510 GROVELAND Associates

The 510 Groveland Board of Directors hired Gittleman to provide guidance on their facility’s electrical distribution system, capacity, and options for adding electric car chargers. 510 Groveland is a six-story building with 38 residential units and two levels of parking. Gittleman audited the electrical system to determine capacity and recommended the Association install one 200-amp car charging panel on each of the two garage levels. (Each 200-amp panel can accommodate eight 50-amp 208-volt chargers.) If a greater capacity is desired in the future, a third panel could be added.

How much power does an electric car need to charge? Ohms Law states that Power = Volts x Amps.  Therefore, a 50-amp 240-volt circuit can transfer 12,000 watts in one hour (12 KWh). This is considered optimal for a home charger and would provide a Tesla vehicle with approximately 25 miles of range for every hour of charging. Conversely, a residential 110-volt 20-amp circuit can transfer only 2,200 watts of power in an hour (which would be impractical). High-voltage superchargers are capable of even faster charge times, but these are generally only found in shared public charging stations.

PROJECT FACTS: Gittleman has provided electrical maintenance work within 510 Groveland for over 20 years.