Figuring out how to charge an electric vehicle (EV) if you don’t have somewhere to plug in at home may seem overwhelming, but increasing numbers of Australians are adapting their routines to embrace EVs.
Sydney resident Simon Payten bought a Telsa Model Y around 18 months ago, despite living in a terrace house with no onsite parking or charging facilities.
Instead, twice a week he drives his Tesla to the restaurant hub Tramsheds in the inner-city suburb of Forest Lodge and pays to plug into its Tesla superchargers.
“There’s entertainment in the car and I get to switch off and I can read or do something else, so it’s not too bad,” he says of having to wait, adding that he also uses the time to do his grocery shopping.
The 44-year-old says he thinks buying an EV is “inevitable” and was also won over by the “techy” aspects of the car after completing a test drive.
Many more Australians will need to find ways to make owning an EV feasible if Australia is to achieve its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Electric vehicles currently make up around 10 per cent of all new cars purchased in Australia. Source: AAP / Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
A Climate Change Authority report released this week, underpinned by CSIRO modelling, found transport emissions would need to drop to almost zero by 2050, with EVs making up 100 per cent of all new car sales, to keep Australia’s emissions in line with restricting global warming to less than 2 degrees.
Even more aggressive uptake would be required to keep warming to 1.5 degrees, with transport emissions needing to drop to zero by 2040. In this scenario, EVs would need to make up two-thirds of car sales by 2035 — in just 11 years.
EVs currently make up around 10 per cent of all new cars purchased in Australia in the 12 months to the end of April, according to data provided by Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen’s office. Back in 2019, it was less than 1 per cent.
In order to make EV ownership easier, federal, state and territory governments are co-funding around 1,600 fast-charging sites, with 600 currently in production and the rest set to be delivered in the next 12 to 36 months.
But there are still many barriers to EV ownership, especially for those living in apartments.
Apartments need to adapt to stay ‘relevant’
Around three-quarters of Australian households have access to off-street parking, such as a garage or carport, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, but not all accommodate charging.
University of Queensland researcher Dr Kai Li Lim, who studies EV usage, says apartment buildings will eventually need to be retrofitted with charging infrastructure in order to stay relevant.
“If they don’t have EV charging, [EV owners] are not going to buy the apartment, so that has to happen,” he said.
New apartment buildings are already required to set aside space for switchboards to allow EV charging in all car spaces, following changes to the National Construction Code.
Canberra resident Peter Campbell, who is a member of the ACT branch committee of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, says he spent six months working out a plan to address the needs of the complex in which he owns a property.
Peter Campbell helped to come up with a solution for the apartment complex where he lives so residents can access EV charging. Source: Supplied
The block has around 105 units and townhouses — some have attached garages while others use shared parking areas, and not all can be connected to existing electricity cabling.
Campbell sought advice from an electrician interested in EV charging to get across the “nitty gritty detail” of where cables are located and to map out sites for charging stations.
The building’s strata committee is now able to provide EV charging approvals for three different categories of units.
“You can’t just come up with a standard recipe [to fit every apartment complex],” Campbell said.
Charging upgrades can be costly
Convincing owners who don’t yet own an EV to pay for expensive infrastructure upgrades can also be tricky.
While an EV owner may be willing to pay for the installation of a single power point, more complicated works may require capital works funding, Campbell says.
“[That way] you spread out the cost and make it less of a shock for people,” he said.
State governments are also providing assistance.
In NSW, where 15 per cent of residents live in an apartment, the government will help to retrofit around 100 apartment buildings with charging capacity as part of its $10 million EV Ready Buildings program, a spokesperson has confirmed.
In neighbouring ACT, a program will be established this financial year to provide interest-free loans to make multi-unit buildings EV-ready.
Apartment owners around Australia will need to consider how they might be able to accommodate EV charging. Source: AAP / Tom Rabe
Both Victoria and the ACT have published guidelines to support EV charging installation in apartments and workplaces, while at the federal level, work on a national strategy is underway.
Lim believes the cost of charging infrastructure shouldn’t necessarily fall solely on EV owners.
He points to South Korea as an example, where the government pays for the infrastructure and charges EV owners for using it.
If they don’t have EV charging, [EV owners] are not going to buy the apartment, so that has to happen.
Dr Kai Li Lim
The private sector may also offer solutions.
One of Australia’s biggest private charging companies, Chargefox, is already providing services to around 80-100 residential sites, including apartment blocks and medium-density housing.
Its software enables EV charging to be billed to a particular resident and to ensure chargers are only used by authorised parties.
“[We also] have about 30 projects currently in development,” a Chargefox spokesperson said.
Companies like NSW electricity distributor Ausgrid are also exploring the possibility of providing kerbside chargers through its power pole network for the 800,000 customers, who are estimated to have limited opportunities to charge their vehicles at home.
Insurance companies are cautious
Even for those able to plug in, some insurance companies have refused to provide coverage for apartments where EVs are charged.
This is despite the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) acknowledging the relatively low risk of from electric cars, as compared with high-risk electric bikes and scooters.
The ICA says it is working with insurers, homeowners, strata committees and businesses on appropriate risk management for lithium-ion batteries — the kind most EVs use.
It is also partnering with fire authorities on regulation because EV battery fires require more time, resources and water to extinguish.
The Insurance Council of Australia is partnering with fire authorities on regulations to address the unique challenges of extinguishing EV battery fires, which other countries like South Korea are also grappling with. Source: AAP / Yonhap/EPA
The NSW government says it’s aware some insurance companies want to impose “onerous conditions” to allow EV charging on some buildings.
“We recommend that any apartment buildings looking to purchase insurance coverage thoroughly explore the various providers to identify coverage that best aligns with their specific requirements,” a spokesperson for the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said.
Is it possible to own an EV and live in an apartment?
Sydney resident Mauricio Perez, who bought a Tesla Model 3 in 2021, says he looked into installing a power point in the garage of his previous home but found dealing with strata, especially as a renter, was not worth the effort.
“It’s a minefield in a lot of places because strata are very cash-strapped,” he said.
He found other ways to keep his car charged, using fast chargers weekly to get his battery to around 80 per cent capacity and then topping up the rest at a shopping centre.
He says it’s relatively easy to find fast-charging sites in metropolitan areas, although they are not free.
Slower public chargers are also increasingly available in shopping centres or on public streets.
Mauricio Perez travelled from Sydney to Tasmania in his EV, taking the Spirit of Tasmania across the Bass Strait. Source: Supplied
Perez now lives in an apartment with a power point in the garage and says he spends an average of $5 a week on charging, which covers the 220km he travels.
Both Perez and Payten say it’s feasible to buy an EV even without at-home charging, although they hope the number of chargers keeps up with growing demand.
“Absolutely, it’s doable in metro areas,” Payten said.
The Petersham resident says he bought a Telsa so he could access its supercharger bays. It takes about half an hour to charge his mid-size SUV to around 80 per cent capacity and costs $30-$40 per use.
The longest he’s had to wait for a charger is 15 minutes.
Perez recommends prospective EV owners work out the distance they drive each week and find their closest charging points using the Plugshare app.
There is also a need for more fast chargers in regional areas, Perez says, noting he waited around 45 minutes for a charger in regional NSW during the Easter holidays.
Despite this, he has successfully driven to Tasmania, and the only area where he had trouble finding public chargers was around the Tarkine rainforest.
“With some planning, it wasn’t really an issue.”
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