Scalable EV charging for apartments

EV charging for new developments

The EVUp team recently partnered with Melbourne-based developers Banco Group to deploy three levels of EV charging at their latest apartment development, East Brunswick Village, known to locals as EBV.

Like most developers we speak to who are considering EV charging, Banco Group were concerned about power demand, ease of use (or the EV driver journey) and how we could help them future proof their staged build to cater for retail, residential and office destination EV charging.

Working closely with the EBV development team, we organised a seamless EV charging and billing system across three carpark levels and additionally worked out a plan to scale up EV car parking sites up to 2024 using current and forecast EV ownership data.

How do retail visitors use EV charging?

The first consideration was electric car chargers that could be accessed by visiting EV drivers who were visiting EBV for grocery or boutique shopping. 

Starting with 4 x 22kW EV charging stations, our team created a contactless, tap and go billing method, pricing structure and payment distribution using UpCharge, the EVUp networks' EV charging software solution.

EV charging for apartment owners and tenants

Living in an apartment doesn't mean you can't have access to EV charging.

As EBV residents move in to Stage 1 of the development, those driving a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) have access to reliable 22kW EV charging thanks to Banco Group's forward thinking.

By setting up EBV managers with a custom EV charging portal and tenants a mobile phone application, payments can be easily made and any revenue disbursed Body Corporate. 

What our data tells us is areas with a high number of EVs and publicly available charging infrastructure means residents are more likely to choose an EV for their next vehicle. 

Daytime dwell EV charging

Stage 3 of the EBV development includes 6000m2 of office space. As the carpark for office staff is seperate to the retail and apartment parking areas, EV charging for what we call 'daytime dwell' - or the time an EV can be charging while the owner is otherwise engaged for an extended period - is an obvious future-proofing proposition.

As well as providing office staff with an incentive to make their next vehicle purchase a low-emission option, installing EV charging makes a sustainability statement for businesses looking to improve their carbon footprint.

How load management works for 22Kw EV charging

When asked how much power is required for EV charging, the response is always 'how much do you have'? 

In the case of EBV, the building had sufficient power allocated for each 22Kw EV chargers. But as the charging is scaled up over time, our UpCharge dynamic load management software will balance the available power across the charging units as more or less supply becomes available.

Dynamic load management also future proofs the building in that should the body corporate elect to install more EV chargers in the future, then they can without expensive upstream electrical upgrades. 

Scaling up EV charging with portal, payments and monitoring

EBV can further monitor use of the car charging stations in real time and run reports to understand historic usage. 

The benefit of this monitoring means we're able to help EBV managers understand usage patterns, keep an eye on demand and, if necessary, scale up the plan to add more EV charging stations to the building.

How can we help you?

The future of transport is electric. 

Using figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, our team can provide data-driven insights into the forecast growth of EV ownership in Australia, so you can start planning for the future, today. 

Our in-house developed data set provides a granular view of every EV on the road, down to make, model and postcode. Using this information on a daily basis for each of our EV charging projects means we have a clear view and understanding of the Australian EV market and how it's evolving over time. 

This not only informs charging recommendations for locations across the country, but takes the guesswork out of the planning process, both from the start of a project and when it should scale up over time.

We want to give all of our customers confidence that they are prepared for the future of electric transport.

Discuss your project plans with us in preparation for the e-mobility transition.