There was a recent post on Facebook concerning wiring the garage…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/171531570936557/permalink/855832355839805
Certain points need to be made concerning this, where the words in italics are from the Facebook post and regular font used for the response.
The Technology committee submitted a request for $6,500 for an engineering report from Potomac Energy Group (the company that did the engineering for our new generator) on installing wiring for a handful of EV chargers on each level of the garage. At the moment, that’s not in the budget.
The initial study of the building by the engineers said the building could support 89 chargers with existing wiring, but didn’t address the question of how to get started. This is critical because we won’t initially have 89 interested unit owners.
Based on the available meeting minutes from the Technology Committee and the Board minutes, this initial study was never recommended by the Committee or approved by the board. See https://www.fortysixtwenty.tech/2023/01/24/comparison-of-committee-request-for-estimate-and-actual-estimate/ for what was actually authorized. (By the way, in violation of the Committee charter, no meeting minutes have been posted since May of 2022.) And just to repeat again – the estimate referred to in the Facebook post is for 18 times the capacity the board requested an estimate for.
(Those 89 hook-ups could serve far more than 89 cars; some would be in tandem spaces, and some could be wired so that they would work in alternation, so that no more than 89 were running simultaneously.)
Smart chargers could allow a far more efficient allocation as well as tracking individual electricity usage, which is required under Maryland law.
The condo association would probably have to lay out some money for the work, but the building would be re-imbursed by the owners of the parking spaces. That’s how Chase Point, on Military Road, did it.
This is not how Chase Point did it. They required raising half the money up front from subscribers, and only then proceeded with the project. The description from the Committee meeting minutes is available at https://www.fortysixtwenty.tech/2023/01/24/4620-technology-and-environment-committee-may-23-2022-minutes/
… we will all benefit if we can say that building has the backbone system in place for EV charging. Very soon, or maybe already, people looking to buy apartments will cross us off the list because we don’t have a way to charge electric cars, and neighboring buildings (the Carlton, the Somerset, the Elizabeth) do. Each building is different; the Somerset and the Elizabeth are using guest parking spaces, which, alas, isn’t an option for us.)
This is a rapidly evolving technology. Over-engineering this with today’s technology is a waste of money. Level 2 chargers are already becoming obsolete, and to wire for more than current demand (with a little extra) will be an expensive mistake. Smart chargers can also allow us to support many more residents than the dumb chargers that the Facebook post is referring to.
There is a less attractive alternative: under Maryland law, 4620 cannot “unreasonably” withhold permission from an individual owner to install the wiring. We could end up with an expensive hodge-podge.
This is a misreading of only part of the law. The law states that this must be submitted to the Architectural Control Committee, which must review it. There are also many additional conditions placed on those who want to install a charging station which need to be set up. Also, there is absolutely no requirement under Maryland law that an owner be allowed to install Level 2 chargers (240 volts). The Architectural Control Committee would be perfectly legal in allowing only Level 1 chargers (120 volts). See the following for a summary of the rights and responsibilities of the board and the owner: https://www.fortysixtwenty.tech/2023/10/12/summary-of-maryland-right-to-charge-law/