Hi All
I live in an apartment in CBD and was planning to buy a Tesla or BYD
Since the building doesn’t have EV infrastructure was wondering how do people in Appartments manage their vehicle charging.
Also any tips to save costs on EV charging would be helpful.
PS : I am on road constantly for work so need charging every second day as drive about 150 kms everyday.
There are people who do it. Much easier in the US where you have massive banks of Tesla chargers everywhere.
IMO it would be frustrating. Charging at home overnight is epic. Depending on a 20+ min fast charge weekly would give me the shits.
Some buildings have managed charging infrastructure through their strata, there is even government incentives for this, but is dependent on many factors such as having space for dedicated charging bays.
im currently in a townhouse charging using the tesla portable charger in a normal wall socket, I start charging at 11:30pm and unplug at 7am and that can add around 12/13kw to the battery. Which is around 100km?
What is wrong with that? I plan to trickle charge during the day now that I have solar. If I use a 7kw home charger I'll draw from the grid
That's fine if your car is at home during the day. What if you drive your car to work?
@froodh: If you have to drive long distances every day and the car is not home during daylight hours, maybe an EV is not for you. Otherwise just charge it off peak.
Even if your work was a 50km round trip, you could still get to work all week and still have a bit left over. Then you can charge it Saturday and Sunday when you are home
Again, if you spend more time in your car than at your house and you must charge it on solar, maybe an EV is not for you.
@froodh: Easy, drive to work, pay for an uber to come pick up your car and drive home to charge. Call said uber to drive your car back to work, so you can drive back home. The brilliance is in the simplicity.
with AGL EV Plan with off peak 0.08 per kwh.. it is no brainer for charging it overnight. with my useage of ~70km per day, I can top it with a 10Amp port overnight and dont need to think about it.
I've done the same for 6 months. Worked flawlessly.
Are you renting or the home owner?
I am guessing the charger installation will have to be raised to strata first for approval
There is no option to add charger to the building parking as my parking does not have any wall at any corner. Its like how you have in shopping malls.
Only few parking are next to a wall
Could it hang from the roof? Or could you swap with another apartment?
Are you renting or an owner?
Chargers can be mounted on a post when there is no wall, but this isn't worth pursuing if you are renting.
Hey mate, I’m a sparky in Melbourne, I’ve installed 3 EV chargers in the art gallery. Same thing about having no walls. They changed a few certain parking spots into dedicated EV Charging spaces. Maybe something can be arranged for you?
Can you get a bollard type or something similar?
Arguably speaking, adding an EV charger is similar to adding an induction cooktop …
Any chance you can do a bollard/stand-alone style EV charger?
You could charge it using a small generator.
Haha. Use fuel to drive an EV. :D
It's still more efficient to use a generator to charge a car than it is to pour it into the car and burn it. Generators run at optimal revs to output energy, ICE car's don't.
A generator isn't going to be useful if this parking space is underground or not ventilated very well though.
There is a new start up in VIC , that provides ev charging to ev vehicles, but they use a Diesel van.
They can't afford an ev yet.
Throwing all logic out of the window and immediately resorting to an ad hominem attack is the hallmark of an ev evangelist. Who needs to have a sensible discussion anyways, eh?
The gv70 performance I booked costs twice as much as a base model y (perhaps more, if musk drops the prices yet again as I type?). Not everyone who refuses to buy an anxiety-inducing, unreliable, pyromaniacal, depreciation disaster of car is doing so because they cannot "afford it". Do I need a car whose range drastically changes depending on the driving conditions, weather, gradient of the road, if the aircon is used, phase of the moon, etc? No, I don't.
If someone feels the need to save the planet by charging their electric car using mobile diesel powered generators, so be it. It's just not for me.
@28kb: Hi, i did try looking thru my google historty, but unfortunately could not locate it. (Usung search). Plenty of options came up though.
A guy on YouTube added a generator to the back of his Tesla and went for a 1600 mile road trip only using the generator to charge. It worked out around 25mpg (9.4L / 100km) at best.
There's too many conversion steps that lose energy. Better off to put the engine in the car and have it directly drive wheels like in a hybrid.
A guy on YouTube added a generator to the back of his Tesla and went for a 1600 mile road trip only using the generator to charge. It worked out around 25mpg (9.4L / 100km) at best.
A one off experiment with a small generator and a hole in the back of the car hurting the aerodynamics isn't exactly an accurate benchmark.
There's too many conversion steps that lose energy
After you familiar with how many conversion steps there are in an ICE to get power to the wheels?
The average petrol car has an efficiency of 20%, but this can range from around 16% to 25%
https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/inefficiency-ice
That's a lot of wasted energy
Better off to put the engine in the car and have it directly drive wheels like in a hybrid.
Not really, it's just been cheaper to do it that way.
Electric generator cars exist like the new Nissans
https://www.nissan.com.au/about-nissan/e-power.html
I am not too sure about the efficiency but I have seen some of the EVs battery exploding news.
Apart from that, I remember that there was a news where some guy kept a small generator within the Tesla'a boot and carried it during long drives. Whenever battery is over, he will charge it using the same and continue the journey. No sure though how much fast charging it will be.
@pc007: While the electrical output of a small generator isn't great, it would still extend your range somewhat.
However, for it to be effective, the generator would need to run continuously while driving, and you'd have to frequently stop to refill it.
but I have seen some of the EVs battery exploding news.
I've never seen an ICE car catch on fire…. Ever ….
I've never seen an ICE car catch on fire…. Ever
As in, an ice car going into thermal runaway?! I've NEVER heard of that indeed.
I hope you know the difference between a regular fire and thermal runaway.
It's still more efficient to use a generator to charge a car than it is to pour it into the car and burn it.
I'd be very surprised if that was the case.
Even if you wanted to go this route a small generator only holds a few liters of fuel so you will be having to stop and fill that up constantly too. haha
Fossil fuel.
1st step: Ask Ozbargain crowd.
2nd step: Next your Strata.
3rd step: close the thread.
OP seems to be renting, not a homeowner so such request to Strata would be questionable
Just buy a hybrid. Dont make life too hard when it doesnt need to be
A hybrid?
What about fuel cost$?
What about fast charging costs at 85c per KW. Cost the same as petrol to fill it up.
wow it costs THAT much! wow .. as an ICE driver I didnt know
@FoxJump: Price varies, kinda like fuel.
Many are moving to variable rates eg cheap outside peak times.
Charging at home (especially from solar) is the cheapest and most convenient.
@FoxJump: That’s the highest price I’ve heard of for charging. In my area the most expensive fast charger is $0.58/kwh ($34.80 full charge). Prices for non-fast charger are: free (but difficult to get a spot), $0.15/kwh ($9 full charge) and $0.30/kwh ($18 full charge)
60c in Newy
Cost the same as petrol to fill it up.
Isn't fuel (petrol) about 2 bucks a litre now?
@FoxJump: That is best case.
So 8-9 Dollars for 100kms (plus the electricity charge costs for the electric motor).
To go 100km for most equivalent EVs probably 15kwh so at 60c a kwh (the most expensive you might pay it comes out at $9. Can obviously be cheaper while petrol won't be.
@GrueHunter: 169.7 at Costco Perth airport. 174.9 nearby.
I would imagine that there would be similar prices in all major cities.
@R4: Negative. Prices are consistently lower in Perth.
That's why my helicopter hovers over the Midland area to lock in 7/11 fuel prices.
At 85c per kw it would be $51 to fully charge a 60kw battery for 400km+ range. My petrol car costs around $100 to fill and gets less than 400km.
Also you picked the absolute most expensive charging rate to compare, and it’s still cheaper than petrol…
@Never Pay RRP: It's the charging rate at my closest Tesla Supercharger. Thats the reason I picked it. My petrol car is about $80 to fill with 98 and gets about 400KM.
Most 60KW battery packs will be lucky to get 300KM. 400+ would be the advertised guide which is not accurate
It's the charging rate at my closest Tesla Supercharger
Yes but other readers have jumped to the conclusion that is a “regular” price for charging when in reality it is the top end.
@Never Pay RRP: I didnt realise that the prices varied until some other users said their rates are different. It wasnt an intentional thing to mislead. It was simply me looking up the rates at my closest/only Tesla S/C site. I can only guess that prices might be higher when there is no other charging sites around
@Brick Tamland: 400km on 40L is 10L/100km, which seems high. Do you keep revs high?
I get low 8s out of mine and I don't baby it. Easily get over 500km to a tank.
@Erwark: Yep, current average is 9.7l/100km. It's a little high but it's virtually all urban use (no highway). Compared to my old 6.0l V8 I am pretty happy with this, haha.
I have seen it close to 500KM when I have done road trips though, so I think its just my around town use that makes the average high
@Brick Tamland: Makes more sense. Most of my commute is 80 km/h. Long road trips can get into the 7s.
Is yours 2013-2021 or 2022+? I know the newer engine uses more fuel.
Raise it with strata management as first step
Our Strata is not very helpful
They say needs 1000s of dollars to setup
Unless the building as a whole decides to put in proper communal charging infrastructure for the building (Which unless your building has a higher than average number of EV owners would almost never pass a vote), the charger that you'd be asking to get installed would be single-apartment use/property and would be the responsibility of the apartment owner to pay for, which yes, would probably be $1000s.
Chargers aren't exactly cheap, nor is the labour to install them, particularly if there is no power already in place.
I wanted to put my charger in my garage at the back of my house when my switch box is at the front of the house. Running the cable (plus an open air bit so a lot more shielding) was going to cost a fortune. Most of that was through my roof too, I can't imagine how much it would cost within a concrete parking lot.
I have an EV, I'm a huge proponent of EVs, but if you can't charge it at home on your own solar I really wouldn't bother yet. Kills all the cost savings.
Chances are you will need strata approval to install which is why I said start there.
Strata is right, it will cost. Next step may be to call a meeting or drum up support from other owners. You’re not reinventing the wheel here so look online for similar stories
How is that not helpful. That's what you have to do
You could just have a normal wall outlet to slow charge. It cost around a grand to get a 7kW system in.
@1500
And you want randoms on the internet to give you a better answer?!
They say needs 1000s of dollars to setup
So they will allow it if you pay? That IS helpful, what else did you expect.
Not helpful means they just say no.
Which state are you in?
I would contact a local sparky and get a quotation from there. $1000ish supply & installation sounds about right.
Allow more for installation as sometimes it is tough to add new circuits on townhouses – space issues.
Netstrata?
Sounds like you'll often need to visit a fast charger. Your own usage needs are going to dictate when and where you charge.
Note that charging 20-80% is fastest, so possibly lots of short charges while having lunch, or stopping at clients etc rather than charging to full.
As yet charge rates are not well publicised and do vary a lot. Might need to join some groups that identify cheap times and suppliers.
Cheapest will likely be off peak overnight or midday when solar is supplying a lot to the grid. Most expensive likely to be evening.
Do you have a powerpoint near your parking spot?
I'll use a Model Y as an example.
Range is about 400kms on a full charge.
Charging it via normal powerpoint is about 3% per hour so overnight is about 30% or about 120kms. So you may fall behind daily but catch up on the weekend.
So the normal charging is sufficient IF you can charge it overnight.
OP's designated spot isn't against a wall. It's likely one of those floating spaces in the middle of the car park, so unless they sneak a new point in the CONCRETE ceiling and run it down a column or something, they're SoL.
You only plug the car in for 10 hours a night? Most people get home at 6-7 then leave 6-7 in the morning?
i could not imagine the shit show it would be in an apartment block of trying to charge a car.
I'm going to bet people would leave their cars for extended periods of time, or people who aren't even charging would just park there for the sake of it
I've got a powerpoint in my apartment garage. I have seen someone charging their EV with an extension lead from their balcony over the footpath tied to a tree and to the car parked on the street.
Hey I have a BYD and though I have a house I am only charging on public chargers. Its really not that hard (at least where I live), I just let it run to 20/30% - then go to a DC charger while I buy groceries or what have you, late at night is best as they are usually vacant. I also have another place close to me that has free type 2 charging so I have once or twice used that to top up a bit. On a novated lease so the DC charging costs are tax deductible. So far its been fine for me.
Since the building doesn’t have EV infrastructure was wondering how do people in Appartments manage their vehicle charging.
Lobby the apartment to install some shared chargers? There are some deals with chargefox from memory, for a small monthly fee, you can have chargers installed and the 'users' get charged basically the cost of power that the building pays.
Until that is done, most use public chargers, either free if they have the time as they are slow, or the fast chargers.
EV Charging in Appartments
iOS or Android?
Hopefully a Real OS, not IOS.
Hopefully a Real OS
Definitively!
RealOS™ Real-Time Operating System - https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/design-support/tools/sdk/fmx…
You don't say which CBD. City of Sydney has an apartment charger program that might be worth aa look.
In our block of 8 the main switchboard is in the basement carpark.
Our strata committee is pretty good so nthere isn't much that gets knocked back.
Tesla owner paid $2k to have a 25m line run back to his carspot. The ROI is decades.
Mini owner runs an extension cord from his house across the carpark vent system to his car. He'll get around to formalising something better eventually.
My car spot is directly below my apartment and I've got some renovations coming up so I'm going to have the sparky drop a cable from my sub-board into the carpark. I let him work out what the biggest outlet can be for the sub-board capacity.
The ROI is decades
I saved ~$3800 in fuel last year driving 20k km. And this doesn't factor in the servicing savings either.
I'm talking about the ROI on that home charging port compared to the easily accessible alternatives in the area (including some free chargers).
Do you charge from the grid or from your solar?
I'm talking about the ROI on that home charging port
Charger and install was $1K. With a $3800 saving on fuel in a year that's an ROI of 4 months.
easily accessible alternatives in the area
Which chargers (especially free) are easily accessible these days? They were 2 years ago but with the number of EVs on the road now, those free chargers are drying up and almost always taken.
Do you charge from the grid or from your solar?
Both. I'm on Ovo's EV plan so it makes sense to charge at night between midnight and 6am then feed back what I used overnight during the day. I've got 20kW of solar.
@gyrex: So what you are quoting is your situation in what appears to be a house and not what is the case in my APARTMENT BLOCK which is what the OP was asking about.
Why are people with EVs so unable to do non-biased analysis?
4 0f the 8 chargers at my local shops (Coles, etc) are free. They are suprisingly empty at 6.00am when I was using the gym there.
The IGA has 10(?) chargers of 3 different brands. Busy during business hours but theres usually free spots outside of those hours.
I'm not sure what the local Tesla shop has.
These are just what I've noticed riding/driving in the area as I don't own an EV
Tesla owner paid $2k to have a 25m line run back to his carspot. The ROI is decades.
Why are people with EVs so unable to do non-biased analysis?
Where's the bias? You supplied the data and combined with my data around petrol savings, the maths is pretty basic. I could be childish and make a similarly redundant claim about non-EV drivers but I won't. I'm not biased, I don't particularly care whether someone drives an EV or not. I'm just disputing your claim that the "ROI is decades" which it palpably isn't.
Even if we use your $2K installation figure, the ROI is ~6 months.
4 0f the 8 chargers at my local shops (Coles, etc) are free.
That's incredible and interesting. Where I live (Sunshine Coast), the free chargers up and down the coast are basically in-use 24 hours a day.
@gyrex: The bias is that this entire thread is about some guy wanting to charge in an apartment complex. Which needs strata approval and means he has no access to solar. Two things which are a big difference from your case.
I am also interested to see what experience others can share.
On paper it looks like a real pain to constantly charge an EV at a charging station, especially if you do a lot of driving. Also might be a good idea to compare fast charging time between different EVs (e.g. BYD will be slower than Tesla, Hyundai/Kia will be a bit faster than Tesla). Usually it does not matter much if you are charging at home but in your case that might be very important.