EVCAC Building Codes Toolkit: Fostering EV Adoption

By John Higham, EVA Board Member

Building codes might be a sleeping potion in regulatory form, but the Electric Vehicle Charging for All Coalition (EVCAC) believes building codes are the key to widespread EV adoption. The EVA agrees -- which is why the EVCAC is a key partner for the EVA.

The EVCAC has recently developed a building codes toolkit. Targeted for advocates and decision makers, the toolkit aims to teach the process of adopting equitable EV readiness in cities and states. Please download it and share it with your favorite city councilperson or Senator.

The EVCAC has been focused on building codes for new construction and especially for Multi-Family Housing (MFH). One key metric that I thought was striking is the following graphic.

How EV friendly is parking in your jurisdiction? Required MFH EV Charging, EV Ready and EV Capable parking spots by jurisdiction for many SF Bay Area cities (on the right) as compared to state level jurisdiction and other regulatory standards (on the left). Data compiled by EVCAC and their partner, TRC.

The graphic shows what regulators are contemplating in various code updates, like the IECC 2024 update or the 2025 CALGreen update. It also shows the current status in the few states that have EV friendly codes on the books (Illinois, Washington and Colorado). It is probably not a coincidence that many EVCAC staff live in the EV friendly jurisdictions of the SF Bay Area, where significant progress on EV charging equity can be demonstrated.

Want to learn more about what the EVCAC is doing? Please follow both the Electric Vehicle Association and EVCAC!