How an Apartment Block Future-Proofed EV Charging for 112 Parking Spaces

Chairman Eigil Harstad has been involved in the procurement of the charging system for Sameiet Bjergsted Terrasse. He was also one of the first in the community to buy an electric car seven years ago, and he saw that something had to be done with the charging infrastructure in the car park if all residents were to be guaranteed electric car charging in the future.

"At the time, each car park had a charging point via a socket and no way of recording electricity consumption. We in the board started discussing the scenario if everyone in the condominium suddenly got an electric car, and we quickly came to the conclusion that 112 parking spaces with charging via a socket would not work," he says.

The board of Sameiet Bjergsted Terrasse therefore contacted a company that investigated the electric car parking system for them. In four years, 40 residents have now taken advantage of this offer. So, it has gone fast, says Harstad.

For Sameiet Bjergsted Terrasse, it was important to choose a charging system that was secure and scalable. After the tender round, the choice fell on Zaptec's charging system, which utilizes electricity up to 66 percent better than other charging systems.

The charging system will never overload the fuse. It provides stability to the residents, and the available power is smartly distributed to everyone who wants to charge. "We chose Zaptec based on an overall assessment. The charger is user-friendly, it fits all types of electric cars, and the power is evenly distributed between all the electric cars throughout the day. It also facilitates quick connection of new charging boxes. Everything works very well, and we haven't had a single complaint from the residents. Everyone is very happy with the new system," he says.

When a resident wants to get a Zaptec charger in their car park, they contact the board, which refers them to the company Rønning Elektro, which takes care of the installation. Each resident buys and owns their own charging box, and there is a separate electricity meter on each charger.

"All residents pay a fixed amount to Bate housing association, which is our accountant. Once a year, we read the actual electricity consumption per charger, then we send this to Bate, which makes a settlement of the amount paid and actual consumption. This saves us on the board a lot of work, and it feels safe for all parties," says Harstad.

Zaptec's charging system adapts the electric car charging to the building's other electricity consumption. If the building uses a lot of electricity, for example in the afternoon when everyone is cooking at the same time, the EV system recognises this and takes the power consumption into account and increases the charging speed again when dinner time is over.

Stina Rytter Norheim (30) is one person who has taken advantage of the offer of her own charging box. She has lived in Sameiet Bjergsted Terrasse since 2017. In August 2021, she bought a Volkswagen ID3.

"Since I live so centrally in the centre of Stavanger, I didn't need a car. I managed to get around by bike, on foot and by public transport. But then came the pandemic, which made getting to work, and often transporting things, challenging. "I do volunteer work in handball in my spare time, so a car is very convenient," she says. Buying an electric car was a conscious choice. "I'm very concerned about the environment, so an electric car was the only right choice for me," she says.

She thinks the process of getting a charging point installed in her car park went smoothly: "It was a very quick affair. The electrician locked himself in and installed everything. It costs a bit, but I see it as an investment for my apartment and car park," she points out.

Rytter Norheim finds the charger user-friendly, with several useful functions: "The charging cable has a light indicator on the front that shows whether it is charging or not, which is very useful and easy to use. I also really like the feature that locks the charger so that no one can steal the charger or power from you," she says.

She is very pleased that the housing association was quick to offer electric car charging: "I probably wouldn't have ended up with an electric car if I hadn't had the security of being able to charge at home in peace and quiet. To rely on charging in the city centre would simply have been too complicated and scary," says Rytter Norheim.

With the Zaptec Portal cloud service, installers and installation owners have a full overview of the status of the charging stations. Here you can monitor, balance and distribute the power in the best possible way between the charging stations. You can also read charging history and register new users. The charging system is connected to the internet, which means that troubleshooting and upgrades can be done remotely, without the need for an electrician to visit the community. Eigil Harstad, board member of Sameiet Bjergsted Terrasse, thinks the operation and support of the charging system works well.

"If we have any questions, we call and get an answer. And if there is a problem with a charger, we can quickly read on the PC which charger it is and what the problem is," he says.

"Before making a decision to install electric car chargers, you need professional help to analyse the electricity situation in the housing cooperative or condominium. Take into account that all car parks must have chargers. Choose one common electricity supplier and have a separate billing solution that does not require time and resources for billing the board. This also provides a simple and fair distribution of costs for residents. If you have clear and unambiguous rules for operation, this works very well," says Eigil Harstad.