Electric Vehicle Building Code Contractor Guide

Accelerated development of electric vehicles

There are currently more than 5.6 million electric vehicles on the world's roads, with more than 500 zero emission (ZEV) models available. By 2025, between 20% and 30% of all vehicles sold in the US, Europe and China are expected to be equipped with electric motors. Electrical engineers and contractors like you should be ready to place these machines in parking lots and garages of all types of facilities now. Being unprepared now can cost you millions in the future and jeopardize customer relationships through unexpected expenses.

As you know, building codes are a set of rules and regulations that govern the construction standards for residential and commercial buildings. Building codes for electric vehicles may vary by region, but in general, new buildings should have a certain percentage of parking spaces, and electric vehicle charging can be installed later to support the resilience of not only electric vehicle drivers, but also business and community goals.

EV readiness requirements vary

While EV-ready building codes may encourage EV adoption, this does not necessarily mean that every project-related parking space must be equipped with an EV charging station. Instead, EV readiness codes may simply require that the building's electrical facilities and other infrastructure be able to accommodate chargers when demand increases EV readiness requirements may include:

• Installation of electric vehicle charging stations in a certain percentage of parking spaces;
• Percentage of parking spaces in commercial and multi-family buildings that have charging stations;
• Dedicated electrical circuits with enough power for each charging point;
• Laying pipelines and cables required to power electric vehicles;

In 2021, the International Council on Codes launched a new framework to help communities develop building code guidelines to help them meet their carbon emissions targets. For example, the US Department of Energy is using this system to develop more specific recommendations and help develop more harmonized building codes that will allow electric vehicles to be deployed in more areas. As a rule, for multi-family buildings and commercial real estate, the requirements for paying for electric vehicles are applied as a percentage of the total number of parking spaces. For example, 5% of parking spaces must be suitable for electric vehicles with more than 10 parking spaces.Of course, most drivers want to be charged with electricity where they live, so residential homes need to have better charging capacities. These codes will evolve as demand for electric vehicles grows.

EV readiness could save millions

If buildings are not built with EV charging in mind, owners will have to upgrade the premises with additional electrical capacity and piping to accommodate the necessary EV charging infrastructure. This process can take weeks, cost tens of thousands of dollars, delay charging availability, take time away from other projects, and in some cases jeopardize the ability to ride electric. Of course, until a certain date, the idea of scheduling the charging of electric vehicles during the construction of a new building would not pass by anyone.

But today, preparing buildings for EV charging is of the utmost importance - and even if you're not going to install charging stations immediately, it's much more efficient to do so than to do so in the future. 

EV-ready construction scores LEED points

LEED certification is an important goal for many buildings. Plug-in electric vehicles and electric vehicle design can help earn LEED certification points and set buildings apart from the competition. To earn LEED points, electric vehicle charging points must have two or more levels, be connected to the grid, maintain demand or charge while in use, and must be compatible with universal electric vehicles.

In addition to the LEED points earned on the EVs themselves, buildings can earn points if more than 10% of residents use alternative transportation such as EVs. Having more charging stations encourages more people to ride electric and earn more LEED points; LEED certification can also provide attractive building incentives such as accelerated testing, building density and height bonuses, tax credits and grants.

If you are a contractor operating in a state with electric vehicle building codes, you must already meet these requirements. If you are in another state, you need to look into the infrastructure and installation of electric vehicles now, as the code is probably only at the gate.