[bro1999]

I will soon be moving into a new house, so I'm planning on having a L2 EVSE installed (either re-install my current Clipper Creek LCS-25 or buy a new one). It is a townhouse and has a 1 car attached garage. Any use of electricity in the garage is charged to my utility bill, so no issue about common areas and electricity billing. However, I'm wondering whether I need to go through the whole approval process through the HOA to get the OK for the install. I'm planning on just getting a 240V outlet installed in the garage, and plugging my EVSE in. So not officially an "EVSE install", but rather just a 240V outlet install.

I've looked over the condo/HOA docs, and WRT electrical installs, I found the following:
"All radio, television, or any other electrical equipment of any kind or nature installed or used in each unit shall fully comply with all rules, regulations, requirements or recommendations of the local Board of Fire Underwriters and Authorities having jurisdiction thereon, and the Unit Owner shall be liable for any damage or injury caused by any such equipment in its Unit."

So basically, looks like as long as any electric devices are installed properly and professionally, it's OK. But if that device causes any damages to the condo, I'd be on the hook. The condo seems to mainly care about any exterior modifications to units when it comes to applications for approval.

Of course you might be asking "Why don't you just ask the condo board?", but if I don't need to bring up the issue to them (and then they decide I DO need to jump through all the hoops), I won't. Don't ask, don't tell.

TL;DR - do I need to ask my condo board to install a 240V outlet in my garage?

 

[zebraitis]

The garage is attached to your home, your garage is enclosed, it's interior to your garage, and if installed by a qualified licensed electrician, it is adding value to the home.


There would be no external modification. in short, who would know?


Having been on an HOA board, I would say go for it!

 

[captivabolt]

Major question, have you purchased the condo or renting it ?

 

[bro1999]

Major question, have you purchased the condo or renting it ?

We'll be the owners.

 

[Dimitrij]

I wouldn't know for sure, but I can speculate that your legal responsibility to HOA and to the world would be to report the planned 240V outlet, to have it constructed safely and to the applicable codes. And of course not to overload the said outlet and the house's power supply at any times, even in the worst case scenario when you run your all your electric doodads, such as clothes dryer, AC, water heater(s)/whatever and the EVSE concurrently.

 

[bro1999]

I wouldn't know for sure, but I can speculate that your legal responsibility to HOA and to the world would be to report the planned 240V outlet, to have it constructed safely and to the applicable codes. And of course not to overload the said outlet and the house's power supply at any times, even in the worst case scenario when you run your all your electric doodads, such as clothes dryer, AC, water heater(s)/whatever and the EVSE concurrently.

This is the kind of potential situation I am trying to avoid.

https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/hoa-problems

 

[discodanman45]

Just get the 240 Volt outlet by a licensed electrician. No one working for the HOA will know if it was there before you moved in or that you can use it to charge an EV. BTW that statement is for electrical equipment, nothing in there about installing a plug! Just don't hardwire it in!

 

[demart]

Many municipalities have requirements to obtain a permit before doing any electrical work. That being said, if you find an electrician who is willing to do it without a permit, and you do it right, then noone will care. You are basically just adding an extra dryer outlet to your garage.

 

[XJ12]

Only issue I could see that would upset the home owner's association is any aesthetics to the install. Some electricians will simply take the easy route and install conduit on the exterior of the building. Hate that. And detracts from the exterior.

edit: an HOA might deny because they all know electric cars are fire hazards

 

[MDBolt]

This is the kind of potential situation I am trying to avoid.

https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/hoa-problems

Yikes. That poor guy looked like he was dealing with an HOA from ****, good on him for moving out of said community.

To reply to your original post, we didn’t go through the HOA for our 14-50 installation. But yes, there were county permits involved, but the electrician dealt with all that. We just had to be present when the county inspector (Anne Arundel for us) came by to check it out sometime after the job was already done. Disclaimer though, we live in a single family detached home.

 

[captivabolt]

Inside modification on a owned condo, with no external additions or changes, go for it. Hire a competent electrician, put in the appropriate receptacle (no hard wire) and you’re good to go.

 

[neutrondrip]

Many municipalities have requirements to obtain a permit before doing any electrical work. That being said, if you find an electrician who is willing to do it without a permit, and you do it right, then noone will care. You are basically just adding an extra dryer outlet to your garage.

^This. If something does go wrong, such as a fire, and they trace it back to your receptacle and then pull the permits for the receptacle that is unique to your unit only, you cannot claim ignorance or that it was there before you moved in.

Is there a way that you could pose them a hypothetical situation, that you want to maybe move your dryer and need to have a new receptacle wired, or install some appliance in your garage where you need to run another 110 receptacle? If they say "yes" then it's likely they would allow your new 240 receptacle. If they say "no" and you still want to do it, then have it done professionally and assume the risk.

 

[DucRider]

When you purchase, you sign an contract with the COA/HOA agreeing to the terms they set forth. If the only mention of electrical equipment and/or interior modifications is the paragraph you quoted, you should be good to go. Some jurisdictions allow owners to do their own electrical work (with permits and inspections), others do not. If you were hardwiring the EVSE, I would make sure it was UL listed - still not a bad idea even on a plug-in unit to comply with the terms of your contract (The Clipper Creek should be good to go).

The only caveat might be if your panel needed an upgrade in service capacity. That could potentially affect the Association and therefore other owners.

Oregon has laws that specifically prohibit a COA/HOA from denying the install of EV charging equipment - as long as the owner pays the entire cost. Worth checking in your State.

 

[SparkE]

Is the current clothes dryer natural gas? If so, tell them you want to be able to install an electric clothes dryer - and have a valid, permitted 14-50 plug installed.

 

[Packard V8]

Is the main service panel in the garage? Most are. If so, adding a breaker, stringing the wiring, hanging an outlet is a one-hour, couple hundred bucks operation. Only impediment would be if the garage is completely sealed with drywall and above the ceiling isn't accessible.

jack vines

 

[bro1999]

Is the current clothes dryer natural gas? If so, tell them you want to be able to install an electric clothes dryer - and have a valid, permitted 14-50 plug installed.

Nope, it's electric. Do have natural gas heating though.

Is the main service panel in the garage? Most are. If so, adding a breaker, stringing the wiring, hanging an outlet is a one-hour, couple hundred bucks operation. Only impediment would be if the garage is completely sealed with drywall and above the ceiling isn't accessible.

jack vines

The main panel is in the basement...but if I have my orientation right, the garage is almost directly underneath the area of the basement the main panel is in.
There are also 2 120V outlets currently in the garage (one on the ceiling, one at the front of the garage).

 

[bkackman]

Garage EVSE Install

I had my EVSE installed last October when I took delivery of my Bolt.

The HOA did require approval. The process was much simpler than I had expected. The electrical installer, who also required that the HOA give approval before they would begin, gave me the details of the install which I provided to my HOA on their architectural modifications form. Though they had 30 days to approve, they got back to me with their approval in a couple of days.

In my case, the main electrical, panel along with the washer and dryer, was on the third floor and the 40 amp wiring had to be dropped down to the first floor garage. Expensive (because of the 3 floor drop) and it took them the entire morning to complete. The installer took care of permits and scheduled the inspection about 30 days after the installation and there were no problems. The install looks great and I've been happy with it.

Good luck.

 

[SparkE]

Is the current clothes dryer natural gas? If so, tell them you want to be able to install an electric clothes dryer - and have a valid, permitted 14-50 plug installed.

Well, since you already have an electric dryer, you could :

- use that socket (create a "two-fer" pigtail with one plug and two sockets, using 8-gauge wire). You would be smart enough to NEVER turn on the dryer while your car is plugged in?

- just ask the HOA for a 14-50 socket. You really shouldn't have to specify what it is for.

 

[bro1999]

Well, since you already have an electric dryer, you could :

- use that socket (create a "two-fer" pigtail with one plug and two sockets, using 8-gauge wire). You would be smart enough to NEVER turn on the dryer while your car is plugged in?

- just ask the HOA for a 14-50 socket. You really shouldn't have to specify what it is for.

I think my safest bet is to find another EV owner in the community and see how they handled their EVSE install.

 

[p7wang]

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/11/25/evmatchs-smart-software-makes-ev-charging-easy-at-multi-family-properties/