Vehicle charging for multifamily buildings generates income and increases building value.
As more properties understand the value proposition, we are seeing our pipeline for multifamily and condominium charging grow significantly. At the same time, energy conservation is helping to reduce the cost of charging infrastructure.
Developers are beginning to see the potential for a new revenue stream, and are including charging in their plans and specifications. Some projects in California are already netting $100 per stall, per month. Where developers were incorporating just 2 to 5 chargers last year, we are seeing several projects specifying 10 to 50 chargers. On average we are seeing about 5% of new parking spaces designated as charging spaces.
Condominiums are leading the way for retrofitting EV charger stations.
Condominium charging demand is being driven by the 2-5% of electric vehicle owners who are actively petitioning their boards to bring charging to the garage. On one high rise tower, a proactive board had already engaged an engineering firm to determine the source for the power to charge. It was determined that the building had 900 amps available. With proper load management this can easily charge 100 vehicles.
Simple conservation measures can reduce the cost for both new and existing multifamily buildings. Reduced loads in common areas -such as garage/entry/hall lighting, common area insulation, unit insulation and electric water heater use- and in units can almost eliminate the need to bring extra charging capacity to buildings.
This is the first of many blog posts that I hope you will find useful as you look to maximize the potential of your new and/or existing building. In my next post we will discuss simple energy conservation measures for cost savings and EV charging maximization.