Background

EV-ready building codes are one of the most effective and low-cost strategies for local governments to support electric vehicle (EV) adoption. At their most basic, the codes establish EV infrastructure requirements for new construction projects, including the electrical capacity and pre-wiring to enable the future installation of EV charging stations. 

The discussion was led by Matt Frommer, Senior Transportation Associate with the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), and featured presentations from several colleagues in Colorado who have real-world experience with EV-Ready Building Codes. We heard from:

• Brad Smith, Fort Collins Energy Code Compliance Specialist

• Katrina Managan, Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, Resiliency

• Jess Hoover, Climate Action Director, High Country Conservation Center (Summit County)

Brad, Katrina, and Jess joined us for a discussion around EV-ready building codes in Colorado. Together, we delved into:

• What are EV-Ready Building Codes and why are they important?  

• How did you decide on the EV infrastructure requirements for your community?

• What was the stakeholder engagement process? Reactions from businesses and organizations in the community?

• Looking ahead to implementation challenges.

• Click here to see the slide presentation as a pdf document

• Click here to see a recording of the webinar

In addition, here are a few resources on EV-Ready Building Codes:

• SWEEP: Cracking the Code of EV-Ready Building Codes (2018)

• SWEEP: EV Building Codes Slide Deck (2019)