About Sierra Hawthorn
Sierra is a large-scale residential and commercial development comprising 241 apartments, five commercial lots, and an extensive carpark, presenting a scale and structural complexity that few EV charging providers could navigate. As EV adoption among residents and occupants grew, the strata committee recognised that a comprehensive, building-wide solution was needed rather than a piecemeal rollout.
Barriers to EV Charging
The scale of the carpark required infrastructure capable of handling simultaneous charging across hundreds of bays without overloading the building’s existing electrical supply. The carpark’s open layout also presented a structural challenge, with a high proportion of bays lacking adjoining walls or pillars, making conventional wall-mounted or pillar-mounted charger installations unworkable for a significant portion of the building.
The NOX Energy Solution
Sierra is the largest EV-enabled residential building in Australia and the second largest globally to achieve 100% EV enablement. All made possible by the installation of 252 IPS units alongside an MSI Eco Series 22kW charger.
A cloud-based load management system enables up to 100 units to charge simultaneously without overloading existing infrastructure. Where open bays lacked mounting surfaces, NOX developed a custom ceiling-mounted bollard solution to extend coverage across the entire car park.
Safety was central to the design, with IPS units integrated into the building’s alarm signalling equipment (ASE) to deactivate all chargers within 90 seconds of an alarm event. The project was completed in 11 months from start to finish.
Testimonial
“Having, essentially, a personal refuelling station at your car park every night at a good price point as well, is actually fantastic.”
Jo-Han Wong, OC President Sierra Hawthorn
Results
Sierra now has EV charging available across its entire car park, including bays that no conventional installation method could have reached. The bollard innovation developed for this project has since become part of NOX Energy’s broader toolkit for open-plan carpark environments, turning what was once a structural dead end into a repeatable, scalable solution. Residents across all bay types now have equal access to charging, and the building is well-positioned to accommodate growing EV adoption in its community.
Approximate Project Costs:
- 253 IPS’ installed
- 1, 22 kW MSI Eco Series Charger Installed
- Electrical Backbone Upgrades: $120,000
- NOX Energy IPS/MSI Charger/Bollard Hardware/Installation: $180,000
Total: $300,000
