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November 1, 2022
3 Minute Read
EV Charging

How To Make Your Residential Building EV Ready

Tips and commonly asked questions related to preparing your multi-unit residential property to become EV Ready

How To Make Your Residential Building EV Ready

Lately, you’ve probably been hearing the term “EV Ready” a lot more. With Electric Vehicle adoption rapidly growing in Canada, Governments are looking to enact measures to encourage more buildings to become EV Ready, specifically new multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs).

What exactly does it mean to be EV Ready?

EV Ready essentially means that parking spots in residential and commercial buildings are to be retrofitted with energized electrical outlets that are capable of charging an Electric Vehicle, once a charging station is installed in the future.

EV Ready stalls require both the infrastructure (conduit, breaker space, junction box, etc.) and the wired outlet, minus the actual charging unit (which can be installed at a later date).

At this phase, you could plug in the Level 1 EV Charger that you received from the manufacturer when you purchased your electric car, however there are limitations to Level 1 Charging.

To ensure that you plan an EV Ready parking lot accordingly, the best option is to start by having a professional create an EV Ready Plan for your property.

What is an EV Ready Plan?

An EV ready plan is a professional document that outlines a strategy to provide a minimum of one EV ready parking space per residential unit. The plan helps ensure that Multi-Unit Residential Buildings have an approach to future-proof the property to provide all residents with the ability to access EV Charging at their parking spot, whether they currently drive an EV or not.

An EV ready plan is prepared by a licensed electrical contractor and/or electrical engineer; hiring one of these professionals will help ensure that you qualify for the BC Hydro Rebate.

To ensure your plan meets the eligibility criteria for a rebate, take a quick skim through BC Hydro’s EV Ready Plan Requirements.

What does an EV Ready Plan Include?
  1. Electrical Capacity Assessment
  2. Charging Performance Assessment
  3. Recommended solution for parking spaces to be made EV Ready
  4. Compatible Management Systems
  5. Cost estimates sufficient for budgeting purposes
How much does an EV Ready Plan cost?

An EV Ready plan will typically cost between $4,000 - $5,000, depending on various factors, however BC Hydro currently offers a rebate for preparing an EV Ready Plan which covers approximately 75% of the cost (approx. $3,000).

How do we get an EV ready plan implemented for our Strata?

Once an EV ready plan is completed, the Strata Council can seek owners’ approval at an AGM for the larger expenditure; implementing the EV Infrastructure.

Implementing the EV Infrastructure itself will require 75% owner approval. It is paid for by the strata and the average cost per parking space is approx. $2,500 - $3,500. The good news though is that BC Hydro currently offers a rebate of approx. $600 per stall.

The EV Infrastructure is to electrify the spot for where the EV Charger will inevitably be installed. When an owner is ready to have an EV Charger installed at their spot, they will undertake the expense themselves, which depending on the charger can be around $1,000 – $3,000.

The idea of preparing an EV Ready parking lot may seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Our team can work with you to help facilitating the commissioning of the EV Ready plan, applying for the rebates, and helping electrify your parking lot, including installing EV Chargers & making sure you're all set-up for success.

If you have any questions about this process, feel free to reach out to our team anytime. We're also happy to conduct a complementary info session for your property management team or strata council.

Ready to prepare an EV Ready Plan?

Our team can help you get started - reach out to us today!

Ready to get your EV Infrastructure up and running?

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