I live in a condominium, and before I bought my Leaf I discussed charging options with management. As for on-demand installation of charging stations at apartment complexes, I'm not against it, but I proposed that for one EV driver it might be a bit extreme, and they agreed.
I am fortunate to be on the first floor directly facing the parking lot, and they approved of letting me charge through my window. With two window locks to keep the window slightly open and a bit of woodworking, I can now thread a 40-foot JLong along the sidewalk and through the grass, hook it into the normal EVSE plug which peeks out of the corner of the window, and charge every night. For an apartment dweller, this is all fine and well -- if you happen to be on the first floor facing the parking lot.
So I was thinking: just to get more apartment complexes on board with EVs, what would be wrong with allowing one first-floor resident to 'host' several electric vehicles at once through several windows? For example, the charge port I have now is in my master bedroom window. I could easily support, or 'host', two others through my small bedroom window and living room window, allowing two other residents for whom window charging through their own windows would not be feasible to charge through my windows. It could be for a small monthly fee or even at no cost. This idea, if implemented, could serve as a 'stepping stone' until the number of resident EVs grew to the point where the apartment complex would install a charging station.
To make the idea more neighbor-friendly, I was thinking that with some additional woodwork we could create poles to hook to our tires that would suspend the cable 7-8 feet above the ground until it reached the window.
Admittedly this might sound extreme, but it might just be a perfectly contrived way to make more apartment complexes EV-friendly.
I am fortunate to be on the first floor directly facing the parking lot, and they approved of letting me charge through my window. With two window locks to keep the window slightly open and a bit of woodworking, I can now thread a 40-foot JLong along the sidewalk and through the grass, hook it into the normal EVSE plug which peeks out of the corner of the window, and charge every night. For an apartment dweller, this is all fine and well -- if you happen to be on the first floor facing the parking lot.
So I was thinking: just to get more apartment complexes on board with EVs, what would be wrong with allowing one first-floor resident to 'host' several electric vehicles at once through several windows? For example, the charge port I have now is in my master bedroom window. I could easily support, or 'host', two others through my small bedroom window and living room window, allowing two other residents for whom window charging through their own windows would not be feasible to charge through my windows. It could be for a small monthly fee or even at no cost. This idea, if implemented, could serve as a 'stepping stone' until the number of resident EVs grew to the point where the apartment complex would install a charging station.
To make the idea more neighbor-friendly, I was thinking that with some additional woodwork we could create poles to hook to our tires that would suspend the cable 7-8 feet above the ground until it reached the window.
Admittedly this might sound extreme, but it might just be a perfectly contrived way to make more apartment complexes EV-friendly.