Relying only on out of home charging stations?

[shadowsjc]

I'm in the process of buying a mach E, which would be the my first ever EV. I live in a multi unit apartment building/condo, and the HOA board is very slow/resistant to any major changes, including installing a 240v line (to allow me to set up a level 2 charging station in my assigned spot).

I don't have much hope this will get resolved anytime soon, so I've resigned myself to charging only at third party stations around the area. Is this a good idea? I don't do a ton of driving (maybe 100 miles a week at most). There is a free(?) Volta Charging station at the Whole Foods a block away from me that I was hoping to leverage weekly while I shopped for groceries. Other than that, I was hoping to top off at other local spots (malls, etc) every other week or as needed.

Is this realistic, or am I setting myself up for failure by not having access to a charger at home?

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[JSW]

If you’re only driving 100 miles per week, you could make it work.
It will require planning and effort (and often extra $), but it should work.

 

[dml105]

See if your local utility or your state is offering incentives for your building to add EV infrastructure. That might sweeten the pot, and it would likely raise the value of the condos.

 

[ajmartineau]

Using a 120-volt outlet, you can pick up over 20 miles a day pretty easily.
Can you plug in at work?
Can you plug in at home off a 120-volt extension cord?
Check PlugShare for free or cheap charging near your work.
DCFC 2 twice a month as a last resort isn't all that bad.

 

[JeanLR]

I live in a 300 unit condo high rise and had a Level 2 charger installed yesterday. The Condo Association put in a panel with 10 slots several years ago at a cost of $7,000. An owner who wants one of the slots is charged $700 plus the cost of the electrician to run the conduit, core through perhaps as many as 4 levels of concrete to the lower levels of the garage etc. Fortunately, my garage space is located on the same level as the electrical room, but the cost of the electrician was still $2,750. The charger was installed on the concrete wall. We are limited to 30 amps so installing a Nema 14-50 wasn’t an option. A Clipper Creek model met my needs and I had it hard wired.

We only have 2 slots left so the Condo Board recently discussed the future demand. We will be exploring putting one or more community chargers in the garage. There is also a Level 3 charger outside the building on a street that 3 high rises share. There are often 2 cars charging there during the day.

Perhaps one of these solutions would be more palatable to your building if they realize they don’t have to absorb the cost.

 

[timbop]

As long as there is a DC fast charger also available to you, it can work. I suggest looking in plugshare.com to find all the publicly available chargers including the DC fast chargers. The grocery store and other businesses are likely Level 2 AC charging only, which will only give you about 20 to 30 miles of range per hour of charging.

If you don't have convenient access to a DC fast charger nor overnight access to a 240VAC charger then a BEV is probably not a good idea for you.

 

[Maquis]

Since it's only a block away, just park at Whole Foods whenever the weather is nice. ?

 

[mixduptransistor]

I'm in the process of buying a mach E, which would be the my first ever EV. I live in a multi unit apartment building/condo, and the HOA board is very slow/resistant to any major changes, including installing a 240v line (to allow me to set up a level 2 charging station in my assigned spot).

I don't have much hope this will get resolved anytime soon, so I've resigned myself to charging only at third party stations around the area. Is this a good idea? I don't do a ton of driving (maybe 100 miles a week at most). There is a free(?) Volta Charging station at the Whole Foods a block away from me that I was hoping to leverage weekly while I shopped for groceries. Other than that, I was hoping to top off at other local spots (malls, etc) every other week or as needed.

Is this realistic, or am I setting myself up for failure by not having access to a charger at home?

The Volta for an hour or two while you shop isn't going to be fast enough. You'd need to camp out there for 7-8 hours

I was in your exact situation a year ago with my Tesla. I ended up buying a house. I had DC Fast Charging available near work, and I could go charge during lunch but after COVID I was not going into work so it turned into a pain

You're really the only person who can determine if it will be a hassle for you, but I would not rely on level 2 charging at a grocery store. Either public level 2 charging that you can be 1000% sure you won't get towed or nearby fast charging would be my absolute minimum

 

[shadowsjc]

Using a 120-volt outlet, you can pick up over 20 miles a day pretty easily.
Can you plug in at work?
Can you plug in at home off a 120-volt extension cord?
Check PlugShare for free or cheap charging near your work.
DCFC 2 twice a month as a last resort isn't all that bad.

Unfortunately I've been working remotely so my car will be at home in the garage all day. Even if/when I go back to the office, I'll be taking public transportation so my car will still be in the garage at home all day. I don't think they'll allow me to plug even into a 120v outlet since they don't know how much power I'll be drawing and don't have a way to bill me.

 

[shadowsjc]

I live in a 300 unit condo high rise and had a Level 2 charger installed yesterday. The Condo Association put in a panel with 10 slots several years ago at a cost of $7,000. An owner who wants one of the slots is charged $700 plus the cost of the electrician to run the conduit, core through perhaps as many as 4 levels of concrete to the lower levels of the garage etc. Fortunately, my garage space is located on the same level as the electrical room, but the cost of the electrician was still $2,750. The charger was installed on the concrete wall. We are limited to 30 amps so installing a Nema 14-50 wasn’t an option. A Clipper Creek model met my needs and I had it hard wired.

We only have 2 slots left so the Condo Board recently discussed the future demand. We will be exploring putting one or more community chargers in the garage. There is also a Level 3 charger outside the building on a street that 3 high rises share. There are often 2 cars charging there during the day.

Perhaps one of these solutions would be more palatable to your building if they realize they don’t have to absorb the cost.

How did you decide on the criteria for the charging station used? I know our Board looked into it last year but nothing was done, so I'd like to push this forward myself if I can. What capacity /wattage etc should I be looking for? Other features?

When you paid to run the line to your spot, is that charging station only for your private usage? (Deeded?)

 

[shadowsjc]

The Volta for an hour or two while you shop isn't going to be fast enough. You'd need to camp out there for 7-8 hours

I was in your exact situation a year ago with my Tesla. I ended up buying a house. I had DC Fast Charging available near work, and I could go charge during lunch but after COVID I was not going into work so it turned into a pain

You're really the only person who can determine if it will be a hassle for you, but I would not rely on level 2 charging at a grocery store. Either public level 2 charging that you can be 1000% sure you won't get towed or nearby fast charging would be my absolute minimum

What's the etiquette for using a free L2 Volta station at a grocery store? Would I be ok parking there at 9am, then picking it back up at 6pm once a week? Or should I only be using it for an hour at a time?

 

[buffasnow]

I was in your exact situation a year ago with my Tesla. I ended up buying a house.

Wow, that is the most expensive EV accessory I have seen yet!

 

[ajmartineau]

What's the etiquette for using a free L2 Volta station at a grocery store? Would I be ok parking there at 9am, then picking it back up at 6pm once a week? Or should I only be using it for an hour at a time?

There is a 45-minute limit at Volta. Maybe your association could put in a Blink or Charge Point charger and make a little money.

 

[timbop]

What capacity /wattage etc should I be looking for? Other features?

50 Amp 240V per charger would be typical; when circuits are expected to have constant draw (more than 3 hours continuously) then it should be limited to 80% of the rated capacity. That means a 40A charger on the 50A circuit, which is quite common. To support more chargers on the same service connection, 40Amp circuits could be put in (32A max charging) - which is still plenty to fully recharge a large battery BEV like the Mach E overnight.

 

[JeanLR]

How did you decide on the criteria for the charging station used? I know our Board looked into it last year but nothing was done, so I'd like to push this forward myself if I can. What capacity /wattage etc should I be looking for? Other features?

When you paid to run the line to your spot, is that charging station only for your private usage? (Deeded?)

I’m not sure the criteria for the 10-slot panel but I can check with the building’s engineer. I know when I met with him and the electrician, I was told I could not have a 14-50 plug installed because I could only use a maximum 30 amps, so there is a Clipper Creek model that is 30amps, but I gather the output is really 24 amps, which should be okay for overnight charging.
Yes, the charger is installed at my deeded garage space and it even comes with a small padlock so it can’t be used by anyone else. A meter was installed so the condo association can bill me for the electricity at the condo’s contracted rate.

How did you decide on the criteria for the charging station used? I know our Board looked into it last year but nothing was done, so I'd like to push this forward myself if I can. What capacity /wattage etc should I be looking for? Other features?

When you paid to run the line to your spot, is that charging station only for your private usage? (Deeded?)

I was told I was limited to 30amps based on the electrical panel. The board put in a new panel as noted above with availability for 10 slots. I reviewed many chargers but the 40amp ones that deliver 32amps were greater capacity than what I could use. I bought the Clipper Creek LSC30 hard wired model (it comes hardwired and I had my choice of either but concluded that I didn’t need to transport it anywhere given the charger that comes in the car and less risk of theft). Yes, it is for my space only, below is a picture.

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