[anjan_c2007]

The e-bike owner tried to install a charging point in the common parking bay of his apartment in Bengaluru. The apartment community with the stamp of approval from the Residents Welfare Association (wonder where the word "welfare" has landed) did not allow such an installation. Aggrieved, the resident used the elevator to take the e-bike to his fifth floor residence to plug it in for a recharge in the kitchen, as will be seen in the image on this link below.

The full news:-

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/beng...w/86027734.cms



This sort of issue will become commonplace in many apartments in our country, come the EV era. The parking bay power supply is commonly metered and is payable from the residents welfare fund by the respective office bearers in such apartment's.

The decision to levy a flat fee or extra charge for EV plug-in points installed by the respective residents will also be inequitable as some EV's could be subjected to more usage and require more hours of charging. It will also depend on category of the EV getting charged.

The ultimate solution will be for private EV owner-residents to get affixed their own electricity meters in the parking bay. But there should be proper measures to prevent power pilferage by power thieves. We observe fossil fuel thefts commonly in some apartments and now will have to brace up for power pilferages too.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

This sort of issue will become commonplace in many apartments in our country, come the EV era. The parking bay power supply is commonly metered and is payable from the residents welfare fund by the respective office bearers in such apartment's.

The decision to levy a flat fee or extra charge for EV plug-in points installed by the respective residents will also be inequitable as some EV's could be subjected to more usage and require more hours of charging. It will also depend on category of the EV getting charged.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the common practice more like installing charging connection in parking from the meter of respective flat owner? Charging from common supply is definitely bound to raise opposition from the society.

[Raghu M]

This is going to be a big bottleneck in buying EVs. Power theft, fights at cellars, no proper facility to install an electricity meter will all play a huge role in a person's decision to buy an EV.

[Thilak29]

We still seem to hone primate instincts!

Solution for scenarios like this is shared infrastructure (best executed by builder during construction itself) , then enabling prepaid mode of payment or pay as you go system.

[RedTerrano]

Charging from common point is definitely not done.
A simple solution is to lay out cables (at owners cost) to the owner's parking lot. Then attach a power meter.
At the end of the month take a reading and levy charges.

As for the bike in the kitchen, it reminded of the time when Jeremy dragged the Peel P50 inside the office

[arpanjha]

Just a few days ago, I had comprehended a similar incident at my apartment complex when I started planning for an EV. Although no conclusion was drawn whether to setup a common charger or not, since there are no EVs right now in our complex, but in general the response was positive and no one objected to the same. Let us hope in complexes across the country people discuss and conclude with a positive attitude.
My feeling is, these are mostly based on opinion of a few senior members of the association who are yet to be fully aware of EVs and their advantages to the society in general. Certainly there is need of awareness. The Tata Nexon EV is certainly showing the path.

[urbanzameendar]

This issue is bound to occur in most apartments.

For instance, in the previous apartment where I lived, there were close to around 300 flats spread across 5 towers but the covered parking space was limited, therefore most cars would be parked in the open space inside the compound without any fixed slot. We used to park in any available slot.

Now if I am to get an individual power outlet in the common plot, either i would need to connect it from my meter (open invitation for power theft) or get the connection from my flat.

Now technically that's impossible because the society wont allow wires & cables dangling from my 2nd floor window nor would they allow me to dig the paver blocks for a concealed underground wiring. I am not even considering the flats situated in the top floors and facing towards the back side here.

All-in-all owning an EV in present day scenario is a tough job unless you live in an individual house with parking space exactly in front of your house. Till then enjoy your fill it, shut it & forget it ICE car!

[shipnil]

My Hsg Society has already started discussions on the approaches available. The office bearers as well as residents are aware that in the current layout it may not be feasible to have wiring laid out from ones electricity meter to his parking as there are too many apartments and parkings are also spread out. This is going to create potential fire hazard, even if everyone tries to have cabling done at ones own expense. Right now we are trying to see if there are any third parties who can build and operate this charging infra on pay per use basis.

[lsjey]

There are genuine concerns from RWAs side as well:

1. While EV owners can put up their own power points from their homes, these wires will traverse through the common areas. RWAs are responsible for maintaining the common areas. Safety in common areas is their job. RWAs are fair in objecting to individuals setting up charging points. Imagine in a 500+ unit society, if some 50 people want to setup such a setup. It will be a nightmare.
2. These additions of EV charging points will usually not be part of the common assets handed over by the builder. Hence, these will be considered new capital expenditure. This will require AGM/EGM approvals. So the pace of installation will be slow. The EV owners should be patient. There is no easy way around.
3. To me the best solution is to for RWAs to engage third parties to set up charging points and operate them. This will be easy for RWAs to manage and will be beneficial to EV owners as well as these third parties will be experts in setting up and operating these charging points. Again these will take time. The EV owners should again be patient.

Rushing to courts, will not help much IMHO

Regards,
lsjey

[fordday]

This is something I saw coming from a long time. I discussed in Bangalore apartment association groups and no one seemed bothered then. In our association too it was not taken up for discussion till now even though I prodded many times.

Option 1: Dedicated charger in own parking slot. In ideal case everyone would like to have a dedicated charger in his own parking slot. But this does not seem feasible always. Fire hazard and sometimes long distance from one's own meter can offset some of the EV owning benefits. But if it can be done this is the best solution.

Option 2: Common charger in common area. For installing common chargers we need additional common parking space which is always at a premium. Even if it is available it will cater to a miniscule amount of residents. Then there is the scheduling scenario of using the common charger. Who gets to use it when? Often everyone would like to connect it during the night time.

These are some scenarios that came to my mind. Heard there are some apartments who went for the common charger setup. Would like to know more about this.

Bangalore power company has special tariff (LT6 C) for charging EVs at fixed Rs 5 per unit. And it also has a fixed charge component at Rs. 70 /KW/month
Wonder if this can be availed with option 1. But option 2 certainly will be feasible for this tariff.

Magenta I heard has some solution for community charger though their website does not have any details. link
I do not have any links with the company.

[lsjey]

Originally Posted by fordday

Magenta I heard has some solution for community charger though their website does not have any details. link
I do not have any links with the company.

Thanks for sharing the link for Magenta. I've shared this with my RWA. Guys like these are the only feasible solution for RWAs. IMO, charging an EV is like filling fuel in a petrol pump. This needs specialists to operate. These specialists will bring in best practices and latest in charging technology and will be able to scale the operations. RWAs will not be able to manage these charging stations on their own.

Regards,
lsjey

[fordday]

Originally Posted by lsjey

RWAs will not be able to manage these charging stations on their own.

Did some searching and found these links. Please see if it helps.

https://www.kazam.in/solutions/society

https://www.charzer.com/apartment-ev-charging

https://evreporter.com/ev-charging-s...ders-in-india/

[poloman]

This guy got some free cheap publicity. But the problem remains. No sensible RWA is going to allow any one to draw power from common meters for free. This is going to be significant load. So drawing lines from the existing meter of each resident is also ruled out due to huge number of power lines running around. Common parking areas are limited and only max 5 charging stations can be installed in a medium size apartment.

The only way out is one time capex spending by RWA once EVs cross the critical mass. They have to work with power company and provide a separate line for EV charging for each parking slot with independent meters. The resident should be charged a service charge over and above the per unit fees specified by the power company for metering and other misc charges. The resident can easily have a provision to lock the socket to avoid power theft.

[vinu_h]

We did a survey in our complex and none of them have plans to buy an EV in the coming 6 months. However, we have formed a sub-committee for when the situation changes. Idea as of now is to convert 10 parking spaces closest to the electricity wiring junction room to EV charging spots. Depending on the situation we may either pull wiring from the respective flat or from common point and then put a meter before the outlet(15A). CCTV's or a physical lock too for all the outlets. What if you use up somebody else's ?

[Gansan]

These are initial hiccups. This will in no way stunt the growth of EVs. The best solution will be to invite companies like Revolt to set up charging stations inside if the complex is large enough.

Nobody has an EV in our apartment complex yet. But as secretary of the complex I am mulling what will be the options, since it is only a matter of time before they arrive on the scene. We have only 16 apartments in two blocks, ground floor + 1 floor only. Two wheeler EVs can be charged right at their parking spot easily by ground floor residents, as they will be practically outside the window. First floor residents can also do, but they will have to run longer cables from their window. The problem will come when some buy EV cars. Car parking is away towrds the entrance to the complex.

I am thinking of installing a few points from the common meter, with seperate metering for them. There will be a switch near the originating point near the common meter (the area is secured), which can be switched on/off by the security or office bearers. The total reading of that seperate meter will be apportioned among the EV owners at a standard rate for four wheelers and another for two wheelers each month. There will be no charge based on the distance run by the vehicle.

During dry months when we purchase water by tankers, we already apportion the cost equally to each apartment, there is no metering system because each apartment has three inlet points for water from the OHT. People are fine with it. This too will be similar.

That is my decision, though I have not told anybody yet. I have a secret weapon if anyone comes and objects to any plans. It is called "Well, from tomorrow you are secretary!" That will be all, no more objections!