What to Consider While Installing Condominium & Apartment EV Charging
It’s becoming increasingly clear, even outside the automotive industry, that electric vehicles are the future of transportation. As the demand for electric vehicles continues to rise, the demand for EV charging will rise right along with it. For multi-family house complex owners, this means adopting condominium and apartment EV charging is more important than ever.
Outfitting your multi-family residential buildings to supply fuel to future consumers is vital for your residential complex’s continued marketability and profitability. However, it’s important that you don’t jump into this investment blindly. We have the expertise necessary to help guide you through planning and implementing condominium and apartment EV charging installation.
Installation and Consultation Experts For Any EV Project
Shields Harper & Co has recently acquired LilyPad EV! LilyPad EV will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary within the newly created SHC renewables division. Though our management has changed, the same expert team at LilyPad EV is still present and committed to providing you with unparalleled EV charging expertise.
Learn more about Shields Harper & Co’s acquisition of LilyPad EV→
LilyPad EV is building the fueling network of the future and has pioneered charging station planning and installation since 2009. We offer extensive electrical expertise with trusted trade partners to provide effective solutions to meet your EV charging project expectations—no matter your industry.
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We’ve worked with over 400 companies across 37 states and have installed charging stations at over 1000 locations nationwide. Our stations have charged EVs more than 2 million times. Our services include comprehensive consultation for your EV charging needs, site surveys, project management, and professional EV charging station installation.
If you’re looking for expertise on all things EV charging for your condominium, apartment building, or multi-family residency complex, there’s no one better to turn to for turnkey solutions and thorough guidance.
When we say installing condominium and apartment EV charging is a necessary investment in the future of your complex, you can trust we know what we’re talking about.
The Benefits of Installing EV Charging Stations
An investment in EV charging is an investment in the future of your condominium, apartment building, or multi-family complex. Like any necessary investment, though, it can prove a considerable expenditure.
Though significant in the short term, investing in condo and apartment EV charging makes up for it through long-term marketability and utility. As the demand for electric vehicles continues to rise, the need for EV charging will increase in tandem. Installing the necessary infrastructure for EV charging now will put you ahead of the curve as electric vehicles become a larger and larger portion of owned cars nationwide.
This will enable you to meet growing demand, retain high-value renters, meet changing regulations, and increase property value. In short, it makes your building or complex more valuable. If you’re not moving towards installing condominium and apartment EV charging, your competitors are.
You don’t want to lose out on paying renters or tenants because your competitors offer a broader range of services than you. And if your competitors aren’t starting to offer EV charging, all the better—it allows you to market yourself to a broader range of potential residents, beating them to the punch.
Condominium & Apartment EV Charging
So, you understand the ways EV charging could benefit your condominium or apartment complex. What next? Scheduling installation? Potentially, though there are things to think about first.
LilyPad EV believes that while EV charging is an effective investment in the future of your multi-family residential facility, it’s essential to have all the facts. We would never want you to dive into condominium or apartment EV charging and not get the most out of it. You should always be as informed as possible about any investments you make, and condo and apartment EV charging are no different.
That’s why we’ve come up with a list of 6 things to consider as you plan for condominium & apartment EV charging installation.
1. Plan Around Your Layout
The most critical element of EV charging installation you need to consider is layout and infrastructure limitations. Depending on your facility, you will have different limitations and constraints that necessitate complex decisions during apartment EV charging installation.
Power
Plain and simple, there is no condominium or apartment EV charging without power. That’s why the first thing you need to do is determine where you’re going to get power and how you’re going to move it where you need it to go. Depending on the parking structure, this may limit where you can install EV charging stations. It may also necessitate retrofitting the lot to enable you to feed power throughout the parking structure itself if it’s a sizable lot or parking garage. Identifying where you can pull power is fundamental to upgrading your multi-family facility for the future.
Types of Lots
Shared parking is optimal for this setup. Charging is first come, first served, and coverage is less of an issue. Localized stations allow residents and homeowners to take advantage of the service when they need it, without the hassle of spreading service around. You can even make users pay for charging services in a station to help track who is using the condominium or apartment EV charging.
Assigned or deeded parking is notably more challenging to work with. Since EV owners may come and go, or not all purchase vehicles simultaneously, bulk installing early doesn’t make sense. So, instead, you’ll have to add stations on a resident-by-resident basis. As a result, the complicated decision becomes determining where to pull power from and how to get it from the transformer to specific spots/lots across the facility. This is an intricate process that may take some time to plan effectively and may require retrofitting the garage structure or lot to accommodate pulling power and multi-site station installation. This is what can make condominium and apartment EV charging such an investment on the part of the facility owner or owners.
Parking Structures
A single parking garage is an easier, more accessible lot for EV station installation. After all, you can organize charging station spots together and put the shared lots next to one another. This makes placing charging stations far more straightforward and allows you to situate them near easily accessible power.
Installing apartment EV charging for an apartment complex is can be even more difficult, regardless of the lot system. It may not be feasible or cost-effective to install charging stations in multiple buildings. As a result, you need to plan for demand and place charging stations in central locations, easily accessible by all potential EV owners. After all, you don’t want to alienate car owners from different buildings or make EV owners feel like your complex isn’t worth the hassle.
So, you need to be strategic when planning for installation. We recommend starting with just a few stations in central locations and spreading out over time as more drivers request charging stations or access to charging. Like with any major investment, it makes sense to dip your toes in the water before diving in.
2. Determine Ownership
There’s also the question of charging station ownership. Who is responsible for the EV charging station? Who is accountable for maintenance and upkeep costs? These questions impact how your resident will engage with EV charging and need answers early. Since the electricity is coming off common power no matter what, determining how to cover that additional cost is critical.
The most straightforward ownership situation is when dealing with deeded parking. More common in Condominiums, deeded parking means the individual spot is assigned to, and owned by, the owner of a specific condo. In such an instance, a resident owns that deeded spot, and they can be held responsible for charging station installation and maintenance. Though the condo association will need to pay for the infrastructure necessary to facilitate EV charging, it’s up to the individual owner to install and cover the cost of a station.
If the facility has shared parking, then the facility owns any EV stations. This can be difficult to resolve, though there are potential options. One solution is to track who’s using the station and simply charge them accordingly, potentially on a use-by-use basis. Another option is, like with all amenities, to charge more for providing the amenity to residents.
3. Build For The Future
As you move to install condominium or apartment EV charging, you’ll want to focus on standardized charging stations that service the broadest range of electric vehicles. That way, no matter what type of electric vehicle renters or homeowners may have, they can still take full advantage of the amenity. You want to get the most use possible from your investment, and specialized chargers make that more difficult.
This may require avoiding known brands. Tesla stations, for instance, can only be used to charge Tesla vehicles. Instead, you can purchase a general EV station and simply attach a Tesla Adapter to the station itself. If individual homeowners are looking to install stations in deeded parking, it may make sense to provide guidelines for what stations they can install. You want to think of future residents and homeowners who will need to charge their vehicles but may not be able to use a specialized charger.
Though there are many great EV charging station hardware developers, we would be remiss not to mention our trusted business partners at ChargePoint. They are leading the way in implementing new charging stations for every type of charging use and have the largest EV charging network in the country.
Their stations are tested, well constructed, and have high utility. Not to mention, ChargePoint has a broad portfolio of distinct types of commercial stations to meet the spectrum of your C Store property’s EV charging needs.
4. Find What Stations Work For You
Most commercial facilities require fast charging stations, as EV drivers don’t want to have to wait hours to charge when out and about. While at home, however, charging needs will vary, and a level 3 charging station, the kind used for commercial charging, is almost always not needed.
We recommend condominiums, apartments, and other multi-family facilities prioritize level 2 charging station installation. Shared parking garages should consider the CT4000, an all-purpose level 2 charging station that is ideal for multi-car charging in a shared lot. For multi-family communities with assigned or deeded parking, CPF50 stations are perfect for personal vehicle charging in single lots.
It’s important to find a charging system that suits your building and meets the needs of your community. Perhaps you only need level 2 charging stations, or maybe you need a mixture of level 3 and level 2 stations. Whatever the solution for your multi-family community, you should thoroughly consider your needs before installing condominium and apartment EV charging stations.
Learn more about types of charging stations and EV charging station installation→
5. Research EV Charging Grants, Rebates, & Incentives
A considerable benefit to EV charging installation, especially when considering the cost of apartment or condo EV installation, is access to governmental programs and utility incentive programs.
The IRS provides a tax credit to businesses that install EV charging stations equivalent to 30 percent of the installation cost, up to a cap of $30,000. These grants and tax incentives can help cover the cost of installation.
Many state and local governments also provide EV charging station incentives. Some utility companies also offer incentives for installing EV charging stations. Since utility providers benefit from people using more power, they may provide incentives for buildings or residential complexes considering installing travel center EV charging stations.
Then, it’s important that you learn all you can about these programs and how to access them as you begin considering installing charging stations in your condo or apartment building.
Learn more about EV charging station Incentives→
6. Turn to the Experts at LilyPad EV
LilyPad EV has been here since the very beginning of the EV market. We offer optimized, expert, turnkey solutions to meet your EV charging needs and benefit your multi-family residencies. The knowledge we’ve gained from over a decade of installing EV charging stations makes us an unmatched advisor in all things EV charging.
Now more than ever, investing in the EV charging market can provide unbeatable value to your business. With the current need for electric vehicles only growing, upgrading your apartment building, condominium, or multi-family residential facility is the only way to future-proof your building. That’s why LilyPad EV is here to help guide you through the installation and financing process. No matter your facility’s needs, we’re the right team for the job.
Additionally, you can click here to learn more about Shields Harper & Co’s acquisition of LilyPad EV and how we’re working together to revolutionize clean energy infrastructure.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation & learn more about how LilyPad EV is an ideal partner to help plan and install condominium or apartment EV charging for your multi-family facility!