Darling Island Apartments, Pyrmont NSW

Delivering smarter, future-ready EV charging

Acknowledgements

This project was delivered in collaboration with our valued partners and supporters: Charge Hub, Nat Copolini – Spectrum Engineering Solutions, NSW Electric Vehicle Ready Buildings Grant, John R Turk Alexandria, Teltonika Energy and Velocity Electrical.

Project overview

VeCharge worked with the Darling Island Apartments community to deliver a future-ready EV charging network that balances cost, safety and accessibility for all residents.
Each resident can now connect their own EV charger via their apartment meter, while a shared digital backbone intelligently distributes available power across the building.
The outcome is a practical, compliant and low-maintenance framework that prepares the building for the rapid shift to electric vehicles in New South Wales and beyond.

Background & challenges

The original concept for Darling Island Apartments was based on a traditional shared power distribution model. While technically sound, it required:

Significant upgrades to the main switchboard
Extensive new backbone cabling throughout the car park

Together, these works made the project cost-prohibitive.

The Owners Corporation was seeking a smarter approach that would:

Provide every resident with fair access to EV charging
Keep upfront capital expenditure under control
Avoid repeated disruptive works such as fire-rated wall penetrations
Comply with AS/NZS 3000:2018 wiring rules for EV charger installations

Align with incentives such as the NSW EV Ready Buildings Grant

Our solution

To address the cost and compliance challenges, VeCharge and Spectrum Engineering developed a decentralised, direct-fed charging framework.

Instead of relying on a single shared supply, each EV charger:

Connects directly to the resident’s apartment meter
Is managed through a shared digital backbone using Charge Hub FLEX controllers

This approach allows real-time load balancing across the building without the need for costly upgrades to the main switchboard or incoming supply.

Core infrastructure

Key infrastructure elements included:

Pre-installed EV distribution link boxes positioned throughout the car park to simplify individual connections
CAT6 data racks to ensure reliable connectivity for building-wide load management
A curated list of OCPP-compatible chargers verified for seamless integration with the FLEX platform
A new cable tray network to streamline future installations and remove the need for repeated penetrations through fire-rated structures

By decentralising connection points and centralising control logic, the design:

Reduced central infrastructure costs
Maintained electrical safety and integrity
Allowed residents to manage and stage their own installation costs over time

Design & implementation

The system was engineered for practicality, safety and scalability.

Each charging unit delivers up to 7.4 kW via a 32 A Type 2 tethered connection, powered directly from individual apartment meters.
Load management runs across two 1400 A main switchboards, using current transformer (CT) monitoring and FLEX software logic to dynamically share capacity between active chargers.
This ensures the existing electrical infrastructure remains within safe operating limits, even as more chargers are added over time.

To maintain reliability and control:

Wired LAN switches provide consistent communications across the network.
Each charger is registered, commissioned and integrated before activation, ensuring full visibility and traceability within the managed system.

Results

The Darling Island Apartments now benefits from a fully operational, resident-focused EV charging framework that combines technical efficiency with financial sustainability.

Key outcomes:

A decentralised, load-managed architecture that allows each resident to install a charger when needed
A stable and compliant system that protects building-wide electrical capacity
Installation costs reduced to a fraction of a traditional shared-supply design
No ongoing management burden placed on the strata committee

To date, 39 car spaces have been connected under the system, each onboarded via a streamlined registration and verification process that ensures compliance and seamless load integration.

This positions Darling Island Apartments to comfortably accommodate ongoing EV uptake across the Sydney region.

Client feedback

“VeCharge has been on the EV charging journey with Darling Island Apartments over a four-year period, during which the core technology options have evolved. The finally agreed technical solution was implemented by a highly professional team within agreed timeframes and at a lesser cost than had been contemplated four years earlier and with virtually no ongoing management overhead. Resident connection into the system is a refined process which has been implemented for 39 car spaces thus far.”
— Rick Bayley, Darling Island Apartments Committee

Summary

The Darling Island Apartments project shows how a direct-fed, load-managed design can deliver equitable EV charging access in multi-residential buildings without expensive infrastructure upgrades.
By:

Connecting each charger to the resident’s own meter, and
Coordinating demand through a shared digital management backbone

VeCharge has established a scalable framework that supports individual ownership, keeps costs under control and preserves building-wide electrical integrity for the long term.