In Part 1 of this series, we discussed why EV charging projects feel difficult in condominium buildings.
The short version: the problem usually isn’t technology. It’s the decision-making process.
When the conversation starts with vendor proposals and product comparisons, boards quickly find themselves evaluating solutions before they’ve agreed on the problem they’re trying to solve. Confusion follows, discussions stall, and the project drifts.
The good news is that this is fixable.
EV charging projects move forward when the conversation is structured around a few key decisions rather than an open-ended search for the “best” solution.
This is where property managers play a critical role. Not as technical experts—but as the people who can structure the decision process so the board can move forward with confidence.
Analysis paralysis
Once boards begin seriously discussing EV charging, another obstacle tends to appear: analysis paralysis. Board members assume the safest approach is to gather more information.
More proposals.
More vendors.
More technical opinions.
The intention is reasonable. No one wants to make an expensive mistake.But the result is often the opposite of what was intended.
The board ends up trying to compare systems it doesn’t fully understand, based on criteria it never defined, for a project it hasn’t framed properly.
When every option feels uncertain, the safest decision becomes doing nothing.
EV charging projects don’t stall because there are too few options. They stall because there is no agreement on the structure for evaluating them.
The solution is to organize the project around four key decisions.
The Four Decisions Every EV Charging Project Must Address
Before the board evaluates vendors or technologies, it should focus on answering four questions:
- Is there enough resident demand to support a charging program?
- Does the building have sufficient electrical capacity?
- How will the project be funded?
- What type of charging system architecture will the building support?
When these questions are answered in the right order, vendor selection becomes far simpler—and the board can make a defensible decision.
Step 1: Engage the Residents Who Will Actually Use the System
Many condo corporations have already surveyed residents about EV charging—sometimes multiple times. Yet those surveys often fail to produce useful results.
Residents stop responding when they feel nothing is going to happen. Sending the same generic survey repeatedly only reinforces that perception.
A better approach is to engage directly with the people who are most likely to use the system:
- Current EV drivers
- Residents planning to purchase EVs
- Condo Owners who have previously expressed interest in charging
The purpose of this engagement is not simply measuring demand. It’s about understanding expectations.
Residents need to understand that EV charging in a condominium environment involves shared infrastructure, energy management systems, and ongoing costs. Without that context, expectations can quickly diverge from reality.
If EV drivers are not engaged early in the process, the board often ends up implementing a system that residents feel was imposed on them.
Some buildings formalize this engagement by creating a small EV working group made up of interested residents. Others simply invite EV owners to participate in discussions with the board.
Either way, the goal is the same: bring the people who will use the system into the conversation early.
It reduces friction later and often creates resident advocates who help explain the program to their neighbours.
Step 2: Determine the Building’s Electrical Capacity
Once resident demand is understood, the next step is determining whether the building has sufficient electrical capacity to support EV charging.
This typically involves an electrical capacity assessment. The assessment evaluates:
- The building’s existing electrical load
- Available capacity within the system
- How EV charging could be integrated safely
In most cases, this assessment can be completed within a few weeks once the necessary documents are provided.
Property managers can help speed up the process by preparing:
- The building’s electrical drawings (also known as single-line diagrams)
- Twelve months of utility bills
The encouraging reality is that most buildings have sufficient capacity to support EV charging.
Over the past few years, EV charging technology has evolved significantly. Modern energy management systems can dynamically balance electrical loads, allowing buildings to support far more charging stations than older engineering assumptions suggested.
That means a building that appears “full” from a traditional capacity perspective may still have viable options.
Step 3: Decide How the Project Will Be Funded
Once the board understands both demand and electrical capacity, it can evaluate the financial structure of the project. This is an important step because most condo EV projects require the installation of an electrical power supply backbone before individual chargers can be installed.
There are two common models to pay for the power supply infrastructure and install EV chargers in owners‘ private parking spots:
- The first is an owner-funded approach, where participating residents split the cost of installing infrastructure and chargers. This model works well when there are 10-20 residents willing to distribute all the costs.
- The second is a vendor-financed model, where a charging provider finances and installs the infrastructure, then manages the system over time. Residents can then pay for their installation as an upfront cost or as a monthly lease. This approach works when there are at least 5 residents willing to sign up.
In some cases the condo corporation will pay to install EV chargers in visitor parking and recover their costs by charging a usage fee to EV drivers. This approach is helpful for renters and it complements private EV charging since they all share the same electrical backbone.
Either approach can work. The important thing is for the board to be clear about its objective and who it serves.
EV charging isn’t magic. It’s a numbers game. If there aren’t enough residents willing to pay and sign up, the project will stall.
Early engagement with residents is so important because it informs what funding strategy will work best for the condo corporation.
Step 4: Select Technology That Can Scale
The final step before vendor selection is understanding the type of system architecture the building should support.
While chargers themselves receive most of the attention, the more important component is the underlying technology behind them.
A modern condominium charging system typically includes the pillars:
- Connected EV charging stations
- Energy management software
- Usage monitoring and billing systems
These systems allow the building to balance electrical loads, track electricity usage, and ensure residents pay for their own charging. The most reliable system is one that offers multiple vendors for each of those three pillars.
Many buildings are now prioritizing open technology standards that allow flexibility between hardware and software providers. This approach can reduce long-term vendor lock-in and allow systems to evolve over time.
Equally important is choosing technology capable of managing energy dynamically within the building. Without energy management, electrical capacity becomes a limiting factor very quickly. With it, buildings can expand charging access gradually as more residents adopt EVs.
The Property Manager’s Leadership Role
EV charging projects succeed when the process is structured clearly from the beginning.
Property managers don’t need to become experts in charging technology, but they are uniquely positioned to guide the board through the decision process by:
- Engaging residents early
- Organizing the right information
- Helping the board focus on key decisions rather than vendor sales pitches
Your role as a property manager isn’t to design the system. Your role is to define the decision-making process, get buy-in to execute the project, and keep things moving.
When the right structure is in place, the project moves forward much more smoothly—and the board can make a decision it feels comfortable defending years down the road.
What Comes Next
Once the board has:
- Engaged residents
- Assessed electrical capacity
- Evaluated funding options
- Selected a vendor
The final phase begins: implementation.
In Part 3, we’ll walk through what actually happens next—legal agreements, construction timelines, and how EV charging projects move from planning to installation.