Tim Jones owns a Tesla Model 3, lives in an apartment in Auckland and is the current national president of the Body Corporate Chairs’ Group New Zealand. To say that he understands the frustration on all sides of the debate over charging electric vehicles in apartment blocks is an understatement. In 2018, BCCG and Tim joined a user group to meet with Vector to provide feedback on draft guidelines preparing them for public release. The report wisely said: “A major initiative in this program revolves around how variable load can be managed dynamically.”
Tim Jones with his Tesla Model 3.
So what has changed in the last 4 years and what has not? Technology has changed and the number of EVs has increased significantly. But the pace of EV charger installation moves at the speed of a snail, Tim says.
There is a need to speed up the installation of smart chargers that can manage the charge load dynamically. Fitting EV chargers into apartment buildings is the “low-hanging fruit” in the crop of climate change mitigation. But it is likely that change will only come from pressure from buyers of EVs who also live in medium- and high-density housing.
Although the New Zealand government is focused on the public lending network, it is expected that sooner or later they will have to introduce regulations governing existing flats and new buildings. A search on the EECA website did not return any articles about EV loading in apartments.
A recent survey among BCCG members on the levying of EVs showed a strong consensus. Many respondents were eager to recover, but only a handful actually did. However, the survey showed a low level of understanding of the issues and technology surrounding EV charging. The 400+ respondents included individuals inside buildings and the legal entity of buildings. In many cases, there was apparently no clear view of the electrical needs of the building. BCCG continues to hold discussions with the Department of Transportation and industry suppliers.
The NZ government has introduced incentives for the purchase of EVs and this has led to a rapid increase in the number of EVs on the NZ roads. “Auckland is full of Tesla Model 3s,” says Tim.
There are no chargers in the apartment block where Tim lives, so he uses the Tesla Superchargers network. “There are more than 30+ units here. It will be easy, for example, to place one in every second parking space. ”
With the price of chargers and installation decreasing, the number of electric motors increasing and the technology to dynamically manage the charging charge will be the pressure to increase the pace of installation.
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