[aim120]

Originally Posted by Hayek

While our apartments have substantial connected load (my 3 BHK has an authorised load of 25 KVA), even a 7 KW charger if used at the same time as 5 ACs and water heaters could create a problem on available load.

Today's 5 star inverter ACs of 1.5 ton doesn't consume more then 1.3kw each at 100% load. Unless you have some pre historic ACs, you are good for a 7kw charger.

[Pacific]

Our new house is under construction and as a preemptive measure, I have requested the builder to install a NEMA 14-50 socket for Level 2 Charging. For instance, it will allow a Tesla to draw up to 32 amps (7.6 kW at 240 volts). So, a typical EV will be able to gain anywhere between 20 miles (32 km) to 30 miles (48 km) of range per hour.
The charging speed depends on a number of factors such as State of Charge (SOC) of the EV, battery temperature, ambient temperature, and whether a charger is plugged-in or hard-wired to the mains.
Here in the States, its not generally recommended to charge a car on a typical 110 volts socket (What is known as a Level 1 charging). In the long run, one runs a risk of a fire hazard, and anyways its a painfully slow method of charging an EV. Level 1 charge usually provides 3 miles (4.8 km) of range per hour.

[Doc_nerd]

This is the elephant in the room which needs to be acknowledged & addressed. Apartments in general are community dwellings with a collective social responsibility. For big apartment complexes (over 50 apartments) it is practically impossible to create an individual charging point for every parking space. The best thing to go for, will be a community charging point which is installed by a third party which takes care of the maintainance and service issues. For smaller dwellings (less than 50) a single or double charging point installed with the permission of the apartment committee with good fire safety protocols is the way to go. As for group housing ( less than 5 apartments) with limited parking spaces it's better to install an individual point (preferably with a lock box) at your designated parking space. Care should be taken to follow fire safety protocols & not to do the installations in the basement parking. All in all a very tricky issue that has the potential for starting quite a lot of conflicts if amicability is missing among the dwellers.

[gvarma9989]

Charging station at each and every parking space is not a viable option, at this point of time.

There are companies like ChargePoint, which will take care of charging infra related to apartments, malls, office etc.

If we take large communities into consideration, initial setup would be close around 5 to 10 chargers per community.
Installation is generally done within a week. It is an easy setup.

Adoption rate of EV should give considerable time for the infrastructure to catch up.

EV charging is dirt cheap during the night, in most of the countries.
I pay 4$ for ~270 Miles of charge (9PM - 7AM).

[fordday]

Can someone clarify what are the different charging requirements ?

For two wheeler charging, is the simple 15 amp socket enough?
Or do we need to install a charger provided by the company?

For four wheeler, is the simple single phase three pin 15 amp socket compatible? Assuming I charge only at night, will only the 15 amp do? Or do we need to install a proper charger from the company?

What will be the minimum KW requirement for 2 wheeler and 4 wheeler chargers respectively?

[SKC-auto]

For two wheeler charging, is the simple 15 amp socket enough?

For 2W, 5amp socket is enough, you can have one 15amp socket for both 2W and 4W.

Or do we need to install a charger provided by the company?

No need for installation, you can keep it in the boot, if a secured parking you can leave it plugged in.

For four wheeler, is the simple single phase three pin 15 amp socket compatible? Assuming I charge only at night, will only the 15 amp do? Or do we need to install a proper charger from the company?

If the range is enough for you to trickle charge at 15amp, no need to buy a 7KW charger, the free trickle charger which comes with the vehicle is all you need, you can either fix the trickle charger to the wall or keep it in the boot. There are many third party chargers available in the market, not necessary to buy from the car manufacturer.

It's better to have a 15amp plug point, keep the trickle chargers in the boot, you can charge at office or malls where ever you have free charging opportunity. Upgrading to 7KW charger arises when your commute is longer, require full charges in few hours etc.

What will be the minimum KW requirement for 2 wheeler and 4 wheeler chargers respectively?

Install a min of 15A plug point, do remember that in some EVs you can also control the maximum amps the car should charge at, these cars can also be charged with 5A plug.

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Thanks!

[Lalitha Venkat]

Zeon has a home charging solution which looks sleek and can be had in our parking space. However, the wiring and KW requirement will have to be met. They have tied up with ABB and hence should be good on safety
http://zeoncharging.com/home-charging

[RachhaMan10]

I live in a row house and my neighbor brought a kona recently. Even though we have our parking right in front of the house my neighbor is using regular 15 amp port to charge his car over night and he has been doing this for past one year. ​

this is what he has to say "Need to analyze the total power capacity allocated to the transformer in the society and take a permission from BESCOM on the same. If every row house wants to have their own fast charging point this may go beyond allocated capacity and then we have a problem." Also the society should grant a permission for the same."

He is happy with 15amp charging as he don't need to bother about all the issues and in future he is planning to install a solar panel on top of the terrace and use it for both home and car charging needs.

I too feel having a solar source is the most sustainable way as most of the electricity produced in India is from Coal and this defeats the purpose of moving to an electric vehicle.

If any BHPians have done this kind of setup, please do share your insights.

My be 5-6 years down the lane I am also planning to install a solar roof top and buy an electric car.

[adisan]

It would be tricky in large apartment complexes.

To make this provision will involve work in some common areas plus extra work for those individuals who opt to have the point in their parking slot. Given that the number of people opting for EVs is a minority, "how to handle the cost for the common area work" becomes a key issue.

The approach of having each individual opting for the charging point to have separate wiring work and bear the entire cost of their work is not usually considered. Because if, in course of time, a majority of residents choose to have charging points, the entire setup will become messy and difficult to manage.

Another option is to invite other vendors to set up charging stations within the premises. But they might have a condition that since the number of clients within the complex is minimal, outsiders have to be allowed for charging their EVs. That is usually not acceptable for the residents.

[busydrive]

I also have a similar situation in my apartment complex.
It's a high rise with 14 floors, 200+ flats. One person recently bought a Nexon and wanted a connection to this parking through the ducts from the meter.
Our meters are at ground floor and we have 3 Phase connections with a max sanction of 6 KW. Now association felt it will be good to keep the usage in check and that means disconnect a 15amp point in the flat and route that to the parking so that the overall usage doesn't cross the sanctioned load and stress the transformer. However this is something that is difficult as it a high rise and to route a line from the meter a separate MCB has to be implemented. Even the electrician isn't sure how to do that. Tata Power guy was very eager to draw a line from the meter but that was not approved as it leads to electrical hazard and issues with NOC.
For members who have done similar implementation kindly suggest what can be the possible solution.
One option association is providing is having common chargers in the visitor parking area. But the individual here is keen on having his own connection.

[fordday]

Originally Posted by busydrive

One option association is providing is having common chargers in the visitor parking area.


But the individual here is keen on having his own connection.

We are also in the same quandry.
Having third party (Ola/Ather) to install chargers within the apartment complex is feasible and beneficial as no upfront cost is applicable in their Opex model. But their charging cost is very high. It comes to around Rs 16 per unit for the normal AC slow charger.

In such a case having one's connection from one's meter has the benefit that we pay Rs 7 per unit.

We did not check out Capex model as it will involve huge upfront costs.

[Early_Adopter]

Originally Posted by busydrive

Now association felt it will be good to keep the usage in check and that means disconnect a 15amp point in the flat and route that to the parking so that the overall usage doesn't cross the sanctioned load and stress the transformer. However this is something that is difficult as it a high rise and to route a line from the meter a separate MCB has to be implemented.

Purely from the Electrical engineering point of view, whether you disconnect an existing 15A plug from inside the apartment and draw a line all the way from the apartment to the parking slot or draw a line from the energy meter located in the basement, they are just the same.

The power consumed would still be the exactly identical.

Technically, if your sanction load is 6kW, it is sufficient for the Tata Nexon charger -it takes a max of 3.3kW of power.

Please convince your society management that there will not be any changes in the power consumption whether a line is drawn from inside the apartment or from the energy meter in the basement. Actually, drawing the wires from the apartment is lot more complex, as the wires have to pass through ducts and galleys.

IMHO, it is more of lack of thorough understanding of the intricacies that make the society managements behave the way they do. Some education, some persuasion and lots of patience is needed to get through their mindset.

Cheers

Originally Posted by adisan

It would be tricky in large apartment complexes.

"how to handle the cost for the common area work" becomes a key issue

For my apartment complex, I suggested a phased approach to the society management committee. This means, for the first 10 or 20 or 25 residents (depending on the size of the entire complex), allow them to set up individual chargers. Just set up guidelines for safe installation of individual chargers at their allocated parking slots.

Because if, in course of time, a majority of residents choose to have charging points, the entire setup will become messy and difficult to manage

Yes - if majority of the residents want individual charging points at their allocated parking slots, it does become messy eventually. That is where the phased approach will help.

Start with individual charging arrangement for the first set of residents in phase-1, set up 15A sockets in some common parking lots in phase -2 and finally set up AC or DC fast chargers through the vendors in phase -3. This gradual scale up approach would possibly resolve the anxiety of the residents as well as the society management committee members as well.


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[yashg]

I am coming to a conclusion that EVs are not for apartment dwellers. At least for now. I am in a unique situation in our housing complex. I have an allotted parking slot in the open which is some 50 meters away from the meter room. The open area is controlled by the builder while the affairs of the society are handled by the society itself. Managing committee members are open and very keen to let members install charging stations but builder won't allow cables to be pulled to the parking spot, either underground or overhead.

Committee was willing to install a common charging point for all EV owners, but when they heard it takes 8 hours for a car to fully charge, they were not so keen. For EV owners also its not very convenient. Also, if it's a common charger who pays for the electricity? I tried to contact Tata Power to check the possibility of installing a paid charger where you can swipe your card and pay for charging, did not hear back from them.

Unless government comes up with incentives and directives that compels and motivates societies and builders to co-operate in creating the charging infrastructure, it is going to be difficult for residents of multi-storey apartments to switch to EVs.

[busydrive]

Originally Posted by Early_Adopter

Purely from the Electrical engineering point of view, whether you disconnect an existing 15A plug from inside the apartment and draw a line all the way from the apartment to the parking slot or draw a line from the energy meter located in the basement, they are just the same.

Thanks. Had a question. Won't adding a new line from the Meter add to the allotted number of points to an apartment? We aren't supposed to add new 15A points to an apartment from the allotted ones right? As if many owners starts doing it it can generate additional load on the transformer?

[Early_Adopter]

Originally Posted by busydrive

Thanks. Had a question. Won't adding a new line from the Meter add to the allotted number of points to an apartment? We aren't supposed to add new 15A points to an apartment from the allotted ones right? As if many owners starts doing it it can generate additional load on the transformer?

Absolutely. There's no denying the fact that an additional socket used for charging would certainly add load on the transformer. But, as long as the total power consumption is less than or equal to the sanctioned load, there is no 'additional' stress on the transformer.

My post meant that irrespective of whether you draw that power from a spare socket in the apartment or you draw a new line from the meter - the power consumption would still be the same.

Coming back to your query, the original sanctioned load for your apartment is 6kW. The peak power that Nexon EV draws for home charging would be 3.3kW. So, you have ample spare power unless you use very heavy appliances at home.

For you to be really sure, check your recent electricity bills on what is the maximum demand? For a regular 3 or 4 bed room apartment, it might hover around 3kW. This means, you have an extra 3kW spare capacity which you can use for charging the Nexon EV.

Hope to have clarified.

Cheers