Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Condo owner must pay for meter or unplug electric car

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.

Doug_G

Lead Moderator
Global Moderator
Apr 2, 2010
17,888
3,421
Ottawa, Canada
Condo owner must pay for meter or unplug electric car - Ottawa - CBC News

An Ottawa man is fighting the board of the condominium complex where he lives because it does not want him charging his electric car on other residents' dimes.

The board's president has told condo owner Mike Nemat that an outlet he has used to charge his car will be disconnected.

At a condo, all tenants share the electricity bill, but Nemat argues his Chevy Volt costs only about a dollar per night to recharge.

The board said it should not pay for fuel for electric cars because it does not pay to put fuel in other cars. But Nemat said he offered to pay for all the hydro costs caused when his vehicle is plugged into the outlet.

"They seem to think this car consumes a significant amount of electricity," said Nemat. "Realistically, it is only about the same as a microwave or any other small appliance."

Condo rules state Nemat could plug in a block heater for a conventional car, which requires similar power, at no cost.

But the board wants Nemat to install an individual meter at his outlet, which would cost $3,000.

"This isn't some evil electric car that consumes a ton of electricity. It's just a drop in the pond compared to what the whole building pays," Nemat said.

One of Nemat's neighbours, Steve Forbes, said he does not agree with the condo board's stance.

Forbes's truck burns 240 litres of diesel per day and he said he is happy to see an electric car in the parking lot.

"I think it's a technology that should have been here long, long ago," Forbes said.
 
My dad's condo building did the same thing to a guy there who had a Global Electric Motorcar. My dad was the only one on the 17 person board that voted that plugging in was fine.

Funny enough they have enclosed garages in the larger parking garage. And the power in the closed garages is also common unmeterd building power. The guy just started parking his EV in the closed garage, and parking his Lincoln in his EV spot. He charged for free.

My dad went to Home Depot bought a window AC unit. Put it in his garage and maxed out the cooling. He fermented my homebrew beer in his garage/cooler as a protest for 6 weeks.

EDIT: This was the same board that turned off 2 of their 4 elevators (28 story building) because they were using too much electricity. Despite my dad's technical discussion that about 80% of the elevator power use is due to weight up and down. Not number of trips (which also didn't really change). The board was convinced that each elevator motor continuously drew maximum power all day and night.
 
Last edited:
I saw the report on this issue on CTV news Doug...they interviewed a couple of "blue-haired" condo residents who were against letting him charge...their stance was completely based on EV ignorance and tortured logic.

If a credible case could be presented showing that those who plug in their ICE block heaters are using (basically) the same amount of energy (daily) as the Volt is using, the Condo Corp should be charging for all or none imo...
 
Would they consider a Kill-O-Watt? It is a handy watt meter that tracks the the kWh of anything plugged into it. While not desined for long term outside use you can easily show then the current and cost of a charge.

That said it seems many people cannot get their mind around the cost of a charge. With many spending $75 to fill their tank they just do not seem to understand that you can typically top off for less than $1 for a typical days' drive. They think you MUST be pulling $25 or more to fill up your electric car.
 
It's worth reading the comments to see where one of the major restraints on EV adoption lies. Its clear that working through the current regulations and reluctance to change with Condo boards and HOAs will be fraught. Whether you live in a Condo, or an apartment, terraced house, etc where there is only on-street parking, the idea that it's easy to charge overnight just doesn't apply to a very large fraction of the population.

I am hopeful that this will be solved by popular political action some way into the adoption curve ("give us the right to. Harte", "why should all the benefits of EVs only apply to rich people who have houses") though it could go the other way into the politics of envy ("if I can't have the right to charge, neither should they" followed by a specious argument, probably related to electricity distribution, to deny all residents he ability to charge).

If all else fails we'll have to hope for larger batteries and ultra-fast charge allowing something akin to today's once a week fill-up for a gasoline car. The best option would be 50-100 kW charging at the mall/supermarket/etc. of course that loses many of the grid-balancing benefits so I just have to hope that sense prevails on "home charging" for those that don't have own parking.
 
I ran into all sorts of obstacles trying to install a dedicated outlet in my condo's garage in Los Angeles. I offered to pay for the entire thing, and there was still too much red tape. The garage is huge, 200 cars, and contains ONE 110v outlet. Fortunately, I was able to finagle the parking space next to the outlet, and the management has kindly looked the other way when I plug in. The question is, what will happen when a second person in my complex gets a plug-in hybrid? We shall find out soon I suspect...
 
I ran into all sorts of obstacles trying to install a dedicated outlet in my condo's garage in Los Angeles. I offered to pay for the entire thing, and there was still too much red tape. The garage is huge, 200 cars, and contains ONE 110v outlet. Fortunately, I was able to finagle the parking space next to the outlet, and the management has kindly looked the other way when I plug in. The question is, what will happen when a second person in my complex gets a plug-in hybrid? We shall find out soon I suspect...

Maybe the new guy will get the other spot next to the outlet and just use the other receptacle. :) I'm assuming one outlet with two receptacles?
 
Why will it pop the breaker? It's a 110 outlet with two 110 compatible "devices" connected. We all have both our receptacles taken up in places in our homes? Am I not seeing this right?

Correct, you're not seeing this right. There may be many 15A or 20A receptacles on a single 15/20A circuit. However, if the devices that are connected to those receptacles in total pull more than the maximum amperage of the circuit breaker, then it's going to be tripped.
 
I actually am leasing a house, not a condo, but was very lucky the owners allowed me to install 2 NEMA 14-50 outlets in the garage. They even paid for it by taking $50 off the rent per month spread out over the 20 months it would take to pay for the installation costs. It is a shame others have so much trouble. I am the only one using the electricity and am paying for it so that is probably the biggest difference.