With Planning, Electric Vehicle Ownership Is Accessible To Apartment Dwellers

Plug In Cars

Alysha Webb

February 04, 2014

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If you live in a multi-unit dwelling—an apartment or condominium complex, that is—getting access to a charging station for your plug-in electric vehicle can be a little complicated. It’s not as easy as simply running an extension cord out your window or installing a charging station in your favorite parking space. It can take weeks or months to work through the multiple steps to make charging available.

“There is some fundamental groundwork that you have to do if you want to get charging” in a multi-unit dwelling, Ed Kjaer, director of transportation electrification at Southern California Edison told PluginCars.com. “It is very much incumbent on the residents to get organized.” SoCal Edison prefers to deal with groups rather than individuals, said Kjaer. So it’s advisable to get the property management company or home owners association involved early on.

But before the management company or HOA approaches the utility, Kjaer suggests first surveying the residents to see how much demand there is for charging points—then considering if there are suitable locations for the charging stations, with access to the 240V electricity. That could be an outside wall shared with an electrical room or a laundry room, for example.

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