Whole-Building Energy Planning for NSW Strata: EV Charging, Solar, Batteries and Electrification

A NSW strata committee receives three proposals. An owner wants EV charging in the car park. Another suggests installing rooftop solar. Meanwhile, the building's shared gas hot water system is approaching replacement. Each project has its own contractor, scope of work and approval requirements.

The committee could assess them separately. But a decision about one project may affect the electrical infrastructure available for another. 

Before deciding which project to install first, the committee needs to understand which decisions depend on each other.

That does not mean every apartment building needs a complete electrification plan. It means identifying shared infrastructure, checking existing electrical capacity and understanding where future projects may change today's design choices.

How EV Charging, Solar, Batteries and Electrification Affect a Strata Building

These technologies interact with a building's electricity supply in different ways.

EV charging increases electrical demand. Several vehicles charging simultaneously can affect the building's peak load. Dynamic Load Management (DLM) can control charging demand within the electrical limits established for the installation.

Solar panels generate electricity. Depending on the system design and metering arrangements, that electricity may be consumed within the building or exported to the grid.

Battery storage shifts electricity use between different times. A battery can store electricity and discharge it later. Its effect on peak demand or grid imports depends on its capacity, configuration and operating settings.

Electrification introduces or changes electrical loads. Replacing a shared gas hot water system with electric equipment, for example, changes the building's electricity requirements. The effect depends on the chosen technology and its operating pattern.

These systems do not necessarily use the same circuits or meters. Some may operate through common-property connections, while others may use separate supplies.

However, proposals can overlap at the main switchboard, shared distribution infrastructure or network connection. A strata committee needs to know where those overlaps occur before treating each installation as an independent decision.

For a closer look at managing simultaneous EV charging demand, see our guide to Dynamic Load Management.

Why a Building Energy Assessment Should Inform Multiple Projects

The NSW Government recommends a building energy assessment when planning EV charging in an apartment building. Its EV-ready guidance identifies several important checks, including existing circuit breaker sizes, historical peak loads, energy-use patterns, opportunities to reduce demand and available electrical capacity. These findings help establish what the building can support.

But the scope of the assessment matters. An assessment commissioned specifically for EV charging may not determine whether rooftop solar can be connected, how much electricity can be exported or what supply changes would be needed for electric hot water. Each proposal may require additional design work.

What should the committee establish?

Before approving shared electrical infrastructure, the committee should ask for a clear picture of:

• Existing electrical supply and relevant switchboard capacity

• Historical demand and current building electricity use

• Common-property and individual-lot metering arrangements

• Proposed additional electrical loads

• Existing or planned solar and battery connections

• Relevant network connection constraints

• Infrastructure that may need to be modified for future projects

Not every building needs a new report covering all possible technologies. If an existing assessment is available, the first step is to check what it actually covers and whether its findings remain relevant to the proposed works.

A building planning shared EV charging infrastructure and electric hot water replacement may benefit from coordinating those assessments before finalising either design. The objective is to avoid contractors making different assumptions about the same building infrastructure.

Six Steps for Planning Strata Energy Upgrades

There is no universal installation sequence for EV charging, solar, batteries and electrification.

Solar does not always need to come first. Batteries are not automatically necessary for EV charging. A building may be able to install individual chargers without committing to a comprehensive shared charging system.

The appropriate sequence depends on the existing infrastructure and what the owners corporation intends to achieve. The following framework can help committees establish an order of decisions.

1. Identify current and foreseeable projects

Start with the proposals already under consideration. These might include an individual EV charger request, a building-wide charging system, rooftop solar, shared hot water replacement or battery storage.

Distinguish confirmed projects from possibilities that have not yet been investigated.

2. Establish the electrical baseline

Review the available electrical assessment and identify missing information. The committee should understand the building's existing demand, relevant supply constraints and the infrastructure each proposal would use.

Where the evidence is incomplete, determine what further assessment is needed before committing to a design.

3. Identify dependencies between projects

Ask whether one proposal could change the requirements of another. For example, EV charging and electric hot water may both affect future electrical demand.

A solar installation may introduce connection and metering questions that also matter to a proposed battery system. Some projects may have few direct dependencies. Those should be identified too.

4. Check approvals and external requirements

Determine which matters require owners corporation approval, distributor assessment or specialist technical advice. Technical feasibility, strata approval and network connection approval are separate questions.

A workable equipment proposal does not establish that every required approval has been obtained.

5. Decide what can proceed

Classify each proposal according to the information available.

Proceed independently: The proposed works have been assessed and relevant dependencies and approvals have been addressed.

Coordinate with other works: The proposed design affects infrastructure or arrangements needed for another project.

Investigate further: A material question about electrical capacity, metering, connections or approvals remains unresolved.

6. Consider future changes before finalising infrastructure

Before approving new distribution equipment or shared cabling, ask whether reasonably foreseeable future projects could affect the design. The committee does not need to install everything at once.

It needs enough information to understand the consequences of the decision being made now.

Example: EV Charging and Electric Hot Water Are Proposed Together

Consider a hypothetical apartment building in Sydney. An owner wants to install an EV charger. The strata committee is also examining rooftop solar, while the building's central gas hot water system may require replacement.

The EV charging contractor proposes installing new electrical distribution infrastructure in the car park. The committee has an EV charging assessment, but the report does not examine the electrical requirements of a potential hot water replacement.

The committee now has a specific question: should the shared electrical design be finalised before the hot water requirements are known? It could continue assessing the EV charging request while seeking the information needed to determine whether the proposed shared infrastructure remains suitable. That is different from postponing the entire EV charging project indefinitely.

What if the hot water system needs urgent replacement?

If the existing hot water system fails, the committee may need to act before a broader energy plan is complete. The immediate replacement requirements can be investigated while the findings are shared with those planning EV charging or solar.

A coordinated approach should help identify dependencies. It should not create unnecessary delays for essential works.

What if the building is smaller?

NSW Government guidance recognises different EV charging approaches, including individual installations where the building's electrical arrangements are suitable.

Some smaller buildings may be able to accommodate a charger using existing infrastructure, subject to assessment and relevant approvals. A comprehensive EV charging backbone is not automatically required for every building.

The order of investigation, approval and installation can be different.

How Solar and Batteries Change Network Connection Requirements

Solar and battery systems raise questions that differ from ordinary electricity-consuming equipment. 

For example, Ausgrid requires approval before connecting solar or battery systems to its network. Apartment buildings can share upstream infrastructure, so adding generation to one part of a multi-tenanted property may affect the wider electrical installation.

The distributor may also impose export limits. An approved export limit establishes the maximum permitted export. It does not guarantee that the solar system will export that amount at all times. These requirements can influence a project's design and connection arrangements.

Where proposed works involve changes to the building's electricity supply or network connection, an Accredited Service Provider may be required for particular works.

That requirement depends on the scope. Not every internal switchboard modification is a network connection upgrade. The committee should ask the relevant contractor to identify any distributor approval, connection modification or metering work that remains outstanding.

Can rooftop solar support EV charging?

Potentially, but the answer depends on the actual electrical arrangement. Solar generation and EV charging need to be assessed in relation to how electricity is connected, measured and consumed. The timing of generation and charging also matters.

A building where vehicles are usually parked during daylight hours may have different opportunities from one where most charging takes place overnight.

Whether integrated energy management is worthwhile depends on the building's equipment and operating requirements.

We explain one possible technology approach in Solar + EV in One Building: How Smappee Infinity Integrates Panels, Charging and Load Management.

That approach should be evaluated against the building's needs rather than assumed to suit every project.

Why Metering and Electricity Billing Matter

Electrical capacity is only part of an energy project. The committee also needs to understand which electricity accounts and meters will be involved.

An EV charger connected to an apartment's individual electricity supply has different billing implications from one connected through common-property infrastructure.

Similarly, rooftop solar supplying common-property services is different from a system intended to distribute electricity benefits across individual apartments.

Some strata buildings operate through embedded networks, which introduce additional connection, metering and contractual considerations.

Before accepting a proposal, the committee should establish:

• Which electricity supply and meters will be used

• Who will consume the electricity

• Who will own and maintain the infrastructure

• How relevant electricity costs will be measured and allocated

• Whether an embedded-network operator needs to be involved

For EV charging, the cost of electricity consumption and the cost of installing shared infrastructure are separate questions. We cover the available approaches in EV Charging Payment Models for Strata.

NSW Strata Approval Rules for Sustainability Infrastructure

As at 9 November 2026, NSW strata legislation provides a specific approval pathway for qualifying sustainability infrastructure changes to common property.

Section 132B of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 defines sustainability infrastructure by reference to changes to common property undertaken for specified purposes.

These purposes include reducing energy consumption, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating sustainable transport.

NSW Government guidance identifies EV charging stations, solar panels and shared hot water upgrades as examples of potential sustainability infrastructure improvements.

Qualifying sustainability infrastructure resolutions have a different voting threshold from ordinary special resolutions. Under section 5, less than 50% of the value of votes cast must be against the resolution.

Before approving a sustainability infrastructure resolution, the owners corporation must consider relevant costs, ownership and maintenance responsibilities, and the extent to which infrastructure will be available to lots in the scheme.

The applicable pathway still depends on the proposed works. Batteries and individual-lot installations should not automatically be assumed to have identical approval requirements.

What about the new NSW right to install EV charging?

The NSW Government announced further strata reforms in October 2026.

As at 9 November 2026, the new right for owners to install EV charging infrastructure on their own lot is listed among changes planned to commence in 2027.

The relevant change has passed through the legislative process but has not yet commenced.

Committees should distinguish this future reform from the legal requirements currently in force.

See the NSW Government's guide to strata law changes for current commencement information.

What Should a Strata Committee Ask Before Approving an Energy Project?

Contractors preparing EV charging, solar, battery or electrification proposals may each focus on a different part of the building.

Before accepting a project-specific recommendation, ask:

• Which parts of the electrical infrastructure does the proposal rely on?

• What assumptions have been made about current and future electricity demand?

• Have other planned energy projects been considered?

• Could the proposed installation restrict future connections or infrastructure changes?

• What network, metering or owners corporation approvals are still required?

• Who will own and maintain the installed equipment?

• What additional technical information could change the recommendation?

The contractor should be clear about the boundaries of the proposed scope and where another specialist's input is needed.

For EV charging works specifically, see our guide to assessing NSW strata EV charging installation quotes.

Planning EV Charging as Part of Your Building's Energy Strategy

EV charging, rooftop solar, battery storage and building electrification can be planned on different schedules.

What matters is understanding the connections between them before committing to infrastructure that could affect later projects.

For a NSW strata committee, the starting point is to establish what the building can support, what future changes are foreseeable and which proposals require coordinated assessment.

VeCharge provides EV charging assessments, infrastructure planning and installation services for Sydney strata buildings.

If your owners corporation is considering EV charging alongside other energy upgrades, explore VeCharge's strata EV charging services or contact the team at 1300 315 688 or info@vecharge.com.