EVmatch: The EV Charging Solution for Apartments and Condos

I live in a single family home and, until recently, had an old Level 2 charger that I would use a few times a week to charge my RAV4 EV.

Well, a few months ago, the charger broke down, and since then, I have been trickle charging at home or charging my car at the local Whole Foods. And surprisingly, there aren’t enough publicly available EV chargers in my area (Oakland and Berkeley, CA) to be able to reliably charge when I need to.

In my community alone, there seem to be new apartment and condominium communities being built, redeveloped, or expanded all the time, increasing the population density of our area and surely increasing the number of EV owners. Recent data show that in the U.S. there are over 100 EVs per every available fast charger. This is simply not enough.

So if we already don’t have the public EV charging capacity we need, how will we be able to support the increased demand that comes with these new housing developments? The answer is that both new and existing apartment and condo communities need a reliable, affordable EV charging solution that meets the needs of their residents.

Owners and developers of condos and apartment buildings have a few choices when planning for the amenities their residents will need.

Do Nothing: When faced with the option of adding EV chargers, many will opt out, because they don’t want to go through the trouble or expense, or don’t know how to manage payments and access control. This may prevent potential tenants from choosing to live there and could cause others to leave in favor of a residence that meets their EV charging needs.

As more people shift to electric vehicles and make other sustainable lifestyle changes, it will become more important that their residences can support their needs.

Dedicated Chargers: Property owners may also decide to add Level 1 (110V) or Level 2 (240V) chargers to individual parking stalls within their community. While this will signal their commitment to sustainability and attract a greater number of tenants, the process can be prohibitively expensive when taking into account the extensive electrical, trenching, and power needs required for these installations.

Shared Charging Stations: Like the dedicated charger option above, this option includes chargers installed within the property that can be utilized and shared by the property’s residents, as well as potentially being made available to the public at set times to increase utilization.

However, without a clear, fair, reliable system (like a reservation platform), this is not a complete solution and will still come with its own challenges. 

EVmatch: The EV Charging Solution for Apartments and Condos

And this is where EVmatch and the concept of shared, reservable charging comes in. EVmatch is the only company currently offering reservation software capabilities to make sharing easier, more convenient, and more efficient, whether the sharing is taking place between neighbors or among members of the public. 

But EVmatch is more than just a software platform; we offer a complete EV charging solution for your apartment, multi-family, or condo/HOA property. We’ve designed our EV charging management software specifically for the unique needs and challenges of charging at multi-family complexes and communities, and our team of EV charging experts helps to make any EV charging project straightforward and seamless. We take care of all the following:

1. We recommend and supply charging equipment that meets the needs of your community, including recommended brands such as the Enel X JuiceBox and the Wallbox Pulsar Plus.
2. We work with preferred and pre-qualified electrical contractors to handle installation (we can also work with yours!).
3. We search for and help you apply for EV charging rebates and incentives. We can even apply on your behalf for some rebate programs, such as California’s CALeVIP program, and
4. We provide the software you need to manage the process via our proprietary, customizable app.

But how are we different?

While there are other companies out there that provide EV charger services for apartments and condos, we are the only company that utilizes a reservation system, allowing more residents and community members to share a smaller number of chargers—6 residents can easily share one charger with our system!

Property owners can also earn additional revenue by making the chargers available to the public at set times and increase access to EV charging in their area. Our customizable software allows property owners or managers to customize pricing and control access to the charging stations. EV drivers can check station availability, make reservations in advance, or park and book a session on the spot.

Additionally, property owners will not have to manage any payments processing or electricity costs reconciliation to ensure drivers are billed appropriately—we handle that for you through the driver app and automated monthly payouts. EVmatch also has the ability to use on-site WiFi to reduce operating costs, and our low $200/year subscription fee per charger makes shared charging an affordable and accessible option. We’ve integrated our software with the lowest cost and most durable WiFi-enabled Level 2 chargers on the market to provide an affordable, bundled EV charging solution that can fit many budgets and needs.

If you are an apartment or condominium property owner thinking about adding EV charging, keep in mind that it is an increasingly essential amenity that many prospective tenants and buyers will prioritize in their home search — and consider EVmatch as your EV charging solution.

By adding EV charging to your property, you will play a role in the clean energy economy, meet the needs of your current and future residents, and even support increased access to EV charging for your community.