use of electricity

Started by BonnieG1 • 8 replies • 1865 views

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BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

The garage in our building has 31 parking spots with electrical outlets for about every other parking spot.
Some people have used these outlets to charge items such as mobility vehicle and a large floor cleaner.
Some owners complain about the extra use of electricity.

We could buy something that measures the electrical output and charge accordingly but that sounds like a lot of work and expense to save a few pennies.

Actually our former President insisted that the members vote on this at the last annual meeting, but it was worded so that there were actually two items on one ballot item. The vote was to agree to use the electrical outlets for charging the mobility vehicles and included in that ballot item was a vote to buy this "electric" output measuring device.

I would like your thoughts on this. Do you basically agree with me that buying the electric output measuring devises is not worth the money and how do we as a almost completely new Board from the Board that had this on the ballot deal with this issue.

I felt we had way to many items for the membership to vote on at the annual meeting (around 13) and told the previous President I thought we had way to many items to vote on. I could not convince the president President of this

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

I forget to ask about a fire hazard. How much of a fire hazard is charging either car batteries or batteries for a mobility vehicle or even a large floor cleaner. Cords are not frayed

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

In our underground garage there is an outlet about every 4 spaces. Our rules prohibit working on cars in our garage or even vacuuming them out, so residents have no need to use the outlets. As use of them increased for electric vehicles (EVs), however, the board voted to put lockable caps on the outlets that only our custodians and engineers can use. I see no reason why homeowners should vote on this, Bonnie. (And it's hard to imagine there'd by 13 ballot items for H/Os at an annual meeting!)

I don't recall how much they cost--we have about 400 parking spaces.

In CA, HOAs cannot forbid owners from installing their own charging stations for EVs, but the cost to an owner is very high. No EV owner here has wanted to pay the expense.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

To your 2nd post, Bonnie. If an owner here wanted to install a personal outlet separate from the HOA's, they'd probably need a building permit along with the other costs.

I should add that we capped the outlets as in our opinion, all owners should not pay for the charging of individuals' EVs. There are plenty of charging stations in our area.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Kerry, it was hard for me to imagine 13 items to be voted on also and I told the previous President more than once that I did not agree with putting so many items on the ballot. It was to no avail. Long story short her and her husband both resigned after the annual meeting which would have left only me on the board except for the fact that 3 others were voted on the Board at the annual meeting and then we convinced another person to join the Board so as of today we have a full Board. So basically we have an entirely different Board than we had last year.

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

If people were charging electric cars, that could add up. A mobility scooter on the other hand would probably be less than a dollar a month. As an example, my friend has a scooter that uses a battery pack containing two 12 amp hour batteries at 12 volts. Multiply 12 x 12 x 2 gives 288 watt hours, so about a quarter kilowatt hour. At a typical midwest cost of 12 cents per killwatt hour, that works out to about 3 cents to charge a fully dead battery pack. There will be some losses and inefficiency in the charging process, so round up to a nickel. Assuming most people don't run their batteries down to dead, figure a half charge three times a week works out to 30 cents a month for a fairly heavy scooter user. I personally wouldn't bother charging for that, but if there was pressure, maybe charge a $10 or $20 annual convenience fee to people who charge their devices. For comparison sake, a 60 watt bulb running 8 hours a day would cost $1.80 a month.
I'm not sure what a large floor cleaner is or how much one is being used, but here are some other numbers that could be helpful. Most outlet circuits are limited by circuit breaker or fuse to 15 amps. At 120 volts, that works out to 1800 watts (1.8 killowats), so using an appliance that used the max an outlet can deliver for an hour would cost 21 cents. Of course, most electrical devices draw less than that.

Charging batteries and occasional tool/appliance use are not going to amount to much electricity use.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Bonnie, have your PM contact the local Fire Marshall and find out if there are any ordinances preventing recharging items in an enclosed garage. If not and there is not a marked jump in electrical usage, let it go, tell the complainers that if they want the HOA can spend thousands putting in individual meters, which would more than likely require a amendment to the Covenants, as I presume there is nothing prohibiting the use of the outlets now.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

One other comment, if the builders put in an outlet for every couple of spaces, they must have intended them for resident use.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DouglasK1 on 08/16/2014 8:17 AM
One other comment, if the builders put in an outlet for every couple of spaces, they must have intended them for resident use.

Not necessarily. Most building codes that I am aware of require outlets every so many feet.

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