Metering Charging in Condo Parking Garage

[Slair]

Hi All!

I’m talking with my condo HOA about having a charger installed at my assigned parking space. They are OK with it (I’d foot the bill). However, they are wondering how they would charge for electricity... does any have any ideas or experience with how we could monitor my usage so they could charge for it?

thanks!!
Sean

 

[SageBrush]

Per kWh would be easy since you can read it from the car. Just multiply by ~ 1.12 to cover charging losses.
Or, install a cheap analog meter bought from Ebay

 

[srs5694]

Several possibilities occur to me, but there are likely to be others, too; which is best depends on your situation:

• Run it on your meter -- If it's practical to run a circuit on your unit's electrical panel to your parking space, then that's the simplest solution, since then you'll be billed directly by the utility, and there's no extra work or cost for the condo. A variant might be to install a second panel closer to the meter, if that's closer to your parking spot than your own panel; feed your main panel as a sub-panel of the new one, and also run the EVSE off the new panel. (I don't know if this is practical or even legal, though.) The practicality of either solution depends on how your condo's wiring works.
  
• Install a secondary meter -- If it's easiest to run a line from a panel that handles common-area electricity like parking lot lights, then you could install an ordinary electric meter on a line that runs from that panel to your EVSE. This would require periodic reading so that you could reimburse the condo for the electricity. This has the advantage that you and the condo association could both read the meter just by looking at it.
  
• Use a metered EVSE -- Some EVSEs, like ChargePoint Home and JuiceBox, are Internet-enabled, so you can monitor electricity use. You'd need to negotiate to figure out who "owns" the account, and you'd also need to use such an EVSE with a J1772 adapter, but it should work fine. Also, your parking spot would have to be within range of a WiFi network so that the EVSE can report back its power use. In practice, this would be a lot like the preceding option, except that the meter-reading would be done online rather than in person at a physical meter.
  
• Use Tesla's readings -- You could use TeslaFi, the Tesla API, or something similar to compile data on how much power you've consumed when charging, and use that to compute how much you owe the condo association. This would likely require the most trust by one or the other party, and it might be the most hassle-prone solution, but it should get the job done.

You may want to call in an electrician to consult on these options. An electrician will be able to tell you how practical it would be to run the circuit off your own electrical panel, for instance.

 

[RedSafari]

Install a secondary meter -- If it's easiest to run a line from a panel that handles common-area electricity like parking lot lights, then you could install an ordinary electric meter on a line that runs from that panel to your EVSE.

I have installed a Tesla HPWC in a condo parking garage for my exclusive use. We agreed on installing a meter on the circuit that feeds my charger, and paying once a year for however much electricity I’ve used. That way, other residents don’t have a concern that I’m getting free electricity.

 

[Jeffl1969]

I just responded to a similar post here. If you google "ampedup evcc" you'll find an inexpensive solution that connects a full-featured metering solution directly to a HPWC.

 

[Jeffl1969]

If you google "ampedup evcc" you'll find an inexpensive solution that connects a full-featured metering solution directly to a HPWC.

 

[Baymax123]

Several possibilities occur to me, but there are likely to be others, too; which is best depends on your situation:

• Run it on your meter -- If it's practical to run a circuit on your unit's electrical panel to your parking space, then that's the simplest solution, since then you'll be billed directly by the utility, and there's no extra work or cost for the condo. A variant might be to install a second panel closer to the meter, if that's closer to your parking spot than your own panel; feed your main panel as a sub-panel of the new one, and also run the EVSE off the new panel. (I don't know if this is practical or even legal, though.) The practicality of either solution depends on how your condo's wiring works.
  
• Install a secondary meter -- If it's easiest to run a line from a panel that handles common-area electricity like parking lot lights, then you could install an ordinary electric meter on a line that runs from that panel to your EVSE. This would require periodic reading so that you could reimburse the condo for the electricity. This has the advantage that you and the condo association could both read the meter just by looking at it.
  
• Use a metered EVSE -- Some EVSEs, like ChargePoint Home and JuiceBox, are Internet-enabled, so you can monitor electricity use. You'd need to negotiate to figure out who "owns" the account, and you'd also need to use such an EVSE with a J1772 adapter, but it should work fine. Also, your parking spot would have to be within range of a WiFi network so that the EVSE can report back its power use. In practice, this would be a lot like the preceding option, except that the meter-reading would be done online rather than in person at a physical meter.
  
• Use Tesla's readings -- You could use TeslaFi, the Tesla API, or something similar to compile data on how much power you've consumed when charging, and use that to compute how much you owe the condo association. This would likely require the most trust by one or the other party, and it might be the most hassle-prone solution, but it should get the job done.

You may want to call in an electrician to consult on these options. An electrician will be able to tell you how practical it would be to run the circuit off your own electrical panel, for instance.

For the second option is more practical for me. But how to caluclate peak time charge and off peak time charge? There is a big difference between peak and off peak and the price. I have caluclate if driving 20k miles per year, that could a thousand dollar difference between charge off peak and peak hour.