u/00tao

For an apartment building, we are considering installing some EVSE for which we just charge a monthly access fee and let people charge for free. The math works out rather than paying an OCPP provider and we don't have to deal with Wi-Fi, which is important.

How can we secure the EVSE so that only the residents that are paying the access fee can use the EVSE? The apartment staff will maintain/manage this, so programming it can't be complicated or require a computer, nor can Wi-Fi be involved. We also have to consider that people will lose keys, RFID cards, or decide to "unsubscribe" once they get the PIN, and then keep charging.

Ideas:

1. I've considered a "slam lock" cabinet with a battery powered lock that can be used to unlock the door and then charging tenants 3 months at a time and rolling the PIN every 3 months, but it seems that setup would cost more than the EVSE, especially for a cabinet that would be large enough that people wouldn't give up trying to roll up the cord nicely.
2. I then thought about a simple "kitchen timer" that is mechanical to turn on and off the power and putting that in a box, with the same locking methodology, but those seem hard to find.
3. I discounted using a powered relay because I don't want to have to run additional power for this and fill up the pipes with additional wiring because we know the silly EVSE codes say that it must be a direct run to the breaker, so even a powered switch would be disallowed (gotta watch those 5 watts).
4. I considered a physical "mitten" type cover over the EVSE plug, but can't find anything that seems appropriate.

Any other suggestions on how to do this?