Install a charging point for electric vehicles in the community or private garage
In the case of having a garage for the car, two things can happen: that we have a garage in a single-family house, and this being the case, there is most likely already a plug in the garage, or that we have a parking space or garage in a community garage. , with more neighbors, which is usually the most common in Spain. In this case, almost no garage has plugs, and if it does, it belongs to the community.
Keep in mind that with a conventional 16 A plug, domestic type, you can already recharge an electric car. This type of plug is used for what is known as occasional recharging (which is usually limited to 10 A and about 2.3 kW of power). The most important thing in this case is that the grounding installation of the line that feeds that plug is properly installed.
COMMUNITY GARAGE:
Just let the community know.
In the case of a garage or individual parking space in a collective garage, the installation is a bit complicated, but you should not be scared either. Since we are talking about having to perform an installation on a common element that is shared with other owners, we cannot act without further ado, nor do what we want.
To install a recharging point in a community garage, it is only necessary to inform the President or property administration in writing, such as us AF gestifinc. But it’s not worth it either way.
(The Horizontal Property Law was modified to simplify and facilitate the installation. On November 23, 2009, Law 19/2009 was published in BOE number 283, on measures to promote and procedural streamlining of rental and energy efficiency of buildings, and in its article 17.5 the Horizontal Property Law is modified so that the installation does not have to be submitted to the approval of a board of owners.)
Simply inform the president of the community or administrator of the estate in writing, officially, that the installation is going to be carried out, and keep a copy of the document with the date and seal or signature.
COMPLYING WITH the complementary technical instruction of the Low Voltage Electrotechnical Regulation (REBT), the ITC-BT-52 , which regulates the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
a) from our counter
If the garage is in the same building in which we live, the most reasonable thing is to make a derivation of our individual electrical installation to the parking space, taking advantage of the same electricity supply contract of the house. Here there are two options, or do it from our electricity supply meter itself, or do it from the general control and protection panel of our home.
The advantage of the first option is that the centralization of meters is usually located on the ground floor, and since the parking spaces are usually on the ground floor or in the basement, the distance from the meter to the charging point will be less, and the cost of the installation will also be somewhat lower, as fewer meters of cable have to be used. This option requires a digital or electronic electricity meter.
The advantage of the second option is that you can have direct control of the line that feeds the recharging point from the home itself, since the automatic switch and differential switch would be installed there, or even a small meter, programmer, etc. The downside is that the higher our home is, the more meters of cable will be needed to reach the recharging point.
In principle, for a normal recharging point, or a slow recharging point, at 16 A and about 3.6 kW of power, it is not necessary to contract a specific supply, with a second contract and a second fixed fee, although it could also be done according to be the circumstances.
In fact, many times it will not even be necessary to increase the contracted power that we have in our home, although this will depend a little on each case. Yes, you have to look at the degree of electrification in the home, because what we are doing is an extension of the existing installation. The electrician is already aware of this. The final cost of the installation, in this case, can be between approximately 800 and 1,600 euros.
Not everyone, specifically certain electricity companies, defends this possibility of installation deriving from the user’s meter. We will see how the corresponding ITC is definitively. Right now it is in a somewhat illegal situation in certain autonomous communities.
b) From the garage counter
If the parking space is not in the same building in which we live, or if it is not possible to make the derivation from the user’s own meter, because finally the regulations do not allow it, or because it is technically very difficult, for issues related with the building, the derivation can be made from the electricity meter of the garage itself.
Beyond this difference, the installation hardly changes with the derivation from the individual meter itself. A secondary meter is essential in the derivation that will be used by the community of garage owners to charge the user for the electricity consumed by their recharging point, and pass it on, for example, with the corresponding community fee.
In this case, it is obviously not only enough to inform the community of owners, but also BOARD OF OWNER APPROVAL REQUIRED .
It is convenient to make it clear that it is not worth ‘taking’ electricity from a power line that runs next to our parking space, making a direct connection or derivation without further ado. A new circuit must be made with its own line, specifically for the charging point. This is so mainly for safety and control reasons, and to avoid overloading an existing circuit.
c) With a new supply
In this case, the installation of the electric line for the recharging point is not carried out deriving from an existing meter, either from the user or from the garage, but a new electricity supply is contracted, with the corresponding fixed monthly or bimonthly cost. , and with its own main accountant.
c.1) in a single-family dwelling:
In other words, with this solution we would have a contract for the electricity of the house, with its corresponding periodic bills, and we would also have a contract for the electricity of the charging point, in turn with its corresponding bills. That is, it is a more expensive solution for the user.
c.2) in a community garage: (requires authorization from the Board)
There are a couple of variants of this system:
The first is the load manager. Instead of the user himself paying for the installation, and paying the electricity company for supply and consumption, he can do so through a load manager, which is a company that, without being an electricity company, deals in electric vehicle charging solutions and can resell electricity.
In this case, the installation, with the new supply and meter, as well as the charging point itself, is paid by the charge manager, and then monthly the user pays the charge manager what has been stipulated. That is, in this case the service is paid, in addition to consumption. There are usually ‘bonus’ type solutions (with as many kWh included) or ‘flat rate’ type, depending on the case. This solution can be useful especially in very large garages.
The other variant is that this new supply with a main counter serves for several recharge points. It is what comes to be called a trunk installation. As many secondary counters as recharging points are derived from the main counter. Again, this solution seems more suitable for large garages, in garages where there are going to be many recharging points, or in those that are not in the same building as the users’ home.
Is the installation very complicated?
Until the mandatory regulations for new building works do not stipulate that recharging points must be foreseen (pre-installation), or directly installed, in parking spaces, and of course in all buildings already built, the installation of a charging point in a garage can be more or less complicated.
What must be kept in mind is that all the costs of the installation must be paid by the user of that recharging point, and that it cannot cause damage to the installations or common elements of the building, and in the event that something is damaged due to the installation, you have to take charge. This on the other hand is of total logic and common sense.
In principle, the installation is relatively simple: you just have to run a cable to the garage. In a single-phase installation we are really talking about three cables: phase, neutral and ground. In all the cases that we have exposed before, the greatest difficulty usually arises in getting that cable from the meter to the parking space, since the route can be somewhat labyrinthine.
Depending on where the parking space is, there may be more or less distance to travel, and more or less architectural barriers to overcome: walls, floors, stairs, etc. If the house is not very old, there may be generously sized built-in electrical conduits through which the cables can pass. You can also take advantage of false ceilings and attics.
When these conduits for installations do not allow more cables to pass, or when they do not even exist, then there is no other choice but to make new conduits, and most likely they should be seen, due to their lower cost and speed of execution. Within the garage itself, the fact that the pipes are seen is not usually a problem, since they are already done that way. The problem is in other areas. Always try to keep it hidden.
Depending on the case, it may be necessary to make a hole in a construction element to pass the conduit with the cable. Obviously pillars and beams, structural elements, should not be affected (screwing something to a pillar, yes, drilling a hole in a beam to pass a cable or pipe, no).
In general, masonry works should NOT be necessary. With exposed pipes, flame retardant plastic pipes are normally used. Again, the electrician who performs the installation is already aware of all the regulations and knows how to do his job.
Once the cable has reached the garage, a control and protection panel is placed there, with a differential switch and an automatic magneto-thermal switch, in addition to other elements if considered necessary, and the recharging wall base.
It is necessary to choose a recharging wall base according to the vehicle
The wallbox can be in different ways: for example, with a hose with a cable and a specific connector for the electric vehicle that we are going to recharge (with several meters of cable length to reach it without problems), or with charging sockets without further ado, one or more, with different connectors (in other words, several ‘plugs’), where to plug in the vehicle’s recharging cable. The sockets will have a cover, for safety.
Keep in mind that not all electric vehicles have the same type of charging connector. Electric motorcycles and quadricycles usually use the schuko connector (domestic), while electric cars, electric vans and plug-in hybrids usually use the Yazaki connector (Type 1), for example Nissan, Mitsubishi or Chevrolet and Opel, or use the Mennekes connector (Type 2), for example Renault, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Tesla (not exactly Type 2, but compatible)
The security of installing a charging point is more than guaranteed. Right at the bypass, a first line protection system is placed which, in the event of any problem, cuts off the electricity, period. And then the wall base has its own electrical protection.
In addition, the recharging bases are designed to be used outdoors and be resistant to splashes of water. It must be borne in mind that the electric vehicles themselves, the charging cables and the connectors are designed to be used outside, exposed to the elements, without any problems even if it is raining.
Let us not forget that the fact that there is a recharging point in a parking space is not a major safety problem, since there is already an electrical installation in the garage. And for the most fearful, we must remember that the risk of fire in an electric car is less than in a conventional car with a combustion engine (gasoline, although we do not think about it every day, is much more dangerous when it comes to the risk of fire). ).
So that no one else ‘takes’ electricity from the recharging point, that is to say that no one other than the user can plug in a vehicle or anything else to the recharging point in the garage, different blocking systems have been devised, either using a key or an RFID identification card.
Anyone who is thinking of a wireless recharging system using an induction system, something that can already be bought in some countries, should bear in mind that although they will not need to plug the car in with a cable, they do still need an electrical installation up to the parking space. garage.
A tip to finish
One last piece of advice: installing an electric vehicle charging point is currently a fairly specific task, and although any electrician installer could do it, experience and specialization come in handy.
In Spain there are several companies specializing in the installation of charging points, such as Lugenergy or Ibil, although there are also some electricity companies with an advisory service for this. It is a matter of doing a little research on Google and searching. Some car brands usually also advise or facilitate the installation. There is no other choice but to search and compare service and price.
