EV Charger Installation. Who You Gonna Call? BY MARK MARMER

conventional “townhome” communities, individual unit owners can typically arrange EVC installations themselves within their unit boundaries, connected to their in-unit, sole servicing, electrical systems that do not have consequence on the community at large. While most Corporations may still have requirement for unit owner EVC installations to adhere to some sort of community standard, including advising, and receiving permission from, Boards of Directors (BODs); in our experience, such authorizations are typically formalities.

In multi-unit residential building (MURB) communities, the parameters can look signifcantly different as there is typically some sort of “shared” service that declarations commonly defne as “service provided to more than one unit”. In these scenarios, BODs and their Property Managers, will typically be required to consider the overall direction of their communities. Unfortunately, this

Mark Marmer Founder of Signature Electric can often take a frustratingly, albeit necessarily, lengthy process (at least from the perspective of unit owners who want it now).

The Conventional Approach The conventional approach in MURBs is to determine the available capacity of the common electrical system to service EVCs. This typically involves having a suitably qualifed professional evaluate the existing electrical system for available, excess electrical capacity. In turn, a related report will often advise that the building can support a certain number of EVCs.

While some communities may fnd that they have suffcient capacity to support a reasonably high percentage of EVCs relative to the number of units, far too often this number is not as large as everyone might like. In nearly all cases, buildings would not have available capacity to provide service to all units, should that eventually become a requirement.

The Current Situation Today, almost every car manufacturer has an EV on offer. In fact, there are over 5 million EVs on the road and EV sales in Canada are doubling annually.

In 2021, the Canadian Government set a mandatory zero-emission target for all new light-duty car and passenger truck sales by 2035. Meaning that electric vehicles may soon be the only new vehicle option on the market. That is a great thing for drivers, manufacturers, and the environment. EVs are cheaper to drive and maintain, offer better performance and are signifcant assets in the fght against climate change.

For condo owners, managers, and boards, the question becomes not if they will need to install EV chargers but how?

The Who, Where, How, and Watt On May 1, 2018, the latest revisions to BODs are then faced with deciding whether unit owners can install individually owned EVCs on a ‘frst come, frst serve’ basis, which invariably raises questions of fairness, equity, and cost effectiveness. Furthermore, early EVC installations typically require at least some minimal “upgrade” of infrastructure that later EVC installations can “piggy-back” off of, meaning that earlier installations bear higher costs than later ones. Again, more questions of cost fairness and equity to these earlier unit owners in particular, but also regarding who owns the infrastructure between the common electrical systems and unit owner EVCs.

Another approach involves “common element owned” EVCs, that are fully installed, expensed, and owned by the Condominium Corporations, with use available ‘first come, first serve’ (such as you might encounter in public parking lots) although without specifc right of ownership to any individual unit. It is relatively simple nowadays for payment for electricity (and service ‘rental’) to be on-demand by credit card, smartphone, or other suitable method. While less individually convenient perhaps, as courtesy

the 1998 Condominium Act went into effect. The revisions establish the processes for getting Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) installed in condominium buildings. Beyond the guidelines, there are still other factors to consider, including new distribution equipment, charger types, billing software, and load management.

For charger installations in condos, the ideal solution must be both cost-effective, energy-effcient, and future-proofed. Dynamic load management allows for the greatest number of cars to charge simultaneously within the building’s electrical capacity and with the lowest cost of infrastructure.

This process is a lot to understand and put in place. With EV infrastructure projects often ranging between $20,000 to $100,000+, this is something you’ll want to do right the frst time.

An experienced electrical contractor can guide you through the entire process and

would suggest that vehicles be removed from EVCs once charged, this confguration is perceived as more equitable given they are theoretically available to all. In time however, as the number of EVs in a community increase, EVC demand may ultimately exceed availability.

Increasing overall electrical capacity would be a further potential solution. The expense and logistics of adding capacity in this fashion would require coordination with related electrical utilities, building authorities, and others having jurisdiction. If even possible, it is likely to be a less desirable approach. It is nonetheless an option that could be pursued.

The “Smart” Approach Changing building needs have led to ingenuity. Companies have developed technologies to work within existing building electrical capacities while being able to provide service to a progressively larger group of EV owners. Increasingly, “smart” chargers are coming onto market. In general, these systems work by sharing available capacity amongst all EVs connected to the system at a given time. The chargers automatically adjust to provide more or less individual

offer a complete solution ensuring the least amount of work for the corporation, board, or manager. Choosing the right electrical contractor will lead to having a successful, future-ready installation. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a contractor for your EV charging project.

The ideal contractor should: • Be an experienced electrical contractor. After all, EV chargers require an electrical installation. • Be able to provide references for similar installations in your area. Whenever possible, we recommend visiting a few of the referenced sites to see them for yourself. • Be able to provide education. Managers, boards, and committees will have lots of questions. Many of these may relate to the installation, and others might be about EV ownership in general. It’s best to have a contractor who has a total depth of knowledge in all aspects of EV driving and operation. Ask the contractor if they own or For completeness of discussion, some systems can also be confgured in a priority capacity. One such priority scenario would be a new EV connecting to a system initially having available to them a larger than proportionate share of charging capacity; the idea being to get some quick range restoration while others that have been connected for longer would in theory already have a larger portion of their range restored. For the purpose of the remainder of this paper, our “smart” discussion remains based on proportional sharing.

Imagine an electrical system that has capability to provide “full” charging capacity to 20 EVs at once. Now imagine that 40 “smart” chargers are connected to that system. In simple terms, that means that if 20 EVs or less are connected at once, they will each charge to their full capacity, i.e. their fastest rate. As soon as the 21st EV connects, the smart chargers will automatically distribute charging capacity proportionally amongst the 21 EVs by dialing down each one slightly, in this instance to about 95% on each EV. 30

drive an EV, and if so, for how long. • Have independent engineering services to determine your site’s size, shape, and load capacity. This analysis will determine how many vehicles your site can accommodate and the most economical manner to bring EV service to each vehicle. This type of research and knowledge comes with experience. • Have access to the latest hardware and software on the market to suit your needs. These should be completely agnostic and not tied to a single product, hardware, or software. • Use only open source parts and services that will not bind you to any vendor. Doing so avoids long-term contracts or proprietary equipment.

No one wants to be stuck with outdated specialized equipment. • Make things clear by providing you with a detailed roadmap outlining all related costs. A thorough plan ensures you understand what you are purchasing. • Be able to assist you in writing an

EV policy for your community. This vehicles would be at about 67%. While a full 40 vehicles connected at once would each receive 50% charging capacity proportionally in this example.

This smart approach works equally well going the other way. As vehicles become charged, the electrical capacity they were using is given back to the system and each charger automatically dials up slightly based on the returned capacity, until once again there are 20 vehicles or less requiring charging at which time those remaining could again charge at their full rate.

In practical terms, this approach harnesses the idea that full and fastest charging is not needed at all times (or even most of the time), or necessarily all at once by all vehicles. Therefore, why would we need full, individual, on-demand charging at all times when such system would not be in use for the majority of its existence? Thinking further about when the majority of vehicles are not in use - such as for long, overnight periods - leads to further question as to what reason could possibly be needed for full capacity, fast, ondemand charging at all? When we start contextualizing ordinary, day-to-day use,

policy will outline the EV charger installation process and the draft policy may be easier and less costly than starting from scratch. • Assist you to manage new charger requests from owners and residents with minimal input from management.

In conclusion Installing EV chargers is not a simple project. With multiple factors, safety protocols, and future thinking initiatives in play, this is a project you’ll want experienced professionals to do.

Before you start your project, remember that no two installations are the same. Make sure you have the right electrical contractor on your side—one who is transparent, knowledgeable, and experienced.

Your contractor should be able to support you through the entire installation process, ensuring that the project is completed in a legal, safe, and cost-effcient manner. CV