As a former apartment owner, I understand EV owners’ frustration when their strata committee rejects requests to install charging points in their car parks. For many apartment dwellers, this seems like an insurmountable roadblock to EV ownership.
But what if you didn’t need to ask for major infrastructure changes at all? Enter Alchemy Charge, an Aussie startup with a simple solution: their SmartPoint turns an ordinary power outlet into a smart EV charger.
Could this be the breakthrough apartment EV owners have been waiting for?
The SmartPoint changes ordinary power outlets into EV charging stations.
SmartPoints – No Wiring Upgrade Required.
Alchemy Charge’s SmartPoint is a ‘smart’ 10 amp powerpoint that meters the kWh used and then bills the car’s owner appropriately.
If the SmartPoints replace existing power points, no extra wiring is required. If new power points are required, the installation cost will be lower than running special 32-amp circuits for standard AC chargers.
But Charging Speed Is Limited
The downside is a your charge rate is limited to 2.4 kW compared to a typical 7kW dedicated charger. Also – if multiple EVs need to charge at the same time, each SmartPoint may require its own circuit.
Neil Finally Gets EV Charging
I spoke with Strata apartment owner Neil who told me he’d tried for 4 years (Neil is a patient man!) to get EV charging enabled in his apartment complex parking spot.
After he heard about Alchemy Charge he mentioned it to his strata committee. When they understood no expensive building electricity infrastructure upgrade was required and Neil was asking to install a smart normal power point, getting committee approval was easy.
Before paying to have an Alchemy Charge SmartPoint installed, Neil had publicly charged his EV for 18 months. His EV charging costs have now halved compared to using Fast DC Superchargers, and he’s regained 1-2 hours/week previously spent waiting at public chargers.
Neil is certain more Alchemy Charge SmartPoints will appear in his building soon, as other EV owners wish they had his convenient charging solution.
Alchemy Charge Tested On MG4
I recently drove my MG4 77 EV to the Northern Beaches of Sydney to visit Alchemy Charge’s headquarters to try out the established 2.4kW SmartPoint with my own car.
Both use standard 10 amp 2.4KW power connections, a specification that proves both a strength and limitation.
While it enables installation in virtually any location with standard power infrastructure, the relatively low SmartPoint power output means much longer charging times compared to higher-powered 7kW alternatives.
Some EV owners may want to charge more rapidly because they have a long commute or simply want the peace of mind of knowing they can charge their EV every night to 80% (NMC battery) or 100% (LFP battery).
Is 2.4 kW Enough?
Most Australians drive well under 45 km per day, and a 2.4 kW charge rate easily replenishes the energy used.
When I tested SmartPoint the app said it was supplying my MG4 with a 2.22kW charge rate at 229.3V. The Carscanner Pro app analysing my car statistics via an OBD reader said the car was receiving 1.87kW charge rate, a loss of about 16%.
This would add about 22 kWh to an EV if it was plugged in for a 12-hour charge. That’s an easy 100km of driving range.
Installation
Any electrician who can install a powerpoint can install a SmartPoint. Each unit arrives pre-configured and tested.
Rather than installing EV chargers in shared parking bays, which they say can lead to resident disputes and scheduling conflicts, Alchemy Charge supports individual installations as residents request them.
Hotels, Motels, AirBnBs
SmartPoint could be useful with hotels, Airbnb, and other short-term rental properties, where individual charging points align well with property management requirements for simplicity of use and low user support needs.
I’ve stayed at a few motels where the owner regrets getting a “dumb” EV charger that results in wasted staff time keeping track of kWh used, calculating and collecting user payments, or just losing revenue in bigger electricity bills.
Costs
The SmartPoint comes in two variants: a WiFi-enabled model at $399 and a mobile data 4G version at $499 (plus monthly SIM fee).
There are no ongoing fees for SmartPoint WiFi units. However, this did make me wonder how Alchemy Charge funds the app and platform long-term if Wi-Fi SmartPoint users don’t pay anything to contribute to the backend cost.
SmartPoint owners who use their chargers commercially can earn optional revenue through a simple $0.10 per kWh commission on the customisable price charged to end users. Earnings are paid to the owner monthly.
App, Payments, Reporting & Admin
User interaction with SmartPoint is the Alchemy Charge app. While QR code scanning capability exists, the company actively discourages its use due to security concerns, citing documented fraud cases in European markets.
The Alchemy Charge app is available in the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store.
Payments are processed only through PayPal. If you prefer using RFID cards, phone tap-and-pay, or saving your credit card details in an app, you’re out of luck.
Session tracking and expense management are by email, providing expense claim documentation for novated lease users.
Breaking Down Barriers to Apartment EV Charging
Anything that makes EV ownership more accessible for apartment dwellers is a step in the right direction. Alchemy Charge’s SmartPoint may not suit every scenario, but for EV owners who drive under 100km per day, it could be the simple, practical solution they’ve been waiting for.
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And even if you drive more than 100km/day, you’d have to use a public fast charger far less often.
You say “User interaction with SmartPoint is the Alchemy Charge app. While QR code scanning capability exists, the company actively discourages its use due to security concerns, citing documented fraud cases in European markets.”
I assume you mean Alchemy doesn’t recommend using its app to scan other QR codes. I.e. to only use it for their own SmartPoints and not for general QR scanning?
The problem with QR codes for payment is scammers putting a sticker over the official QR code that redirects to a spoof website that takes your credit card details…
Understood Finn. So the QR code isn’t actually necessary, you just pay via the app.
I’m an apt dweller, and following concerns about me (level 1) charging my car in my garage car space, I’m currently waiting to hear back from our building insurer to check that the building policy covers charging an EV. While it’s wise to check, the anti-EV hysteria brigade are whipping up anxiety and misinformation in the community.
I would imagine this could be used at a workplace or public car park as well? These units should be a game changer, often there is capacity available but no way to bill.
Our last strata building governing board decided a few years ago that they would revisit the question of EV charging along with rooftop solar, in 2030. And not before, so that was a factor in choosing to move elsewhere.
We had no trouble just running a cord from our patio, but ideally the plugs should be in the underground garage so residents on all floors can use them.
From their web-site
“User-Pays
Users pay for usage at the rate you set, plus our 10 cents per kWh commission, with funds going back to the host monthly.”
On top of a $0.28 kWh charge https://www.alchemycharge.com.au/strata then add a $0.10 or 40% extra charge. A bit of a touch up if you ask me!
The irony with strata rejecting a dedicated 32A wall charger on ‘safety’ grounds is that a wall charger will be much safer than a plug outlet. Its difficult to police what gets plugged into a wall outlet, it could be anything bought from Temu, in poor condition, or connected with an adaptor. There’s also no load management if multiple outlets are powered from the same circuit.
From the last Sydney EV show where they had a stand, also worth looking at ReadySteadyPlug.
Similar idea in that they use 10A plugs but seemingly more scalable and with more robust load management systems.
Price wise I got the sense their solution would be more expensive than Alchemy, but a lot cheaper than the managed 22kW AC solutions.
From memory that competing product has a substantial several thousand dollar upfront cost so it’s hard to see Strata buildings taking it up