Electric Vehicle Charging and Your Community
Electric Vehicles are becoming more popular and therefore charging stations are becoming more important to provide to apartment communities, particularly in light of recent New York, New Jersey, and Federal Legislation, Executive Orders, and Incentives:
NY’s NYCERDA offers rebates for the installation of charging stations.
NJ calls for the installation of 1,400 additional chargers, 400 of which will be DC fast chargers to complete a statewide fast-charging network.
NJ Governor set goals for increasing electric vehicle usage across the state, with at least 2 million of all light-duty vehicles (cars, minivans, SUVs, pick-up trucks) on New Jersey roads to be electric by 2035 and 85% of vehicles sold or leased in New Jersey to be electric by 2040.
NJ offers buyers of electric vehicles up to $5,000 in rebates.
NJ DEP’s “It Pay$ to Plug In” rebate of up to $4K per Plug for charging stations.
Federal Tax credit (extended to 2021) offers up to $30K for total investment into net infrastructure.
Incentivizes hotels, apartments, condos, and townhouses to add chargers, with a goal of 30% of New Jersey shared living units having access to EV chargers and 50% of hotels.
Consider the following background regarding electriccharging stations technology and limitations:
The Society of Automotive Engineers International defines 3 levels of charging stations that vary in charging time:
Level 1 (household 120 V AC) as the slowest,
Level 2 (upgraded household 240 V AC) in the middle and
Level 3 (super charging, 480 V DC or higher) as the fastest.
Level 3 charge time can be as fast as 30 minutes for an 80%charge. These are typically the commercial charging stationsavailable to the public at parking facilities and other commercial or municipal or other public locations, or at new construction where ElectricVehicle Charging was anticipated. Level 3 charging stations are not typically available in existing apartment communities due to the infrastructure and service requirements.
Possible Charging Times
Taken in part from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charging_station
Annual consumer PEV sales are projected to hit 10million by just 2025. Today, most people charge their electric vehicles at home because residential charging is convenient and inexpensive. This is true for single-family homeowners, but what about PEV owners who reside in Multi-Unit Dwellings or Multi-Family Housing?
EV charging stations for multi-family housing, such as apartments, condos, townhomes, and hotels, provide building owners with a unique way to help attract and retain residents and foster an environment ally sustainable community. However, most existing multi-unit dwellings are not yet set up for charging stations. Their electric vehicle-owning residents must find street chargers or parking structures with chargers that could be miles away from their home and add an additional monthly expense.
Charging at a multi-family residential building is possible, but the challenges many buildings face, especially in urban environments, range from having to upgrade the building’s electrical infrastructure to parking, billing, and legal concerns.
In the US, President Biden pledged to build 550,000 new PEV charging stations across the nation. States are helping to play a major role in pushing forward the PEV market by offering incentives including state tax rebates, utility grants, and other incentives. As part of an overall push toward sustainability, upgrading a building’s electrical infrastructure to support EV charging also provides an opportune time to investigate the feasibility of implementing energy saving and energy generation upgrades such as LED lighting, solar panels, and co-generation.
Considering the adoption of electric charging stations at multi-family residential buildings require a basic understanding of electric vehicle charging technology and their limitations. O&S will assist building owners who want to provide electric vehicle charging options by providing consulting and engineering services to:
Perform an on-site survey and review of existing as-built electrical drawings.
Investigate the existing electrical service installation and determine options and feasibility to provide additional EV charging stations.
Analyze possible EV charging station configurations and power demand based on the needs of the residents as well as options for energy savings and on-site power generation.
Investigate tax credits and rebates offered by state, local, and utility agencies and develop cost estimates for implementation of the recommended options.
Create drawings and specifications for electrical infrastructure upgrades and charging station installation as well as modifications to parking layouts and traffic circulation.
Manage the permitting, bidding, and construction process.
Contact O&S to discuss your electric infrastructure planning and determine the location, quantity, and type of charging stations best suited to meet your community and business needs.