Condo bans owner from charging his Volt

[SVT666]

By Andrew Ganz


A condominium management board in Ottawa, Ontario, has ruled that the owner of a plug-in hybrid vehicle can?t use an electrical outlet in his building?s garage unless he buys his own $3,000 meter.

The board has prevented Chevrolet Volt owner Mike Nemat from charging his car, which can run on gasoline only but requires a fully charged battery to achieve 30-35 miles of electric-only range.

Nemat told the board that the Volt costs only about $1 to charge overnight and that he would be willing to pay separately for all electrical charges that his car might incur, but that didn?t dissuade his condo?s board.

?They seem to think this car consumes a significant amount of electricity,? Nemat told the CBC.

The Volt driver says his point is especially valid since the condo doesn?t charge vehicle owners to plug engine block heaters in during colder weather.

The board says that the only option for Nemat is to pay to install a $3,000 individual meter at his particular outlet, which would allow the electricity provider to calculate the exact amount of electricity the Volt uses.

Using a standard 120V outlet, the Volt takes about 10 hours to charge and Chevrolet calculates that, in the United States, it costs an average of $1.50 to charge the Volt during off-peak electricity use.

[hounddog]

"Chevrolet calculates that, in the United States, it costs an average of $1.50 to charge the Volt during off-peak electricity use."

Which, using normal, non-GM math means it will cost $150 per charge. 

[Morris Minor]

This guy is a moocher.

[Payman]

This is why I'll never buy a condo, nor buy in any neighbourhood that has a HOA.

[280Z Turbo]

So does nobody in this complex have to pay for electricity?!

[Onslaught]

This is why I'll never buy a condo, nor buy in any neighbourhood that has a HOA.

Yea, I couldn't deal with people. I'd kill someone and be in jail for the rest of my life.

My parent had to spend $40K on their beach condo last year because a few of the rich people voted to have them repainted and some work done to the docks that didn't need to be done.

[MX793]

So does nobody in this complex have to pay for electricity?!

Sounds to me like the garage is a shared/common parking garage and the condo/HOA fees cover the electricity used in the garage.  Hence, some of the residents aren't comfortable with the thought of spending more money on the "common" electricity bill (to which they all pitch in) so that somebody can charge their personal vehicle.

[AutobahnSHO]

Block heaters probably take up just as much juice!   Guy needs to get a simple meter and test his car charging vs. a block heater and show the tards that run the condo.

[hotrodalex]

Block heaters probably take up just as much juice!   Guy needs to get a simple meter and test his car charging vs. a block heater and show the tards that run the condo.

Yeah, my uneducated guess-timate would be that block heater vs. Volt would be about the same.

[Onslaught]

Do people bitch when they must charge a battery? Or as people have pointed out a block heater? I'd say if the power bill didn't go up but a few dollars then just let him pay a little more a month then other people.

[Soup DeVille]

By Andrew Ganz


A condominium management board in Ottawa, Ontario, has ruled that the owner of a plug-in hybrid vehicle can’t use an electrical outlet in his building’s garage unless he buys his own $3,000 meter.

The board has prevented Chevrolet Volt owner Mike Nemat from charging his car, which can run on gasoline only but requires a fully charged battery to achieve 30-35 miles of electric-only range.

Nemat told the board that the Volt costs only about $1 to charge overnight and that he would be willing to pay separately for all electrical charges that his car might incur, but that didn’t dissuade his condo’s board.

“They seem to think this car consumes a significant amount of electricity,” Nemat told the CBC.

The Volt driver says his point is especially valid since the condo doesn’t charge vehicle owners to plug engine block heaters in during colder weather.

The board says that the only option for Nemat is to pay to install a $3,000 individual meter at his particular outlet, which would allow the electricity provider to calculate the exact amount of electricity the Volt uses.

Using a standard 120V outlet, the Volt takes about 10 hours to charge and Chevrolet calculates that, in the United States, it costs an average of $1.50 to charge the Volt during off-peak electricity use.

$3000???

For what: an official utility installed meter? He can't even get one unless he lists his garage space as a seperate address.

Whatever: you can buy portable electrical usage meters for as low as $30 :

http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q/ref=pd_cp_hi_0

Problem solved: he just pays the HOA a set amount per KwH and get over it  (about 8 cents a KwH would be fair). Either that, or he pays a simple monthly fee for doing this. Problem solved, and everybody's happy.

[Soup DeVille]

Block heaters probably take up just as much juice!   Guy needs to get a simple meter and test his car charging vs. a block heater and show the tards that run the condo.

No, not nearly as much.

[Soup DeVille]

Oh, and the absolute maximum amount of juice he can pull through a standard 15A outlet amounts to about 1.8 KwH/hour. Even if he did that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it would cost the HOA about $24.20/week.

[Payman]

Given that this is in Ottawa, and the gubmint's push for low/zero emission vehicles, plus the media coverage, this will be resolved pretty soon.

[cawimmer430]

Jesus. H. Christ.

[AltinD]

Ottawa sucks anyway

[Atomic]

This is why I'll never buy a condo, nor buy in any neighbourhood that has a HOA.

my thoughts exactly

i can understand the condo board's thoughts, but the $3,500.00 (oops) $3000,00. seems outrageous. yet, if a relatively small complex had several similar vehicles (eg, volt, nissan leaf), it could become problematic with too few "changer ports", IMO.

[Atomic]

Jesus. H. Christ.

yes?  i should not use blasphemy, but i could not resist, bro.

[Raza]

Whatever, it's $3,000.  He'll make it back in gas mileage in the next 15 years.  And if he cared about the environment, he'd stop bitching, buy the meter, encourage his neighbors to buy a Volt as well, and offer to buy meters for them too.   

[AutobahnSHO]

Except that YOUR taxes pay for those Volts....   

[GoCougs]

My comments; but yes, ultimately, the condo association made the right call:

First, to "pay back" the Volt will pretty much need to always be plugged in, so that 120 volt outlet will always be occupied, preventing others from using it.

Second, so what happens if 20 condo owners buy plug-in cars? They'll start whining because now they have to pay the $3,000 whereas the first Volt owner did not.

Third, allowing this mooching is setting mooching precedent for other shared services in the building - garbage, water, other shared electrical outlets, etc. - and the headaches it invites.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

But he offered to pay for any additional charges. So how is he mooching?

[rohan]

But he offered to pay for any additional charges. So how is he mooching?

Only after someone complained. 

[cawimmer430]

Why buy a Chevy Volt when a Ford Excursion 6.8 V10 is cheaper to run and maintain?   

[Laconian]

 

[Eye of the Tiger]

[Northlands]

Why buy a Chevy Volt when a Ford Excursion 6.8 V10 is cheaper to run and maintain?   

[Soup DeVille]

My comments; but yes, ultimately, the condo association made the right call:

First, to "pay back" the Volt will pretty much need to always be plugged in, so that 120 volt outlet will always be occupied, preventing others from using it.

Second, so what happens if 20 condo owners buy plug-in cars? They'll start whining because now they have to pay the $3,000 whereas the first Volt owner did not.

Third, allowing this mooching is setting mooching precedent for other shared services in the building - garbage, water, other shared electrical outlets, etc. - and the headaches it invites.

As I said: $3000 is completely unnecessary in order to monitor this power usage: and its illegal to have seperate meters without having seperate addresses anyways, so that's a non-starter.

You can buy an inexpensive power usage meter for under $50 that will fulfill this requirement.

Barring that, the guy could simply agree to pay a $25/week charging fee, which will cover the HOA's expenses and then some.

Was he "mooching?" In a way, yes: But there are reasonable solutions that don't involve a $3000 installation (that can't be done anyways).


Oh, and if Everybody starting charging their EVs: the wiring would have to be upgraded anyways.

[Soup DeVille]

Only after someone complained. 

So? Somebody objected, so he proposed to pay his fair share.

These "joint utilities" arrangements are ripe for unfairness anyways.

Do they upcharge residents for having 80 inch flatscreens that they use all day long too, when the guy next door is barely ever home and hardly ever watches TV?

Isn't that the same thing?

[Galaxy]

You can buy an inexpensive power usage meter for under $50 that will fulfill this requirement.

I have a feeling that your $50 meter will be missing some $$$$ calibration.