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Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in multi-unit buildings

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Wondering if anyone here has experience of the installation of EVCS in a multi-unit building, particularly in assigned (or owned) parking spaces. There are, of course, several basic issues:
How much spare power does the building have? (i.e. how many chargers can it currently support);
Installation of the basic infrastructure (conduit and wiring) - installed by each owner or the building?
Selection of the building's preferred vendor;
Installation of the actual chargers and then paying for (charging back) the hydro used.
 
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I live in a new-build condo and from what I've noticed, it seems like the developer has been installing charging stations for parking spots that belong to an owner with an electric vehicle. Not sure who is paying for what but the developer/construction company is definitely installing the chargers.
 
beatle04 said:
I live in a new-build condo and from what I've noticed, it seems like the developer has been installing charging stations for parking spots that belong to an owner with an electric vehicle. Not sure who is paying for what but the developer/construction company is definitely installing the chargers.
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Yes, installations in new builds are certainly happening - in some cases all parking spaces are wired (even if not all install a charger), in others there are 'public' stations. Retrofitting older buildings is more complicated.
 
The changes to the Condo Act that came into force in 2018 set out guidelines for the installation of chargers in older buildings. This is a great resource - https://www.condoauthorityontario.ca/resources/electric-vehicle-charging-station-regulations/

There are a number of private companies working with condo boards. Our building is using Signature Electric. If we want a charger installed, we pay the cost of the charger and running the cables ($3,000-$7,000 depending on the location of our parking space), a share of the electrical panel installation costs (our panels can support 16 chargers at a time so each person pays 1/16th of this cost which is $1129), $580 for the Section 98 Agreement and then $15 per month for monitoring and billing (plus obviously the cost of the electricity).

FYI, there was a federal government subsidy program for a rebate of up to 50% of the cost of the installation of chargers in older buildings, but the application process closed in May.
 
PEC said:
Shouldn’t it be EVCS? ;)
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Its actually EVSE, Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment. Technically they are not chargers because all they do is connect 240 volt A/C to the vehicle. The charger (AC to DC conversion, voltage, and current regulation) is part of the car.
 
A friend of mine asked his building's condo board about having a charging station installed for his EV. They asked him to pay $50,000 for installing the infrastructure for the entire garage, since the building has no EV chargers yet. So naturally he didn't bother. But yeah, how a building handles it seems to vary depending on the condo board.
 
At one time, buildings in Toronto did not have electrical wiring in them. People installed electrical wiring (for lighting at first), but it cost them to do so. It would be considered an additional capital cost, that would be added to the sale price at a later date. Today, we expect all buildings to have electrical wiring already in them. Some are even increasing the electrical service to building units to handle the installation of ductless air-conditioning for each unit, the very same way.

I would expect to see buildings add EVSE as an capital cost to be added to the total building cost. I would expect to see that recouped at sale, as is the electrical wiring is today.
 
TossYourJacket said:
A friend of mine asked his building's condo board about having a charging station installed for his EV. They asked him to pay $50,000 for installing the infrastructure for the entire garage, since the building has no EV chargers yet. So naturally he didn't bother. But yeah, how a building handles it seems to vary depending on the condo board.
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I always wonder why condo boards are so bizarre, as mine is too. Recently, mine had the front entry panel disconnected from the elevators' floor access systems, so we now need to go downstairs to let guests up to our units.
Personally I would be embarrassed to even propose the $50,000 EV wiring cost to a resident (such as your friend), as it sounds like they are trying to get him to cover the entirety of an upgrade that will inevitably be used by other residents, themselves included.
 
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