Re:Tesla Surges Above $500, Leaving Analyst Targets in the Dust
by mmaurizi on Monday January 13, 2020 @01:20PM
(#22037062)
Isn't the solution to put smart meters that can track usage on a common meter and bill the condo owners for their share of the electrical bill?
Re:Tesla Surges Above $500, Leaving Analyst Targets in the Dust
by OrangeMango on Monday January 13, 2020 @01:58PM
(#22037404)
Do you have an example of a purchasable product that works with existing electrical systems?
Re:Tesla Surges Above $500, Leaving Analyst Targets in the Dust
by 205guy on Monday January 13, 2020 @02:57PM
(#22037975)
All the charger networks have solved this. Just choose a network (Chargepoint, Semaconnect, etc.), put in a 2- or 4-connection charger, and each EV owner pays for each charge with an RFID card or their phone. There are also online services for scheduling and paying for use of private (not-smart) chargers (evmatch.com), and others that specialize in your exact problem (multiple chargers in shared dwellings): evercharge.net
Re:Tesla Surges Above $500, Leaving Analyst Targets in the Dust
by OrangeMango on Monday January 13, 2020 @03:10PM
(#22038083)
In a condo building, each parking space is deeded to the owner as a limited common element for the exclusive use of the owner. The charger in the parking space is owned by the owner of the parking space and the electrical connection runs to a utility closet that the electrical utility controls.
In a new building, you just design the electrical system so this is a non-issue. In an existing building, it's not so simple. Any state that has a lot of condos is going to have 100+ years of condominium laws that govern the ownership and usage of space in a condominium. You can't force someone to share their space and you can't authorize someone to enter someone else's space.
Re:Tesla Surges Above $500, Leaving Analyst Targets in the Dust
by bdamm on Monday January 13, 2020 @06:47PM
(#22040106)
Condo associations that want to solve this can. It isn't a technical problem and it won't slow down EV adoption very much. It is kind of like adding satellite TV and plenty of HOAs have figured that one out despite not having it wired into the building. Yes, specific organizations will be slower than others, but as the demand ramps up more and more people will want this solved in their own HOA and they'll start getting it done like dominoes.
Re:Tesla Surges Above $500, Leaving Analyst Targets in the Dust
by OrangeMango on Tuesday January 14, 2020 @09:48AM
(#22045141)
People on our condo board have owned Teslas for years. We are a building that is out in front of it. Coax cable doesn't carry 240V power. This isn't something you can hand-wave away.
The building that I live in is going to run out of physical space for electric meters long before it has issues with electrical capacity. My neighbor opted to forgo having a charger for his Model 3 and instead put one into the garage of his weekend home (he doesn't drive much during the week so he'll be ok).
Given existing equipment on the market now, our building can support maybe 10-15% electric cars. If you are designing a new building, there is no limitation. Our condo board has been searching for a solution and has found some things that are "promising", but nothing that will solve our problem before we run out of space. Again, this is a physical space limitation for the meters, not electrical capacity. And it's a problem where the solution will have to interface with the existing built environment and the existing electrical grid and the existing safety codes, etc. If all you pay attention to are single family homes with garages, you'll never know this is an issue until sales take a nosedive in big cities.