lack of metro vancouver charging stations hampers electric vehicle uptake: report
2 minute read
we apologize, but this video has failed to load.
try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
if you live in one of metro vancouver’s many condo towers or apartment buildings, there’s a pretty good chance you don’t own an electric vehicle.
that might be because of limited home charging options for condos and apartments, according to a recent report for metro vancouver.
half of survey respondents said they weren’t happy with the electric vehicle charging experience in their building, according to the report. that’s compared with just three per cent of single family homeowners who were unhappy with their ev charging experience.
“charging convenience is the most important consideration” for ev buyers, according to werner antweiler, associate professor at the sauder school of business at the university of b.c.
the limitations of home charging options in strata and large rental buildings are a major barrier to ev adoption, according to the report. forty-three per cent of people in metro live in condo or apartment towers and that number is expected to reach 50 per cent by 2051.
studies show that about 75 per cent of charging takes place at home, the most affordable and convenient option, according to the report.
electric vehicles made up more than 20 per cent of new vehicle sales in b.c. last year, one of the highest rates of adoption in north america, according to the report.
advertisement
some of the most common complaints among condo and apartment residents include a limited number and lack of standardization of charging stations, limited decision-making powers among strata owners to install charging stations and a lack of knowledge and documentation.
rental properties are especially problematic.
“one of the largest challenges for these rental buildings, where landlords actually don’t have any interest in putting in extra infrastructure, is there’s currently not enough competition,” antweiler said. “you need a viable business model for the landlords to recover the cost. essentially, there’s a large overhead, and that needs to be divided across enough units that it really pays.”
the report made a number of recommendations, including that cities or the province adopt regulations for all new buildings requiring at least one ev-ready parking station installed per unit, a streamlined permitting process for charging station installations, and better education and communication around charging station regulations and requirements.
building ev-ready parking spaces during construction is three to four times cheaper than upgrading existing parking spaces, according to a recent study.
advertisement
“older buildings have a limited power supply, and therefore you have to find solutions that actually could manage that load,” antweiler said.
he said a technique called “load sensing,” which evenly distributes available power between charging stations, is effective for older apartment buildings.
“that means we’re charging a little slower, but in the end, that works just fine,” antweiler said, because the vehicle is plugged in and charging “between coming home and leaving in the morning.”
the study included a survey of residents, strata council members, building professionals and municipal staff responsible for ev-ready bylaws in seven b.c. communities: nanaimo, victoria, vancouver, richmond, langley township, new westminster and ubc.
share story
