Board guide
Three decisions, in the order a board makes them
Each decision narrows the next. This is how we walk a board through them, with the questions to ask and what to vote on at each step.
- 01
Step 1: Capacity: how much power is spare?
Settled by measuring the building, not by opinion.
Decision 1 - 02
Step 2: Sharing: one pool or a circuit per stall?
Decides how many chargers the spare power can run, and how fast they charge.
Decision 2 - 03
Step 3: Billing: who pays for the electricity?
Decides who carries the cost, and what the rule says in writing.
Decision 3
Decision 1 · Capacity
How much power does the building have spare?
Chargers are the easy part. The limit is the building's electrical service, the feeder to the garage and what everyone already uses on a winter evening. A load calculation under the electrical code turns those into one number: the amps left over. That number sets how many chargers the building can run, and whether the board needs to think about more service at all.
What the board should ask for
The load calculation, with the method named
Peak demand from the utility's data or a month of recording
Spare amps at the main service and at the garage subpanel
A plain statement of what more service would involve, if the building needs it
Decision 2 · Sharing
Share the power, or reserve it stall by stall?
Reserving gives every stall its full rate and uses up the spare capacity quickly. Load sharing puts the chargers on a network that divides the spare amps between the cars plugged in: more stalls on the same service, and slower charging when many cars plug in at once. Many buildings mix the two, with a few reserved stalls, the rest shared and conduit in place for more.
What the board should ask
How many cars will plug in on a typical night?
Is a slower charge at the busiest hour fine for residents?
Should we pull conduit for stalls nobody has asked for yet?
What do the chargers do if the network connection drops?
Decision 3 · Billing
Who pays for the electricity?
A resident who charges uses electricity the association pays for, unless the building meters it. Metered billing runs through a software service the board chooses, separate from the chargers. Whichever answer the board picks, put it in a written rule, and have the association's attorney read the rule before the vote.
The three usual answers
Metered: each driver pays for their own kilowatt-hours
A flat monthly fee: simple to run, but light and heavy users pay the same
From the dues: the easiest, and every owner pays whether or not they drive an EV
The vote
What the board votes on
Approve the survey
A site survey and load calculation, so the next two decisions rest on real numbers.
Choose a layout and a budget
The layout from the proposal, shared, reserved or a mix, and the amount the association will spend.
Adopt the billing rule
Who pays and how, written down, with the attorney's review before it passes.
Questions that come up in the meeting
What if only two owners want a charger today?
Pull the conduit and reserve the capacity for more, and install two chargers now. Adding stalls later is then chargers and wire, not another round of trenching.
Who owns the chargers afterward?
Usually the association, which is why the proposal says who maintains them and who pays. If a resident owns a charger under a board rule, the rule says so.
Does the building need an engineer's stamp?
Some jobs need one, such as a new service. The proposal says whether yours does, and what it adds.
Take the three decisions to your board on one page
The board packet puts the questions, the layouts and the billing choices on a single printable page. If you'd like the building's own numbers on it, we'll do the survey first.