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How to Install EV Charging in a Condo Building Without Upgrading the Electrical Service
July 22, 2026
14 minutes
When residents at Columbia Shores, a condominium community in Vancouver, Washington, began purchasing electric vehicles, charging quickly became a challenge. Without dedicated EV charging infrastructure, several residents relied on Level 1 charging, i.e. standard 120-volt outlets in the parking garage.
As more vehicles were plugged in, overloaded circuits and tripped breakers raised concerns about electrical safety and highlighted a problem that many existing condominium communities across the United States are facing.
The Homeowner Association (HOA) found itself balancing competing priorities. Residents wanted the convenience of charging at home, but the building’s electrical infrastructure wasn’t designed to support a growing number of Level 2 EV chargers. Like many condominium boards, they faced an important question:
How can we have multiple vehicles charging at the same time safely?
For Columbia Shores, there wasn’t much time to lose, since electrical problems were already surfacing. The community had 95 parking spaces that needed to be electrified, but it did not want to invest millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to get there.
The Problem: Too many EVs and not enough power
For residents who owned an EV before the upgrade, charging meant relying on whatever outlet they could find. Resident Anita Totman, for example, charged her Mini Cooper by plugging into a 120-volt outlet in the storage unit, a process that took a day and a half before the car was fully charged.
That workaround created two serious issues. First, it was slow, requiring residents like Totman to wait a day and a half for a full charge. Second, and more importantly, it was unsafe. The building’s existing circuits were never designed for repeated, high-draw EV charging, and breakers began tripping regularly as more residents plugged in.
A traditional fix would have been to upgrade the building’s electrical service entirely: new transformers, new wiring runs, and potentially tearing up the parking garage. For a 135-unit low-rise community, that kind of project can easily run into the millions of dollars, a cost few HOAs can justify or afford.
“It was really driven by the residents. But my main concern was safety, because we were overloading our existing electrical circuitry in the garages, and we were tripping circuit breakers. I was worried about the risk of fire from all these people trying to plug their electric vehicles into this little 20-amp circuit.”
— Eric Winkler, President of the Columbia Shores homeowners association
Why a full electrical upgrade isn’t always the answer
Multifamily buildings present a unique challenge that single-family homes don’t. At Columbia Shores, individual unit meters were too far from the parking garage, making it impossible for residents to simply connect an EV charger to their own electricity meter. The HOA also had to ensure that residents without an EV weren’t paying for infrastructure they weren’t using.
As Matt Babbitts, energy services project manager at Clark Public Utilities, put it, “Historically, the multifamily sector of the market has been somewhat underserved for electric vehicles and transportation electrification. That is primarily due to the higher costs that come with installing EV charging infrastructure at apartment or condo complexes, as well as some of the additional complexities that come with those projects.”
The real question for HOAs isn’t “how do we get more power to the building,” but “how do we make better use of the power we already have.”
The Solution: Smart Load Management with SMP+
Instead of upgrading the electrical service, Columbia Shores worked with Prairie Electric Inc. to install RVE’s SMP+ smart panel system, using five SMP-21 units distributed through the garage.
An EV Energy Management System (EVEMS) like the SMP+ solution is built specifically for this scenario: buildings that need to support many EV charging stations from a single, limited power source without triggering the cost and disruption of a service upgrade.
SMP+
How the SMP+ Makes This Possible
Safe and Dynamic Energy Management: Continuously monitors and distributes available electrical capacity across connected chargers through a wired connection; not reliant on Wi-Fi or software connectivity.
Scalable Infrastructure: Supports up to 21 Level 2 chargers per SMP-21 panel, making it easy to expand as EV adoption grows.
Open Compatibility: Works with all Level 2 EV chargers, giving residents the flexibility to choose their preferred charging station.
Smart Management: Revenue-grade energy metering and real-time monitoring simplify resident billing and system management.
Solving the “Who Pays for What” Problem
One of the most challenging aspects of installing a charging system in a multifamily building is the most obvious: what it costs. HOA boards have to balance the interests of residents who have an electric vehicle now against those who don’t need an EV charging station yet.
The Columbia Shores model addressed this directly. Every resident contributed roughly $700 toward the shared smart panel infrastructure, which benefits the entire community by protecting the electrical system regardless of who charges an EV and increases the general value of the building. Residents who wanted an actual Level 2 charger at their own parking space paid an additional $2,800 to run dedicated wiring, plus the cost of the charger itself.
This tiered approach meant no one paid for equipment they didn’t want, while the shared infrastructure investment made it simple and affordable for future EV owners to add a charger later, without another major construction project.
Because the SMP+ system tracks consumption per parking space, the HOA can also bill each EV owner directly for the electricity they use, rather than splitting that cost across all owners through HOA dues.
Funding the Project: Utility rebates make a difference
Even with a smart panel solution keeping costs down compared to a full electrical upgrade, a $400,000 project is still a significant undertaking for any HOA. Columbia Shores worked with Clark Public Utilities and secured rebates and incentives covering roughly half of the total cost through Washington State’s transportation electrification program funded by Clean Fuel Standard revenues.
Programs like this exist in many states and utility territories specifically to close the gap in multifamily EV charging access. HOAs considering a similar project should check with their local utility early in the planning process, since incentives can substantially change the economics of the installation.
The Result: Charging in Hours, Not Days
For residents like Anita Totman, the difference has been dramatic. Before the upgrade, a full charge often took a day and a half using a household outlet tucked into her storage unit. With a Level 2 charger now installed at her parking space, a full charge takes just a few hours.
“It’s unbelievable. It really is. For five years, I’ve been sneaking under the door in the storage unit and plugging into a 120-volt outlet and waiting a day and a half before it’s fully charged. Now it’s just a few hours. It was worth it.”
The HOA has seen a different kind of benefit. Eric Winkler noted that although the smart panel system cost somewhat more than other options, its features made it worth the investment, particularly the ability to track energy consumption at each parking space so the HOA could bill residents directly for the electricity they use, rather than spreading that cost across the whole community.
Beyond convenience, the smart panel system solved the underlying safety issue that started the whole project: an aging electrical system no longer at risk of overloaded circuits and tripped breakers from residents improvising their own charging setups.
Key takeaways for HOAs and Condo Boards
Columbia Shores isn’t unique. Thousands of existing condominium communities across the United States were built before EV charging became a design consideration. If you are an HOA board member or property manager whose condominium is facing the same challenge Columbia Shores did, keep the following in mind:
Audit your existing electrical infrastructure first. Know how much spare power your electrical system can safely support before assuming a full upgrade is needed.
Choose a future-proof, smart load management system. Solutions like SMP+ share existing capacity across more EVs and scale up to 21 stations per panel, so you can keep adding chargers without redesigning the system.
Separate shared and individual costs. Fund the shared infrastructure separately from each resident’s charger, so owners who don’t need one yet aren’t paying for it.
Look for brand-agnostic hardware. Give residents charger choices and avoid locking the HOA into a single vendor.
Investigate utility rebates. Multifamily EV charging incentives can significantly offset installation costs.
Talk to an expert before you plan. Contact our EV charging experts at RVE to evaluate the right approach for your property.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I install EV charging in a condo without upgrading the electrical service?
Yes. Many condo buildings can add EV charging without upgrading their electrical service by using intelligent energy management technology. SMP+ is one solution designed for shared power source contexts, while DCC+ and HUB can also be used depending on the building’s electrical configuration and project requirements.
Yes. Many condo buildings can add EV charging without upgrading their electrical service by using intelligent energy management technology. SMP+ is one solution designed for shared power source contexts, while DCC+ and HUB can also be used depending on the building’s electrical configuration and project requirements.
2. How many EV chargers can one smart panel support?
A single SMP-21 panel can connect up to 21 charging stations to one power source, using automatic load shedding to keep total demand within safe limits.
A single SMP-21 panel can connect up to 21 charging stations to one power source, using automatic load shedding to keep total demand within safe limits.
3. Do all residents have to pay for EV charging infrastructure, even if they don’t own an EV?
Not necessarily. Many HOAs, including Columbia Shores, split costs into a shared infrastructure fee covering the smart panel system and a separate, optional fee for residents who want a dedicated charger installed at their own parking space.
Not necessarily. Many HOAs, including Columbia Shores, split costs into a shared infrastructure fee covering the smart panel system and a separate, optional fee for residents who want a dedicated charger installed at their own parking space.
4. Are utility rebates available for condo EV charging projects?
In many states, yes. Programs funded through transportation electrification or clean fuel standard initiatives specifically target multifamily properties, which have traditionally been underserved for EV charging infrastructure.
In many states, yes. Programs funded through transportation electrification or clean fuel standard initiatives specifically target multifamily properties, which have traditionally been underserved for EV charging infrastructure.
5. Do residents have to use a specific charger brand?
No, not with brand-agnostic systems like SMP+. Residents can choose any charging station that meets local rebate or code requirements, rather than being restricted to one manufacturer.
No, not with brand-agnostic systems like SMP+. Residents can choose any charging station that meets local rebate or code requirements, rather than being restricted to one manufacturer.
Let’s work together on an EV charging strategy for your community!
Talk to us about your project, and let’s find the right solution for your building!
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