ONE OWNER in HOA received funding from the board to install a charger – there were other problems she didn’t foresee.
Even with “Right to Charge” laws spanning multiple states, EV owners face unique challenges when it comes to charging at home.
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Joy, also known as Tesla Joy on YouTube (@TeslaJoy), purchased a Tesla Model 3 in 2018 while living in his condo in Los Angeles, California.
Being in California, she had the benefit of Tesla’s largest network of Superchargers, which she used to charge her EV when needed.
Because she had to park in a shared parking lot, there was no community electric vehicle charger available to her, especially since no other neighbors had an electric vehicle.
She considered paying to have a charger installed, even though the cost was about $12,000 before the charger was installed, due to the distance of a parking meter between her parking spot.
Read more about EV chargers
However, when another neighbor purchased an EV in 2020, she was inspired to initiate changes for herself, the other neighbor with an EV, and any future EV owners living in the complex.
Other neighbors began talking about the possibility of purchasing an EV, but were concerned about the lack of community charging within the complex.
She ended up running for a position on her complex’s HOA board in 2021, and got it — and after long meetings covering logistics and costs, Joy was paid $25,000 to find an installer for a charger.
However, a year after obtaining funds, she encountered other infrastructural and bureaucratic issues that drastically delayed the process.
First, she was tasked with finding an installation company for the chargers, then she would have to oversee the construction of the charging stations (which would have to be ADA compliant and, in her case, involve tree removal).
The building, which was 50 years old, also had electrification challenges in the form of old wiring.
“Due to the age of the property, an electric vehicle charging facility was not planned,” said Joy Fast company in 2022.
“Ninety-nine percent of residents here would not be able to install their chargers, even if there was a law that allowed it.”
The media outlet cited data showing that nearly 30% of the American population lives in communal settings, such as apartment complexes or condominiums.
There are around 358,000 community associations in the country, representing around 74.2 million residents.
Only 1.5 million Americans own EVs, but that number is growing steadily as the country’s public charging infrastructure improves.
At first, we weren’t sure if this was actually going to move forward because it seemed so dark.
Happiness
Therefore, communities will eventually struggle as more residents purchase EVs and want to charge them in their homes.
Kelly Dougherty, president of FirstService Energy, a company that consults with community buildings on charger installations, says the transition may be happening more quickly than property managers realize.
“Right now, we are seeing [EV charging stations] more as an essential utility,” she said.
“It’s more about when is the right time for our associations to put in chargers… It’s definitely very different than a situation in a single-family home where you might use an outlet from your own home. It affects other people.”
According to Joy’s YouTube channel, she was informed in March that the building’s transformers were “wired in an unconventional way.”
“This presented many problems and difficulties in approving the infrastructure project upgrade,” she said in her report. video.
Electric versus gas vehicles
Pros and cons of electric vehicles versus gasoline-powered vehicles
EV PROS:
- Convenient (when charging at home)
- Cheapest (depending on the state or city)
- Cheaper maintenance due to lack of mechanical parts
- Great for commuting
- Reduced CO2 emissions
- Federal and state tax incentives
- More performance (speed, handling – depending on make and model)
EV CONS:
- Higher initial cost
- Higher Insurance Rates
- More frequent tire and brake replacement intervals
- Higher tare weight (thus causing faster wear on crucial parts)
- Low resale value
- High depreciation rates
- Lack of charging infrastructure
- Unreliable public loading (related: slow loading times)
- Poor performance in winter and summer
- Lack of clean energy alternatives means more “dirty energy” from coal and nuclear sources
- Range anxiety
PROS OF GAS:
- Highly developed refueling infrastructure
- Fast replenishment
- Cheapest insurance rates depending on make, model and configuration
- Established repair industry
- Lower initial cost
- Greater range before refueling, especially with hybrids
- Many manufacturers produce engines with almost fewer emissions
- Cheaper refueling depending on location
CONS OF GAS:
- Finite resource (related: heavy dependence on oil)
- Carbon emissions/greenhouse gases
- Higher repair costs
- Higher insurance rates depending on make, model and configuration
- Varying costs at the pump depending on state, city and county
Source: Driver, Perch Energy, Automatic Week
“At first, we weren’t sure if this was actually going to move forward because it looked so dark.”
In February, she said the HOA’s accounts manager wrote to her saying the board had approved building changes to make room for porters.
The letter stated that Level 2 chargers should be installed by the end of March.
“It finally feels like there is a light at the end of this three-year tunnel,” she said.
“Hopefully they will have them installed by the end of 2024. Fingers crossed, prayers rising.”
US Sun reached out to Joy for an update.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
