21 January 2026. A residential apartment complex in Ghaziabad. An electric fault hit an EV charger. The unit overheated. Fire spread. A nearby air conditioner exploded. The fire brigade took 45 minutes to put it out.
The fire did not start in the EV battery. The root cause was the charger’s wiring and installation.
India has seen similar incidents. EV adoption is rising, and every other apartment has someone putting up a charger — most of the time without a plan. The risk does not stay in your car. The building, the other vehicles, the property, and the people all get put in it.
On the channel, Nikhil walked through the mistakes people skip and a seven-point safety checklist for a safe, legal, tension-free apartment EV charging setup. This is the write-up.
Most accidents come from bad installation and carelessness. Follow the process and EV charging is both safe and compliant. Skip it and you are one incident away from lakhs.
Step 1 — Start with a written NOC
A lot of people assume that if the society secretary says no, that is the end of it. Others install a charger without telling anyone at all. Both are wrong.
Ministry of Power guidelines are clear: RWAs cannot refuse without a valid reason. If they do, you can take it to RERA, the discom, or the courts. Installing a private charger in your own dedicated parking spot is your right.
Submit a written application to the society. Put these on the page, clearly:
charger model
kilowatt rating
electrician details
safety measures
load details
Then formally request the NOC.
On camera we showed a sample letter headed Formal Application for Private Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger Installation, addressed to the RWA / management committee, with fields for date, name, flat number, and dedicated parking slot. The examples on that form (a “Wallbox Pro”, a named electrician, a 9.0 kW sanctioned-load line) are placeholders for the letter, not products we are telling you to buy.
The NOC is the paper trail. Insurance claims and legal disputes both come back to it.
Step 2 — Load assessment
Get the society’s transformer and wiring inspected. Confirm it can take the extra load of an EV charger. Multiple EVs plus home appliances can spike the load hard.
You have options:
get the sanctioned load increased through the local electricity board
get a dedicated sub-meter
use the society’s common EV connection
This work has to be done by a licensed electrician or the local electricity board. Not the guy who rewired your kitchen last year and “knows MCBs”.
Two things that are not options:
A standard 15-amp socket is not safe for long-term use on a car charger. It is not a wall box.
Do not run the charger off the common society supply. It is against the rules. It is a direct invitation to a fire — those supplies may not be designed for the extra load. On camera: a “Running on Common Supply” setup is exactly the thing to refuse.
Step 3 — BIS-certified charger and wiring
If you are buying a charger, buy a BIS-certified one.
Wiring, as stated on camera:
copper cable
fire-rated
run inside PVC conduits
minimum 4 sq mm thickness — the on-screen label is THICKNESS : 4 SQ MILLIMETER
a dedicated line from the flat to the parking spot
no loose or hanging wires
On Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026, a PVC conduit and a 4 sq mm FRLSH copper run (Amazon prices next to the video spec, not instead of it):
Sylix 25mm corrugated 10m PVC, ₹649 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
KEI Conflame FRLSH 4 sqmm 45m, ₹3,417 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
Nikhil’s own install: he took the line from his MCB to the parking spot. You should also put in a dedicated MCB and an RCCB. Both are mandatory.
On Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026 — your electrician sizes the rating. The MCB on camera was marked 32 A B-curve; this listing is a 32 A C-curve DP. The RCCB on camera was a four-pole 40 A 30 mA; this listing is a 40 A DP 30 mA. Same jobs, not the exact on-screen devices:
Havells 32A DP C-curve MCB, ₹670 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
Schneider Acti9 40A DP 30mA RCCB, ₹3,297 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
On camera the MCB shown is marked 32 A (B-curve, 10 kA, 230/400 V). The RCCB shown is a four-pole unit marked Type AC, 40 A, IΔn 30 mA, 415 V. Those are the markings on the devices in the video — not a spoken “buy exactly this rating” spec. Your electrician sizes them to the charger and the run. Get that in writing.
Proper earthing is essential. Get the electrician to test it and give you a certificate that it is safe.
Reputed brands — Tata is the one named on camera — send authorised EV installers. Tata’s 7.2 kW wall box was not listed on Amazon.in when we checked. The 7.2 kW pick that is listed is PME HyperCharge, ₹21,849 (Buy on Amazon.in) — image and full line sit under Step 6, not here. That is what happened in his house: the car came with an electrician. Before the electrician arrived, there was a site checklist to finish. If the site is not ready, they will not install. A still labelled COMPLIANT shows a Tata 7.2 kW wall box on a pillar, PVC conduits, a dedicated enclosure, and earthing — that is the look you want, not a cable taped to a column.
Step 4 — Fire safety and placement
The right charger and the right wiring are useless if the location is wrong.
Pick a spot where air circulates
Keep at least 1.5 m of clear space around the charger (on-screen: 1.5 METRES CLEAR SPACE)
No combustible material near the charger
Upcoming amendments to the National Building Code are about to make ventilation requirements for basement charging mandatory. On camera a basement NBC excerpt is shown with the ventilation clause highlighted (basement height at least 2.4 m; adequate ventilation, mechanical if needed). The presenter did not read those dimensions as EV-charger rules — the point he made is ventilation for basement charging is moving from “nice” to “code”.
Modern chargers come with auto cut-off. In a bad installation, even those features may fail. Do not use auto cut-off as an excuse to skip the NOC, the load check, or the RCCB.
Step 5 — If you are a renter, get both NOCs
This is the step most people skip.
Many societies refuse EV charger installation on rental status outright. The argument: you are a temporary resident, why should we approve a permanent installation?
What to do:
Get an NOC from the flat owner
Have the owner inform the society
You need written permission from both the owner and the RWA
Do not go for jugaad or temporary setups. Charging in parking via an extension cord or a portable charger is a fire hazard. It can also violate society rules — and get you evicted.
Step 6 — Pick the right charger (this is where vendors waste your money)
For home charging, an AC wall box is the standard: 3.3 kW or 7.2 kW. Plenty for overnight charging.
The 3.3 kW listing we have is not a hardwired wall box, and BIS is not in the title. It is a portable Type 2 unit with a wall bracket:
Statiq 3.3kW Type 2 portable + wall bracket, ₹14,999 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
The 7.2 kW pick (Tata was not listed):
PME HyperCharge 7.2kW, ₹21,849 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
A DC fast charger is overkill for a home. The apartment’s infrastructure will not support it.
Check the connector type. Most EVs in India come with a Type 2 connector. If you are buying a separate charger, test compatibility, and buy a good brand with proper certification.
On Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026:
5m 32A Type 2 connector, ₹3,990 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
Your vendor will say: let’s future-proof it, we will install a 22 kW unit, it will be fast charging. Your car’s capacity matters more. Entry-level models named on camera — Nexon EV and MG EV — will not take more than 3.3 kW or 7.2 kW. Paying for 22 kW on a car that can only swallow 7.2 kW is not future-proofing. It is a quote.
Two-wheelers
A dedicated home EV charging station is recommended for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers — convenience and safety.
A properly earthed 15-amp socket should work for a two-wheeler. What he would actually recommend: a dedicated charger with its own separate MCB box. The Amazon.in listing we have is a 60V 6A lithium e-bike charger — not an MCB-box wall unit:
60V 6A lithium e-bike charger, ₹2,398 on Amazon.in as of 31 Aug 2026.
The charger usually comes with the scooter. You may not have to buy one. If you are buying, pick the more reliable, more expensive option, preferably from the OEM. A lot of these brands will come and do the home installation — you still have to prepare the site (NOC, load, wiring, earthing) before they arrive.
Step 7 — Documentation, insurance, and regular checks
Keep everything in writing:
society NOC
charger invoice
installation contract
load report
electrician certification
RCCB and earthing tests
You need three kinds of insurance:
An EV add-on on your car or two-wheeler insurance — even if it costs more. On-screen and spoken: ₹1,500 to ₹4,000 a year.
Check that your home insurance covers basement parking.
The society’s master insurance only clears claims where there is a complete record of NOCs and authorised installation. No paper trail, no claim.
After installation, get an inspection done. Keep tracking the society’s EV rules — policies keep changing. EV-ready infrastructure also raises property value. No number was given for that uplift; treat it as a reason to do the install properly, not as a resale calculator.
What it actually costs (from the video)
On-screen totals, spoken as a maximum, and they vary by region:
LineWhat he said / what was on screenAC wall box + installation + all the wiring₹25,000–₹30,000 maximum (on-screen: TOTAL COST : ₹25,000 - ₹30,000)Separate meter₹5,000–₹10,000 (on-screen: SEPARATE METRE COST : ₹5,000 - ₹10,000)All-in, “roughly… under that”₹50,000–₹70,000 for the next 8 to 10 years tension-freeEV insurance add-on₹1,500–₹4,000 / year
The ₹50–70k figure was not broken into a line-item table. Do not treat it as 25–30 plus 5–10. It is the broader “do it properly once” ballpark he put on the whole job.
Do it the wrong way — random electrician, cheap wires, cheap charger, cheap MCB — and one incident costs lakhs and lakhs.
What to actually do (from the video)
Secretary said no. That is not the end. Written application. Ministry of Power. RERA / discom / courts if they refuse without a valid reason.
Rental flat. Owner NOC first, then RWA. Both in writing. No extension cord in the basement.
15-amp socket for the car, long-term. No.
Common society supply. No.
DC fast charger or a 22 kW “future-proof” box at home. No. 3.3 kW or 7.2 kW AC wall box. Match the car.
BIS, copper, 4 sq mm, PVC conduit, dedicated MCB + RCCB, tested earthing, certificate. Yes. All of it.
Insurance. Three covers, not one. The society’s master policy will not save you if the NOC file is empty.
He has a Tigor EV. The charger install was done through the apartment association. If you want that walkthrough as its own video, the ask on camera was to comment apartment EV charger.
Watch the full video — the sample NOC letter, the COMPLIANT pillar, the 1.5 m clear space, and the on-screen cost bars are in sequence:
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This is a write-up of our YouTube video, presented by Nikhil on Home Banao.
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