If you live in a complex, estate or sectional-title scheme, home charging isn't as simple as bolting a box to your garage wall — the parking, the wiring and the bill are usually shared. It's very solvable, though, and getting ahead of it makes a complex more attractive to buyers and tenants. Here's the practical version.
The three questions every complex must answer
- 1Who pays for the electricity? A charger wired to common-area power means residents would be charging on the body corporate’s bill. The fix is per-user metering so each driver pays for exactly what they use.
- 2Is there enough electrical capacity? Several chargers drawing at once can exceed the supply. Smart load management shares the available power across chargers so nothing trips.
- 3Who approves it? Installing on common property needs body-corporate or HOA sign-off, and usually a clear policy for how charging bays are allocated and billed.
Metering is the unlock
Once each charger is individually metered and billed, the “who pays” problem disappears — and the body corporate is no longer subsidising a few residents’ driving.
A practical way forward
We typically approach a complex in stages so the body corporate stays in control of cost and risk:
- Assess the supply. We check the available capacity and where charging bays could go without overloading the scheme.
- Start with a metered pilot. A small number of managed, metered points proves the model before any big spend.
- Add smart load management. Chargers share power intelligently, so you don’t need a costly supply upgrade on day one.
- Bill automatically. Our CPMS platform handles per-user billing, pay-to-start and access control — so administration isn’t a burden on the trustees.
Why bother now?
EV adoption in South Africa is climbing, and demand for charging in complexes is following. Schemes that plan for it — even just running the cabling and reserving capacity — avoid disruptive retrofits later and make their units more desirable. It's a small, staged investment that pays back in convenience and property appeal.
Don’t wire it to common power
The most common mistake is a well-meaning charger on common-area electricity with no metering. It creates billing disputes fast. Always meter from day one.
Bring managed charging to your complex
We’ll assess your scheme and propose a staged, metered plan the trustees can sign off with confidence.
Talk to us
