Free electricity for my Tesla at my Apartment

meowsers on 01/06/2019 - 20:25
Last edited 03/06/2019 - 19:39

Okay bargain guys and gals, just wanted your input on this.

I bought a Telsa Model S (used) 3 months ago and live in a medium rise apartment with a carpark. In the carpark about every 2 car spaces is a standard (weatherproof version) power point. As of this point I haven't heard back from the Body Corporate in RE installing a Level 2 charger ( higher speed) at my own expense.

I have been charging every day (since I got it), with occasional trips to the supercharger when necessary but mostly using the 240 consumer grade power point by my carpark with no issues (caretaker even commented how cool it was). These powerpoints are def not metered to my individual apartment. It charges very slowly with the powerpoint but is enough to get me back and forth commuting.

If I was to charge from empty to full would probably take forever with a 85 kilowatt hour battery.

Should I feel any ethical quandaries about this? Is anyone else doing the same? I took the caretakers assent as tacit approval lol.

Update: Anyone else from Sydney have any tips for dealing with this? How did you go about it?

UPDATE 3/6:

So I called the BC / Mgmt company today, and they haven't responded because of admin issues or something like that. BUT they did tell me some good news, they have been actually studying adding electric chargers anyways.

So good news is this, next month or so, they will be installing 2 generic three phase chargers, in two of the visitors bays ( have 10 in total) (they are never all in use anyways) with priority for residents who have EV. Those bays will be painted green to encourage people not to park there.

Apparently they will not be charging ( all pun intended) for this as it covered by some type of grant or something, and the electricity will remain free of charge for the time being for users. Not sure if anyone else has an EV but I haven't seen them.

I guess the good thing is if those bays are occupied somehow I still have my slow fallback charger.

Automotive

Comments

  • MITM on 02/06/2019 - 17:08

    Where is the Tesla charging station power sourced from ?

  • freemoneyhunter on 02/06/2019 - 17:40

    That power would be charged to Strata/House Lights account.

  • u9tvfr on 02/06/2019 - 20:08
    +1

    If it really bugs you, keep track of it. Surely Tesla have something that tells you how much electricity you have used. You can offer to pay a little extra on your BC fees. Or just pay it and email them to tell them what the extra money is for. They'll probably ignore it but if it ever comes down to someone complaining you can show the emails and what you've paid. If there aren't any rules against it and you haven't benefited and you've made a decent effort to do the right thing then all good.

    • matt-ozb on 03/06/2019 - 00:25

      he already said that it is tracked in the telsa

    • [Deactivated] on 03/06/2019 - 12:44

      As you said, just pay it and email them to tell them what the extra money is for. They'll probably ignore it but if it ever comes down to someone complaining you can show the emails and what you've paid. If there aren't any rules against it and you haven't benefited and you've made a decent effort to do the right thing then all good.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 02/06/2019 - 20:45
    +3

    Those powerpoints would have been amazing pre-Bitcoin boom.

  • Ozbargainite on 02/06/2019 - 21:02
    +10

    You wouldn't download a car's electricity.

  • ninjawarrior on 02/06/2019 - 21:50
    +6

    A lot of very angry people in these parts insisting you put in 120% effort to ensure this horrible crime is resolved…

    As someone who pays strata for a medium-rise apartment, you shouldn't be worried about it. If I see my strata payments go up by an amount which bothers me, I contact the BC and ask the question why. At that point you might start getting a reply or two to your emails.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 03/06/2019 - 11:35
      +3

      Very true.

      I suspect a lot of posters have never lived in a mid-high rise apartment building and just don't understand. There are various service/utilities available that will never be shared equally. It's pointless to try and percentage it out.

      One of the pros or cons of high density living.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/06/2019 - 13:46
      +1

      Very angry "senior citizens"

  • katz on 02/06/2019 - 22:09
    +1

    Good on ya - go for it!!

  • [Deactivated] on 02/06/2019 - 22:10
    +4

    Let's say you max out the powerpoint… That's about $10/day in power - $70/week. If there's say 100 people, no one will really notice. Enjoy it while it lasts lol

  • 00 on 03/06/2019 - 00:50
    +2

    Give me your Tesla and you will no longer have an issue.

  • luffyex2010 on 03/06/2019 - 10:34
    +1

    They should just invent a super A3 size rechargeable AA batteries for people having trouble getting their vehicle charge or emergency power.

    Think of it like a swappable gas tank which is available at all major gas station or Costco.

  • Mad-cow on 03/06/2019 - 11:47
    +1

    Run a power cable from down there up to your apartment, Setup a bitcoin mining box. Profit.

  • renster72 on 03/06/2019 - 12:47

    out of interest have you ever let it charge fully on std point and how long did it take?

  • foolsgold on 03/06/2019 - 13:31

    I don't think it's ethical, but I don't think one person doing it would put a big dent on your body corporates fees.
    In an existing building, I don't see an easy way to deal with it, which is probably why body corporate is ignoring it.

    You would have your own meter and sub-board to your apartment, which would have it's own property location for your power company etc.

    Then depending on the age, your state, and your power company's supplier, there would be an Ancillary power meter to the rest of the builder, or they may deduct the non accounted for use from other apartments (older buildings). This is likely where the Double Power Point is being metered from in your carspace.

    Issues you come across,
    + It would be probably very cost prohibitive to get a cable from your meter to the basement.
    + You would need 3 Phase Cable to your supercharger (usually 32amp), this would need to come from a dedicated circuit breaker. This may be difficult to retrofit depending on your carpark's construction.
    + Another meter for one plug seems overkill, and probably the connection charge would match your usage charge.

    I would only offer to contribute some extra money to your Body Corporate fees a year, maybe put a smart plug to work out your usage. Retrofitting anything would be in the thousands.

  • fatboyslim on 03/06/2019 - 14:31

    Have ur apartment got fire insurance?

  • MementoMori on 03/06/2019 - 14:39

    I've been involved in a similar situation. We had unmetered gas at a complex, and one of the owners installed a gas log fire using the 'free' gas.

    I did the maths, the cost of the gas itself was negligible, much less than the cost of installing separate meters (which are quite expensive).

    The real issue / risk you have here is the anger you'll get from a neighbour who 'discovers your theft' and the hoo-ha they might make about it (even though they'll pay HUNDREDS of dollars over market for the buildings insurance policy, or the cleaner that doesn't do a good job…). As long as you're upfront and tell them you tried to contact the BC/OC you should be fine.

    Always thought about this situation when Telsa's first came out. Surely there are lots of opportunities to charge your car on the go - motels, caravan parks, etc.

    For 50c per hour though, I can't imagine it's going to be a big deal (for now).

  • Piranha2004 on 03/06/2019 - 15:33

    Does your local council have any charging points? I know several in Melbourne provide free charging points for those who drive electric cars.

  • Ruckmauler on 03/06/2019 - 15:42
    +1

    I am sure each floor of your building has a common powerpoint for vacuuming. What you're doing is the equivalent of running an extension cable from the common powerpoint to your apartment and then using it for say heating/cooling. Sorry - you're getting a red card from me.

  • nikey2k27 on 03/06/2019 - 16:31
    -2

    Talk to caretakers no body bitch about it they really should not care. i know my aunt has same problem but told her it cool power was much of muchness at next power bill they put rule she unit block people can recharge there cars

    • p3nf0ld on 03/06/2019 - 19:04

      What language is this?

    • brendanm on 04/06/2019 - 16:36

      Negged for unadulterated butchery of the English language.

  • crentist on 03/06/2019 - 18:38

    these comments have inspired me to start bringing backpacks full of chargers to work to leech electricity
    can anyone recommend the best value for money charger and suggest how many i need to run my fridge for 24 hours
    if i can get the dishes and clothes washed too would be great, but i live by a creek so no biggie

  • meowsers on 03/06/2019 - 19:39
    +14

    UPDATE:

    So I called the BC / Mgmt company today, and they haven't responded because of admin issues or something like that. BUT they did tell me some good news, they have been actually studying adding electric chargers anyways.

    So good news is this, next month or so, they will be installing 2 generic three phase chargers, in two of the visitors bays ( have 10 in total) (they are never all in use anyways) with priority for residents who have EV. Those bays will be painted green to encourage people not to park there.

    Apparently they will not be charging ( all pun intended) for this as it covered by some type of grant or something, and the electricity will remain free of charge for the time being for users. Not sure if anyone else has an EV but I haven't seen them.

    I guess the good thing is if those bays are occupied somehow I still have my slow fallback charger.

    • GoldenDragon888 on 04/06/2019 - 06:34
      +2

      Great sensible outcome.

      Though I am waiting for the Amayzingone to neg this comment.

      • nith265 on 04/06/2019 - 18:00
        +2

        Though I am waiting for the Amayzingone to neg this comment.

        it doesnt matter it's still THEFT!!!!

    • brendanm on 04/06/2019 - 16:37
      +1

      Amazingone btfo

      Nice one op, enjoy your free electricity!

    • redslert on 04/06/2019 - 17:32

      Congrats.
      Now you will have a new problem of trying to get the spot for charging.

    • jace88 on 04/06/2019 - 22:45
      +1

      That is awesome. If the BC/OC in any of my apartments were able to get this, I'd be stoked and can finally order an electric car… but given how strict they've been on the model of electric garage door being low power consumption, etc.. I'm not going to hold my breath.

  • icejester on 03/06/2019 - 23:44
    +3

    Seems like a nice BC
    Which area is this lol

    Normally I hear ppl just talking about how unhelpful and crappy the BC is :P

  • myusername on 04/06/2019 - 06:34
    +2

    welcome to the future

  • MorriJ on 04/06/2019 - 16:21

    So whats to stop him running 10 bitcoin miners from the garage?

    1. Buy cheap BC miners
    2. Setup wifi to the garage
    3. Consume BC power mining coins
    4. ???
    5. Profit
    • bettina44 on 05/06/2019 - 02:18

      These days you need huge arse cabinet sized computers to mine anything sizeable for bitcoin.

    • smartazz104 on 05/06/2019 - 08:34
      +1

      Step 5 would be Loss…

  • tap on 04/06/2019 - 19:26
    -1

    Nothing is free.

  • bettina44 on 05/06/2019 - 02:16
    +4

    I wonder if you could plug an electric stove in the powerpoint and use it as a makeshift kitchen like the bbq guy…

  • giventofly on 05/06/2019 - 10:49
    -1

    You're just taking more out of the strata kitty to subsidise your car. It's not unethical, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone complained (they have every right to).

    If the footpaths need mending but the kitty has been eaten up by higher than expected electricity usage, I'd be annoyed.

  • bobolo on 05/06/2019 - 14:02

    Sooooooo many comments from salty people who have a Tesla but can't get away with free charges lol!

  • HeWhoKnows on 08/06/2019 - 10:55
    -4

    Let me draw a analogy here.

    If OP was to run an extention cord down from his apartment to one of these power points to supply (FREE) power to his hot water system what would you have to say about that?

    Its much the same thing really so whats the verdict on that one.

    • brendanm on 08/06/2019 - 14:38
      +2

      Verdict is noone actually cares what you think about this obviously. Perhaps find out where op lives and call up his body corp to argue with them about it, I'm sure they'd love to have a chat with you for hours, would be a riveting conversation.

    • nith265 on 09/06/2019 - 16:21

      In your analogy do the other residents have petrol powered hot water systems…?

  • meowsers on 25/07/2019 - 15:29

    You guys I think this takes the cake….

    https://www.wpbf.com/article/tesla-owner-leaves-car-plugged-…

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