Most electric vehicle (EV) owners prefer the convenience of charging their vehicle at home – whether that is a single dwelling or an apartment building. This means getting chargers into apartment buildings is an important step in supporting a wider and equitable uptake of EVs.

Without convenient charging options, apartment residents may hesitate to purchase their vehicle of choice. Those hesitating may include renters, lower income families and younger generations who do not live in houses.

Installing EV chargers in apartments is not common, so we conducted an expert elicitation – funded by a JMI Policy Challenge Grant – that surveyed people with experience of installing chargers in existing apartment buildings. This is timely given the forthcoming NSW Government Electric Vehicle Strategy.

Expert elicitation is an important method for understanding issues concerning technology where there is uncertainty. It is often applied to emerging technologies where information may not be available through other empirical approaches. The experts we spoke to have experience in the strata process, working on installations, or both. They were from charging installation companies, EV consultancies, peak bodies, government, academia and strata companies.

Using these surveys, we developed four recommendations for NSW policymakers.

1. Develop and disseminate case studies of successful projects that have been co-funded by the EV Ready Building Grant scheme

As part of stage one of the EV Ready Building Grant scheme, the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change funded a hundred building feasibility assessments.

These assessments are resources that should be used to create case studies, educational materials and guidance notes to support future installations.

Given that half the experts we interviewed raised the need for more education and guidance for feasibility assessments, detailed case studies explaining how EV chargers have been installed in a variety of complex apartment building settings will provide a template for other residents and builders.

2. Provide guidance on fire safety provisions for EV chargers in apartments to reduce confusion and misconceptions

We assessed the level of awareness of the fire provisions listed in the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) advisory note on EV charging. Only two safety provisions were commonly known to be a fire-related: the master isolation switch and installing chargers with a Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM). More than half of experts were not aware that there were other fire safety options.

Better guidance on fire safety should facilitate approvals, as well as make insurance cheaper and easier to obtain. In this, government can help dispel misconceptions and myths about the risk of fire during EV charging. This is important given recent reports of insurers refusing to cover apartments where electric vehicles are charged.

The National Construction Code requires that new apartment buildings need to be built EV-ready, but it does not mention fire safety. The ABCB advisory note on EV charging has 15 recommended fire safety provisions.

Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue NSW recommend that EV parking or charging be either: (1) located externally or in open air where possible; or (2) if located internal to a building, the carparking area should be protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system.

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure could provide guidance on the fire safety measures that they require, or expect, to be installed for fire compliance and having less approval requirements (as an exempt development).

3. Expand and improve the EV Ready Buildings Grant scheme

Our research also revealed scope for the EV Ready Buildings Grant scheme to grow and improve. The NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change could consider the following:

• Improving communication and assistance with Stage 2 of the scheme.
• Ensuring that quotes are valid for longer than 90 days.
• Making the process simpler so that people do not need to rely on consultants.
• Supporting a range of charging options, including type-1 chargers.

The NSW Government should also consult and engage more with local councils and Distributed Network Service Providers.

4. Explore different finance options, infrastructure upgrades and law reform

Many apartments will miss out on the EV Ready Buildings Grant scheme. However, there are other ways to support EV readiness, including:

• Zero or low-interest financing for strata schemes installing EV chargers.
• Establishing a “right-to-charge” or lowering the percentage of votes in a strata scheme needed for installations to be approved.
• Subsidies, especially for difficult installations.
• Targeted schemes for low-income groups.
• Network improvements where additional power supply is required.
• Training initiatives to increase the capability and capacity of installers.

For example, the ACT Sustainable Household Scheme allows apartment residents to apply for a zero interest loan. However, applicants must seek permission from their body corporate to install a charger, which could be a barrier to using the scheme.

TAFE NSW has already established Electric Vehicles, Batteries and Charging Stations courses. The government could implement further incentives for electricians to undertake these courses.

Towards cross-cutting policy responses

The NSW EV Strategy is currently being revised, offering an opportunity to implement policies that involve multiple agencies. For example, guidance on fire safety may require multiple NSW Government agencies to work together to decide how best to keep residents safe while also easing the pathway for EV charging uptake.

The NSW Government led the way with the EV Ready Building Grant scheme. The forthcoming EV Strategy is a unique opportunity to support more convenient charging options for apartment residents.

Dr Thomas Longden is a Senior Research Fellow at the Urban Transformations Research Centre (UTRC), Western Sydney University.

Dr Gina Gatarin is a Research Fellow at UTRC and the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), Western Sydney University.

This research was supported by a JMI Policy Challenge Grant.

Image credit:  Sorapong