Range anxiety with electric vehicles is a familiar feeling for Sydney apartment dweller Fred Tuckwell.
The distance between his home on the south coast of New South Wales and his apartment in Sydney is 300 kilometres, which, he says, also happens to be the maximum range of his battery-powered Volvo.
“My wife and I would like to drive there more often with our electric car, but that is difficult because there is no charging facility,” he said.
“If we had a charging option, we would definitely go there.”
Thousands of Australians face this challenge: they would like to invest in low-emission cars, but are prevented from doing so by the lack of support in their homes.
Solar associations are calling on governments to address the problem by providing additional subsidies.
The automotive industry is calling for more guidelines and engineers are warning that the problem is only getting bigger and more complex.
But government funding programs to address this problem have stalled, and experts say a lack of support could ultimately slow Australia’s transport transition.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 2.6 million Australians live in apartments, and many apartment blocks were built long before the introduction of electric vehicles.
Heidi Lee Douglas, executive director of Solar Citizens, says this is why so many people ask the organization for upgrades to bring their buildings into the modern age.
“We get a lot of questions from the public about how they can prepare buildings, especially existing buildings, for electric vehicles,” she said.
“The demand for electric vehicles is there and now it’s about making sure the housing we have can meet that demand.”
However, installing vehicle charging infrastructure in older buildings can be challenging.
In 2023, the New South Wales Government launched a $10 million program to address the problem by partially funding feasibility studies on electric vehicle charging infrastructure in residential blocks.
In addition, grants were offered to cover part of the infrastructure and software costs if upgrades were carried out.
But Ms Douglas says the program was discontinued after five months due to its popularity. Solar Citizens would like to see the New South Wales government revive it and other states adopt a similar approach.
“If we have such good programs that are very popular, why shouldn’t we use them,” she said.
“Apartments were overlooked and labelled as ‘too difficult.’”
Although the New South Wales program has only been running for a short time, Ross De Rango, head of energy and infrastructure at the Electric Vehicle Council, said it could bring lasting benefits to owner-occupiers looking to upgrade their buildings.
While the requirements of each building are different, the feasibility studies carried out as part of the project could, if shared, be of benefit to others.
“We expect the New South Wales government program will fund around 100 to 200 apartment buildings to make them electric vehicle ready,” he said.
“We also expect that the learnings from this program will become a guide that will enable the many strata buildings in Australia to find practical examples of how to prepare a building like theirs for electric vehicles.”
Solar Choice managing director Jeff Sykes says the NSW program has also highlighted the importance of conducting a feasibility study before launching an electric vehicle charging project.
The studies, which can cost between $2,000 and $10,000, evaluate a building’s power supply, capacity and consumption, and outline options ranging from so-called trickle charging to wall outlets to Level 2 fast chargers for electric vehicles, each of which requires its own circuit.
The best option will be different for each building and its residents and Mr Sykes recommends that they seek independent advice to avoid a surveyor making a decision on their behalf.
“We often come across buildings where the owners have been told the only option is Level 2 fast charging with a certain brand of chargers and that would cost $300,000,” he said.
“When we did a feasibility study, they realized that this was actually possible with trickle charging and that the project would only cost $25,000 to future-proof this building.”
The price gap, he adds, could make the difference between a project going ahead or being canceled.
And the availability of charging options for electric vehicles in private households could have an impact on more than just apartment dwellers.
Most electric car drivers charge their vehicle at home, and if this is not possible, drivers may be less inclined to invest in vehicles that can help reduce Australia’s transport emissions.
“The ability to charge at home is a key factor for many drivers in their decision to purchase an electric vehicle,” Mr De Rango told AAP.
“International data has shown that the ability to charge at home is also a key factor in preventing drivers who have switched to an electric vehicle from switching back to petrol.”