J1772 inlets and owners needed a Type2 to Type1 (J1772) cable to charge.

There isn't any reason I can think of why a provider of EVSEs couldn't design one with a detachable J1772 cable. The provider could sell a cable to each tenant and in the case of accidental damage to the cable or one wearing out after the warranty, the individual tenant would simply buy another. This would also save the cost of a service call to install a new cable into the EVSE or to replace it alltogether.

There's no free lunch, of course. Daily plugging and unplugging the detachable cable would introduce wear at that point, but it shouldn't be too bad if designed correctly.

When we were in Europe in 2022, this was the norm everywhere we saw public EVSEs. The car owners provided their own cable. I rarely saw an EVSE with its own cable.

Maybe this is the long-term apartment and condo approach. The balance of avoiding a major capital outlay and maintenance while providing critical services to residents.

 

[ATPMSD]

I'm not aware of any actual updates that have happened though

Updates to the Wall Connector happen a lot although most, but not all, do not add features. Luckily you can update them manually:

Troubleshooting a Gen 3 Wall Connector

Learn more about troubleshooting your Gen 3 Wall Connector and identifying common fault codes and their solutions.

www.tesla.com

 

[GSP]

Tesla family, looking for you guidance.

I’ve had my Model Y for the past 2 years and have been happily charging it in our house, inside the garage.

However, we’re now considering moving, and potentially looking to move into an apartment building. All the apartment buildings in the areas we’re looking at, don’t have any electric car chargers available. Our realtor has suggested asking the apartment building to install one at our parking spot. This would be a charger that would be specifically for us and would (ideally) be installed prior to move in date.

Questions:

1. Has anyone lived in a (large) apartment building and had a charger installed for them specifically? How difficult and more importantly, how expensive was the job?
2. Are you charged per usage? Is your building able to find out how much electricity you’re using on the charger and bill you accordingly? Or do you have a monthly rate?
3. How do you ensure no one else uses your charger? I believe many of these underground garages will be out of cell service and won’t have wifi. Have you built a lock box around your charger to ensure no one uses?

Interested in your experiences and open to any advice.

Thanks

If you are not able to get an EVSE installed before you move in, be prepared for a long wait. Renters and condo owners offer have to spend 1-3 years campaigning for EV charging before it is installed.

If you have assigned parking, and it is close enough to your meter or panel to make connection pratical, that would be ideal. Often the best solution is to convince the HOA or landlord to install some shared ChargePoint L2 charging posts. That way there is a path to the HOA making a small profit, a great motivator. A lady named Joy has the “Tesla Joy” YouTube channel and has a great video how she arranged this with her HOA.

Good Luck,

GSP

 

[Calliope]

I spent years trying to convince my condo board to allow me to install an EVSE or outlet in my parking spot (I would have been happy to use a portable EVSE), or at least install some third-party EVSE in the visitor parking area. They put up a dozen different requirements and roadblocks and eventually I moved to a more forward-thinking building that had 3 third-party EVSEs in their visitor parking area, and had budgeted for more as the demand grew. I was still paying retail prices for L2 (J1772) charging, but at least it was at my home and not in a parking lot somewhere. That was acceptable to me as a compromise that still allowed me to live in an apartment building rather than a house.