Retrofitting EV charging for Strata Complexes
Through media reports and their members OCN ACT and the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) are hearing from strata unit complexes that have successfully retrofitted EV charging. However, there are also reports of site bans. Between these extremes there are Executive Committees grappling with how to plan for EV charging in existing buildings.
While the options for public charging are expanding rapidly and apps like PlugShare highlight their availability on maps, nothing beats the convenience and usually lower cost of charging where one routinely parks at home. Since January 2024, the National Construction Code has required new apartment buildings to be developed with provisions for eventual EV charging at all parking spaces. As the fleet of EVs grows, older complexes where residents cannot charge their vehicles face a loss of value – both in appeal to buyers and appeal to tenants.
However, there is no universal best path to retrofitting EV charging. The best solution for one Owners Corporation (OC) might not be best or even possible for another. Even considering two identical sites, the owners of one might prefer to install the complete solution now while another OC might prefer to gradually roll out a staged plan. The latter complex might set up temporary arrangements for the first few EV drivers while longer term plans are researched and developed. This could be as simple as permission to use an existing power point with the OC reimbursed for a reasonable estimate of each driver’s usage.
There is no avoiding the fact that those responsible for managing a complex will have to get across some technical detail. One reasonable concern is whether a site’s electrical supply capacity can handle EV charging. In this regard, it is important to note that a building’s electrical supply is designed to be sufficient to cover a few hours of peak demand each evening. Outside those few hours, a building generally has ample spare capacity to handle slow charging of many EVs, and charging at home does not need to be quick. Even an ordinary 10A power point can add 150km of range overnight, more than enough for local driving for most people. The OCN (ACT) and AEVA can provide further advice on key concepts and different paths that can be taken.
In some complexes, EV charging has been banned due to unwarranted fear of fire risk. In fact, there have been no fires in Australia attributable to the charging of a road-registered EV. These vehicles are subject to stringent regulation and testing and use high-quality battery cells with sophisticated battery management systems. Instead, reported fires have been overwhelmingly due to Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) such as e-bikes and e-scooters.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) recognises this important distinction in a briefing note, ‘Managing fire risk from electrified transport in residential buildings’. The ICA rates PMDs as ‘high risk’ in direct contrast to road-registered electric cars and motorbikes that it rates as ‘very low risk’. The ICA’s main concern with charging road-registered EVs is for the condition of the wiring in older buildings, not the vehicles themselves. While OCN (ACT) and AEVA believe that outright bans on EV charging are unreasonable, it is prudent to get wiring checked. Then, permission to use existing power outlets may be considered as an interim solution while an equitable EV charging plan is being developed.
Authoritative research from EV FireSafe records that up to 1 November 2024 there have only ever been eight fires involving road-registered EVs in Australia. One was caused by arson, three were due to external fires that spread to an EV from a building and three were due to high-speed collisions. Only one fire had an unknown cause. While that car was connected to compliant charging equipment, the car was not charging and charging did not cause the fire. In contrast, there were 2,803 internal combustion vehicle fires in NSW alone in 2022-23 according to NSW Fire and Rescue incident data.
With respect to the much higher risk from PMDs and other small devices with in-built batteries, users should ensure they are only charged using their supplied, standards compliant charging equipment in cool, dry places out of direct sunlight with sufficient air flow and that they are not used if damaged, overheating or showing signs of failure such as swelling, leaking or venting gas.
More on EV policy issues can be found on AEVA’s web site and in a report entitled “Driving change by supporting electric vehicle ready apartments”, just released by the James Martin Institute for Public Policy.
Robin Eckermann is the chair of the Owners Corporation Network ACT’s sustainability committee. Peter Campbell is a committee member of the ACT branch of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association.