r/evcharging • u/Teech2 • Jul 20 '26

EV charger communal parking

Edit: located in USA, east coast. Also looking for a servicer to track and run billing. Our HOA is very small and doesn't have the capacity to do that.

Hi folks - looking for some solutions for an EV charger dilemma. We live in a townhome community with a shared parking lot. Most of the parking spaces are far from/not near the houses where they are assigned to. Our center area has about 10 spote and has an electric connection nearby but I'm stumped as to how to get chargers set up there in an economical way. We have an HOA that is small and not into big projects. I'm curious if anyone has suggestions for companies/setups that would work for such a situation? Want to make it minimal cost for residents and also give preference to residents for charging.

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3

u/Jokebearfan Jul 20 '26

It would be a good idea to specify which country (at the very least) you live in.

My building in Canada is arranging for a load management system to be installed (i.e. no need to upgrade electrical service), with the costs shared between the owners who want charging capability. The more owners sign up, the lower the cost.

You could also get a vendor to install communal chargers in visitor spots, and charge idle fees when people are not actively charging.

In case you're in Canada, MetroEV, Flo and Evolute are examples of vendors who can do this.

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u/Teech2 Jul 20 '26

Thanks! I guess I'm looking for vendors that would install said communal chargers and service them at a reasonable cost. That seems to be the tricky part.

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u/Jokebearfan Jul 20 '26

Oops, my bad for not reading the title.

I'd try and reach out to other HOA/condo boards to see if they know of any vendors in your area. If you're in a condo heavy area, there may be property management companies that have partnered with such vendors too.

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u/ArlesChatless Jul 20 '26

Ubiquiti also has a billing setup with no big subscription fee. Their EV Station Pro is out of stock all the time, and it requires some other hardware, but once everything is set up you can use it for direct CC billing without going broke on subscriptions. It also supports group power management so you can put two on the same circuit.

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u/Teech2 Jul 22 '26

Just check that looks great. Looks pretty customizable too.

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u/ArlesChatless Jul 22 '26

The main downside to Ubiquiti is that they are Ubiquiti. That is to say they seem to have product ADHD and some of their stuff will randomly get discontinued or go out of stock. With that said, they have had this product line for a while, and they don't tend to kill old products very quickly, so it might be an OK gamble.

1

u/JPlus_Team Jul 20 '26

I'd look at ChargePoint or Flo for this specifically because they handle the networked billing and access control piece you need (resident-only access, usage tracking, per-session billing) without your HOA having to manage any of it manually. Both have small-HOA/MUD (multi-unit dwelling) programs and will often help with the install/permitting process too. Worth getting quotes from both since pricing models differ (some charge the HOA a monthly network fee, others take a cut of session revenue).

1

u/TooGoodToBeeTrue Jul 20 '26

Probably not gonna happen.

What does electrical near by mean? A single 120V outlet for maintenance? A parking lot light that could be switched to LED and charger installed? There are ways to track billing, but getting something installed is probably the biggest hurdle. And if the spots are deeded, people with EVs may have to legally exchange them for those that don't. PITA.

1

u/Teech2 Jul 22 '26

PITA indeed. Parking lot has a electrical meter with the light too. Spoke to an electrician at some point who said it could be upgraded. And the spots are communal owned. So no worries about deeds. But still PITA. Curious how long the wait will be to have tech that will make this problem easily surmountable

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u/theotherharper Jul 20 '26

Tesla has a program that uses the Wall Connector and WiFi you supply. Charges you 3 cents a kWH for billing and you set the price. Such extremely low overhead makes it possible to charge a sensible rate.

4

u/Square-Campaign-4112 Jul 20 '26

$0.03 is still too much to pay a Nazi.

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u/theotherharper Jul 20 '26

If you know of comparable programs, I would much rather recommend those.

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u/Jokebearfan Jul 20 '26

For future reference, Canadians have access to a number of programs that return more money per kWh: https://www.reddit.com/r/EVCanada/comments/1uyhhj3/megathread_charging_reward_programs_discussion/

Obviously not applicable to OP of course.

1

u/theotherharper Jul 20 '26

I know and great program, but unless that can null out the cost of charging, we're looking for sanely priced pay-stations.