The EV Revolution conventional “townhome” communities, individual unit owners can typically arrange EVC installations themselves within their unit boundaries, connected to their in-unit, sole servicing, electrical systems that do not have consequence on the community at large. While most Corporations may still have requirement for unit owner EVC installations to adhere to some sort of community standard, including advising, and receiving permission from, Boards of Directors (BODs); in our experience, such authorizations are typically formalities. In multi-unit residential building (MURB) communities, the parameters can look significantly different as there is typically some sort of “shared” service that declarations commonly define as “service provided to more than one unit”. In these scenarios, BODs and their Property Managers, will typically be required to consider the overall direction of their communities. Unfortunately, this
can often take a frustratingly, albeit necessarily, lengthy process (at least from the perspective of unit owners who want it now). The Conventional Approach The conventional approach in MURBs is to determine the available capacity of the common electrical system to service EVCs. This typically involves having a suitably qualified professional evaluate the existing electrical system for available, excess electrical capacity. In turn, a related report will often advise that the building can support a certain number of EVCs. While some communities may find that they have sufficient capacity to support a reasonably high percentage of EVCs relative to the number of units, far too often this number is not as large as everyone might like. In nearly all cases, buildings would not have available capacity to provide service to all units, should that eventually become a requirement.
Mark Marmer Founder of Signature Electric
When you Need EV Chargers Installed, Who you Gonna Call? Things to Look for When Hiring an Electrical Contractor
BODs are then faced with deciding whether unit owners can install individually owned EVCs on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis, which invariably raises questions of fairness, equity, and cost effectiveness. Furthermore, early EVC installations typically require at least some minimal “upgrade” of infrastructure that later EVC installations can “piggy-back” off of, meaning that earlier installations bear higher costs than later ones. Again, more questions of cost fairness and equity to these earlier unit owners in particular, but also regarding who owns the infrastructure between the common electrical systems and unit owner EVCs. Another approach involves “common element owned” EVCs, that are fully installed, expensed, and owned by the Condominium Corporations, with use available ‘first come, first serve’ (such as you might encounter in public parking lots) although without specific right of ownership to any individual unit. It is relatively simple nowadays for payment for electricity (and service ‘rental’) to be on-demand by credit card, smartphone, or other suitable method. While less individually convenient perhaps, as courtesy the 1998 Condominium Act went into effect. The revisions establish the processes for getting Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) installed in condominium buildings. Beyond the guidelines, there are still other factors to consider, including new distribution equipment, charger types, billing software, and load management. For charger installations in condos, the ideal solution must be both cost-effective, energy-efficient, and future-proofed. Dynamic load management allows for the greatest number of cars to charge simultaneously within the building’s electrical capacity and with the lowest cost of infrastructure.
The Current Situation Today, almost every car manufacturer has an EV on offer. In fact, there are over 5 million EVs on the road and EV sales in Canada are doubling annually.
That is a great thing for drivers, manufacturers, and the environment. EVs are cheaper to drive and maintain, offer better performance and are significant assets in the fight against climate change.
In 2021, the Canadian Government set a mandatory zero-emission target for all new light-duty car and passenger truck sales by 2035. Meaning that electric vehicles may soon be the only new vehicle option on the market.
For condo owners, managers, and boards, the question becomes not if they will need to install EV chargers but how?
This process is a lot to understand and put in place. With EV infrastructure projects often ranging between $20,000 to $100,000+, this is something you’ll want to do right the first time.
The Who, Where, How, and Watt On May 1, 2018, the latest revisions to
An experienced electrical contractor can guide you through the entire process and
16
CV
CONDOVOICE SPRING 2022
