Whatever you want to cite as a reason for skyrocketing gas prices or the fact that automakers are now creating the types of electric vehicles that people want to buy, electric vehicles are selling at a rate that is higher than it has ever been. Over the next five years, it is anticipated that the number of people driving electric vehicles will increase by 25% annually. It is a huge number indeed. Because of this, the construction of electric charging stations will become mandatory in apartment communities in most of the world’s most important real estate markets.
Firstly, let us point out the advantages of having an e-charging station at your apartment. Deciding to install electric vehicle charging stations on your property comes with a lot of advantages. Increasing the value of your apartment, satisfying the tenants, and the ability to use it as a selling point to use when trying to attract potential renters in multifamily markets that are very competitive are just a few of those. In this article, we will look at the important things you should pay attention to during the process you have to go through to install an EV charger in your apartment. It includes some tips as well. Take a look.
Do proper research on the planning process before installing an EV charger.
Before you install an EV charger in your apartment, the demand for apartments in the local market should be carefully monitored. Charge Point is a trusted source of charging stations. It can assist you in keeping tabs on how many electric vehicles are registered at any time in a certain market. It means you can get insights into which areas tend to purchase EVs over others. If your apartment belongs to such an area where people prefer electric vehicles over gasoline-powered vehicles, it could be the right time to install an EV charger.
Taking the physical demands of installing EV charging stations into consideration
The expenditures incurred at the beginning are usually factored into the scope of work and the budget for the electrical contracting portion of your project. Here, you have to take a lot of things into consideration. Listed below are a few of those.
- How close are the electric vehicle parking spots to the electrical room?
- Will there be a significant amount of conduit that needs to be run? From the original design loads, will it be necessary for you to increase the size of the electrical panel in the closest location?
- How much trenching is required to lay the conduit if you install an EV charger as part of a retrofit?
- Will you have to dig through landscaping that has already been established?
At the same time, some say that you can analyze numbers all you want, but it may even cost you five times more than what you anticipate to build EV ports on an existing property when compared with a new building. So, during the process, you should be able to answer these questions yourself.
Think about how you are going to manage the EV charging stations
Let’s talk a bit about Charge Point yet again. It offers an interface for the customers and a dashboard for the management. Both of these will generate real-time data for the employees working at your apartment and the people living there. For example, if a tenant has been using a charging station excessively, the dashboard will send an alert to the property management. The manager will then be able to urge the tenant to move the vehicle away or take a decision regarding the issue.
Note: Charge Point has developed a system that is enabled with Wi-Fi offering real-time data. The app monitors and provides the statistics on carbon emissions. These data are critical when exchanging information with investors or complying with compulsory regulations.
Investigate the possibility of receiving monetary grants and incentives before you decide to install an EV charger
The assistance of authorities can greatly decrease initial expenditures. If you want to make substantial savings, you need to look into any state subsidy programs that may be available and combine those programs with incentives offered by utility companies. In Singapore, we have the EV Charger Common Grant. We have discussed the same in our previous articles; you can look into those to get a clear picture.
Ask the tenants and neighbors and do a survey.
Inquire among the residents of your building about who has an electric vehicle and who might purchase one if they had access to charging stations. More people may be involved than you believe.
Challenges that one might encounter in the process of installing an EV charger
- The fact that the building associations, committees, and owners can’t agree on anything presents a significant obstacle in and of itself. Because of the divergence of viewpoints, ideas, and priorities, it is nearly hard to formulate a workable plan. Others will be steadfastly opposed to it, while others will have the foresight to see it coming. They are getting the necessary authorizations from the relevant authorities.
- The expenses associated with designing and constructing charging stations for individual parking places.
- Making a decision regarding the provider. Whether to add this to one’s existing energy bill, switch to a new electric vehicle charging provider, etc.
Conclusion
We realize that the process of installing an EV charger at your apartment is by no means an easy task. So, we think the above steps will take some burden off your shoulders. So as experts, when do we recommend installing EV chargers in apartment communities? The answer is “as soon as possible”. Contact us now. We can be your EV charging station consultant.
