Charging the Future: EV-Capability
Over the past ten years, hundreds of individuals throughout the world have been fighting for climate change. This past week the U.S. Senate passed a $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill that has become one big step towards fighting climate change. With this bill we will administer money into expanding broad access and bring funding to other parts of the tech sector, as well as electric vehicles, which will be a primary focus for the design industry. So why is this important? This bill has set aside $7.5 billion in funds to install electric vehicle charging stations across the country beginning in mid-2022. And one of the main places these will be installed in are future nonresidential projects.
In the US, especially California, transportation is the most significant contributor to climate-warming emissions, mainly from everyday cars and trucks on the road. Within the past six years, the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) began requiring all new construction to have access to Level 2 electric-car charging stations. In other words, they were preparing the groundwork for the gradual rollout of this widespread charging infrastructure of 2030. Currently, CALGreen requires six percent of parking spaces in new nonresidential buildings to be EV-capable, which means having a parking space be Level 2 with a conduit and electric panel capacity for a 40-ampere 208/240-volt circuit. By mid-2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and CALGreen will require all nonresidential existing and new building projects to undergo significant renovations to add EV charging stations. The mandate will not affect current existing buildings under construction.
So here’s the thing, it’s time to begin thinking of how this will affect your future designs. Currently, many City governments are mandating 25 – 30% of new parking garages or surface lots to have EV charging capable stalls ready. Per CALGreen Building Code from 2020, Multifamily Dwellings currently have a three-tier system:
TIER 1 (required) requires 10% of Total Parking Spaces to be “EV Capable”
TIER 2 (optional) requires 15% of Total Parking Spaces to be “EV Capable”
TIER 3 (optional) requires 20% of Total Parking Spaces to be “EV Capable”
Regarding Guest Parking, at least one “EV Capable” space is required. Nonresidential projects are as shown below:
It’s time to charge into the future and begin making the changes regarding the tech sector and design. Don’t stall behind the rest and begin fighting for climate change by also adding EV-capable parking stalls into your projects.
References:
Director, Matt Casale. “Charged up for an Electric Vehicle Future.” U.S. PIRG, 5 Nov. 2021, https://uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/charged-electric-vehicle-future
Edelstein, Stephen. “Ca to Require New Buildings to Be Prepped for Electric-Car Charging Stations.” Green Car Reports, 23 Oct. 2014, https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095076_ca-to-require-new-buildings-to-be-wired-for-electric-car-charging-stations
Krause, David. “CARB Recommends EV Charging Station Installations at Existing Buildings.” NewsData, LLC, 24 Jan. 2020, https://www.newsdata.com/california_energy_markets/regulation_status/carb-recommends-ev-charging-station-installations-at-existing-buildings/article_7bf43506-3ede-11ea-9eb1-cb816c463ca5.html
lauren_feiner. “How the $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Will Direct Billions toward Tech Spending.” CNBC, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/10/how-the-1-trillion-infrastructure-bill-will-direct-billions-toward-tech-spending.html
Ray. California Green Building Code Mandatory Measures, Blogger, 1 June 2021, https://greenbuildingalliances.blogspot.com/2018/01/california-green-building-code.html