Query: Setting up common charging points in a housing society

Our housing society in Mumbai is seriously thinking about going the EV way and are keen on setting up few common charging points around the building so each individual member doesn't have to install their own charging points.

BHPian yashg recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Our housing society in Mumbai is seriously thinking about going the EV way and are keen on setting up few common charging points around the building so each individual member doesn't have to install their own charging points. Does anyone here know of any vendors/companies that help societies set up community chargers? Does anyone have have any contacts/references with any such companies or know of societies that may have set up common chargers? We are looking to set up 3 phase AC fast chargers which look like the most cost effective solution as per my preliminary research.

Even though all members have fixed allotted parking, it is controlled by the builder and there is no way members are going to be able to pull a cable to their individual parking lots hence common chargers are only solution. Society is serious enough that it may be taken up in the upcoming AGM and a resolution may be passed and initial outgo approved.

What we will have to figure out is how to charge EV owners for the electricity. Ideal solution would be to do what most commercial charging solutions are doing - you top-up their wallet and pay for what you use. That is why a vendor or company that can provide an end to end solution including installing chargers to handling usage monitoring and billing would be a preferred option. I am going to reach out to Zeon and few others that I can find to see if they can help.

If we can't find a solution provider then we may have to buy and install chargers ourselves and society may charge a lump sum amount to EV owners per month. This will require a larger initial investment by the society which it will then have to somehow recover from EV owners over a period.

If anyone here has any leads or any experience in setting up common chargers in their society/apartment complex, please do share your experience and any contacts.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

The home EV charging thread (Setting up an Electric Vehicle charging point at home) has a wealth of information. Be sure to read that.

Here's what BHPian speedmiester had to say on the matter:

Excellent move, hope more housing society take up facilitating EV charging seriously.

As per my knowledge, Zeon and others offer AC charging facilities to individuals and organisations. These are 7.4W AC chargers, similar to ones provided by Hyundai and MG for their EV cars. The cost is around 65K+ taxes and installation.

Since I have booked the MG ZS EV, an electrician from MG visited my apartment and suggested the following.

Apartment complexes have 3 phase power and close to 40-50KW power systems installed. All one needs to do is draw a submeter and install the AC chargers at dedicated points. This will help monitor usage and charge the EV users accordingly. Drawing an extra line and installing a submeter should cost around 10K. This needs a NOC from the association and need approval from the respective DISCOMs.

The other alternative is to draw a line from individual meter which require upgrading the power requirements and installing a charger at the parking slot. This will cost more and also takes a longer time for approvals.

Here's what BHPian libranof1987 had to say on the matter:

Our society has been seriously contemplating installing charging points as well and is considering three possibilities:

1) Have designated charging stations:

Pro:

- Minimal wiring as the most common/convenient spot can be chosen

- Most efficient when it comes to billing, as a subscription model can be implemented

Con:

- The overhead of managing this will be on the society, and owner-managed Society Office/Committee will not have the bandwidth, given the already heavy workload

- While there are very few EVs now, the numbers will grow soon. Naturally, the no. of charging stations << EVs in no time. When that happens, how do you deal with managing the queue. FIFO won't work efficiently as everyone might have different schedules and it won't be fair on most

2) Have chargers at individual parking lots, with electricity pulled from the society wiring:

Pro:

- Convenient for owners

3) Have chargers at individual parking lots, with electricity pulled from their respective meters:

Pro:

- Most convenient and straightforward for both society and owners

Con: a big one

- Wire routing will be a tremendous mess, and expensive. Our society has the meter boxes on stilt, and parking on stilt and basement. Routing the wires across the parking lots on overheard channels will be messy, and cost quite a bit

This issue is tabled for discussion during the AGM, but it seems unlikely that there'll be a consensus soon. For now, the handful of owners are getting charging points installed in their parking lot.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.