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NAT: Eyes on the Road: Peak Strata Body Releases EV Charging State of Play Report

The LookUpStrata Team
ev charging strata

This Media Release is about SCA’s EV charging state of play report for strata properties across Australia.

Table of Contents:

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Question: In a building, three electric vehicle owners were given approval to install their personal EV charging stations in their bay. Would the chargers have some built in demand management control?

Answer: If you’re thinking about EV charging, you need to have the ability to control and manage that charging system.

That’s the critical issue with these AC accelerated charges. They’re the chargers that are being sold and installed by Tesla etc. Most of these are enabled with demand management, and most of them can be programmed to have a maximum charge rate, etc. But they don’t consider the owners corporation’s usage. Owners corporations aren’t technically savvy enough to recognise the issue and impose conditions on the charger installations.

Chargers get installed and they have no demand control. That may be fine when you’ve got one or two EV chargers. But to put it in context, a 7.2 kilowatt charger, which is the average accelerated charger for single phase, is 7.2 kilowatts at peak charge. That’s the equivalent of two and a half units’ demand. For every car, it’s two and a half lot’s power consumption. The case study on pages 17 and 18 of the presentation shows how demand varies by, say, climatic conditions or time of day, but there’s no diversity factor in a charger. If it’s on, it’s charging. It’s going hard.

Unless you have centralised control, you will be subject to demand. The 2.4 kilowatts options pose an issue as well. It’s just the scale. More cars will be able to charge before you get a problem, but you will eventually get that problem.

For strata properties, if you’re thinking about EV charging, you need to be able to control and manage that charging system. This way, no harm and no cost impost is placed on the building as a result of the aggregate charge.

Allan Parker Altogether Group E: aparker@altogethergroup.com.au

This post appears in the August 2023 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.

Question: Will EV vehicles and charging stations in an underground car park impact our strata insurance policy and pricing? If we install EV charges, should we let our insurance broker know?

Answer: Electric Vehicles are an emerging risk in that currently, we don’t have any direction from insurers around loading premiums or special conditions for electric vehicles.

Right now, EVs or electric vehicles are not impacting insurance. It is similar to the cladding issue where, once there’s a major claim, insurers might start to take action.

Electric Vehicles are an emerging risk in that currently, we don’t have any direction from insurers around loading premiums or special conditions for electric vehicles.

We are getting a lot of inquiries from people looking at installing electric vehicle charging stations in their buildings, asking about the insurance impact. Right now, there is no impact but that’s not to say the situation won’t change if electric vehicle charging stations cause a number of claims for insurers.

I would recommend committee approach this with a bit of caution. Of course, if you have a major claim, that’s going to affect your five-year claims history and that will result in higher premiums.

If you install EV chargers in your building, definitely let your broker know.

Tyrone Shandiman Strata Insurance Solutions E: tshandiman@iaa.net.au P: 1300 554 165

This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisenent Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.

This post appears in the April 2023 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.

NAT: Eyes on the Road: Peak Strata Body Releases EV Charging State of Play Report

Property peak body Strata Community Association (SCA) has released a first-of-its-kind report, ranking each state and territory government’s progress on EVs specific to strata complexes such as apartments and townhouses.

Facts and Statistics About EVs and Strata:

With approximately 6 million strata residents across Australia, and EVs estimated to represent up to 49 per cent of total vehicle sales by 2030 alone, the report, titled Electric Vehicles in Strata – Phase 1: State of Play is a critical piece in the puzzle to understand the support available for the integration of EVs into strata-titled properties.

SCA National President Chris Duggan said the report, the first of its kind specific to strata, provides a clear illustration of the challenges facing the uptake of EVs in strata across different jurisdictions.

“The State of Play Report provides the most comprehensive analysis we’ve seen yet concerning the rollout of support for EV integration into strata,” he said.

“It’s a very visual, easy-to-use guide to have a check in on how your state is doing with EVs in relation specifically to strata.

“The report also shows where attention and policy is further behind, for example in funding commitments to retrofitting older buildings, or the recognition of the specific challenges facing EV integration in strata.

Mr Duggan said there’s a race on, and some states like NSW and the ACT are really leading the pack.

“We know that 20 per cent of vehicles live in strata complexes like apartments and townhouses. With thousands of new EVs sold per month, hundreds of new EVs end up in strata complexes,” he said.

“Funding the strata sector can awaken a sleeping giant in the race to roll out EVs in Australia and use the already connected networks inherent in strata communities across Australia to drive change.

“One of the most obvious barriers to buying an EV – range anxiety, will be overcome through investing in charging infrastructure that is readily available for owners and residents in strata,” said Mr Duggan.

SCA National Vice-President and Chair of the SCA EV Taskforce Josh Baldwin said the work doesn’t stop here and SCA is charging ahead with a more detailed analysis of the complex challenges facing EV integration into strata.

“Strata living presents a raft of unique challenges for EV ownership, including the location of chargers, cost to residents, insurance implications and fire safety requirements, to name a few.

“From finding the best ways to put out EV fires, addressing increased stress due to heavier vehicles on building structures and achieving equity for tenants, owner-occupiers and investors for charging infrastructure, we’re tackling it,” he said.

You can access the full report here: Electric Vehicles in Strata – Phase 1: State of Play

Strata Community Association

This post appears in Strata News #627.

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