EV Charging Station Installation: The New Specialty Scope Showing Up on Every Commercial Project
Electric vehicle charging stations have shifted from novelty to standard commercial construction scope. Parking garages, office buildings, retail centers, hotels, and residential buildings increasingly include EV charging infrastructure. Code requirements for EV-ready parking spaces are expanding rapidly — California, for example, requires specific percentages of EV-ready and EV-capable spaces. Federal funding has accelerated rollout. Charging installation has become a common project scope that GCs coordinate routinely.
This post covers EV charging basics — charger levels, electrical planning, code requirements, installation coordination, and the management of an increasingly common scope.
EV chargers have three levels:
EV charger levels
- Level 1 — 120V standard outlet; 2-5 miles range per hour; rare for commercial
- Level 2 — 240V circuit; 10-25 miles range per hour; most common commercial
- DC Fast Charger — high-voltage DC; 100+ miles in 30 minutes; for specific applications
- Ultra-fast (350+ kW) — fastest charging for specific use cases
- Tesla Supercharger network — proprietary but increasingly multi-brand
Level 2 is the typical commercial choice. Suited for workplace charging, hotel stays, residential parking — anywhere vehicles park for hours. DC fast is for highway stops and specific commercial fleet charging.
EV charging requires substantial electrical capacity:
Electrical capacity planning
- Level 2 charger — typically 30-40 amp 240V (~7-10 kW)
- DC fast charger — 100+ kW continuous
- Aggregate load across multiple chargers
- Peak demand vs. average consumption
- Load management capabilities (sharing)
- Transformer and service capacity
- Future expansion planning
A building with 50 Level 2 chargers has substantial electrical load. Service sizing, transformer capacity, and distribution planning need to include EV loads. Retrofitting existing buildings with chargers often requires service upgrades.
Code requirements are expanding:
EV-ready code requirements
- EV-capable — raceway, panel capacity, no wiring installed
- EV-ready — wiring installed to parking space, outlet ready
- EV-installed — complete charger installed
- Specific percentages of total parking spaces required
- California Title 24 has specific EV requirements
- Many local jurisdictions adding EV mandates
- Federal requirements on some project types
Code-required EV-capable or EV-ready spaces mean infrastructure must be installed during construction, even if chargers aren't. Missing required infrastructure during construction requires expensive retrofit to comply later.
Smart charging manages load:
Load management approaches
- Networked charger systems that share available capacity
- Scheduled charging (off-peak)
- Demand response integration
- Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) emerging
- Priority charging for specific users
- Site load optimization
Load management lets a site serve more vehicles with less electrical infrastructure. A parking garage with 100 spaces might install 100 networked chargers that share the capacity of 30-40 dedicated lines — fewer vehicles charging at full speed simultaneously but all vehicles getting charged over typical park times.
Charger selection considerations:
Charger selection factors
- Networked vs non-networked (non-networked cheaper but less manageable)
- Networked with ongoing service fees
- Connector type (J1772 for most Level 2; CCS or CHAdeMO for DC fast)
- Tesla connector increasingly common (adapter compatibility)
- Cable length and routing
- ADA accessibility
- Cold weather performance
- Manufacturer reliability and service
Charger selection has implications for owner's ongoing operations. Networked chargers with service contracts have subscription costs but enable monitoring, reporting, billing. Non-networked are cheaper but don't support commercial use cases where billing matters.
Get AP insights in your inbox
A short monthly roundup of construction AP + accounting posts. No spam, ever.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Installation Coordination
Installation involves multiple trades:
Installation coordination
- Electrical contractor for power distribution
- Raceway installation during concrete or structural phases
- Panels and service equipment
- Charger installer (often electrical sub or manufacturer rep)
- Network connectivity integration
- Structural for DC fast charger mounting
- Signage per ADA and local requirements
Raceway installation during concrete pour is much cheaper than retrofit conduit. Planning EV infrastructure from foundation through completion, even if chargers install later, preserves the cost advantage of early infrastructure installation.
The biggest cost driver for EV installation is how much infrastructure went in during construction. A parking garage built with conduit to every space and panel capacity allocated costs significantly less to retrofit with chargers than one without. Code requirements often mandate this infrastructure regardless.
Various programs support EV infrastructure:
EV charging incentives
- Federal Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property tax credit
- Federal NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program
- State incentives varying widely
- Utility rebate programs
- Make-ready programs (utility funds conduit and panel work)
- Property tax incentives in some jurisdictions
Incentives meaningfully affect project economics. Utility make-ready programs can fund significant installation cost. Tracking and capturing applicable incentives is part of EV project management.
Post-installation operations:
EV charger operations
- Network subscription and monitoring
- Payment processing for paid charging
- Maintenance and repair
- User support
- Utilization reporting
- Software updates
- Regulatory compliance for billing
Installation is the beginning; chargers need ongoing management. Some owners self-manage; others engage charging network providers (ChargePoint, EVgo, Blink, Flo, etc.). Owner's operational approach affects charger selection and contract structure.
EV charging installation has become routine commercial construction scope. Level 2 chargers dominate commercial parking; DC fast chargers serve specific applications. Code requirements for EV-ready parking are expanding, making early infrastructure installation during construction the cost-effective approach. Load management lets more chargers serve more vehicles without proportional electrical investment. Incentives meaningfully affect economics. Post-installation operations require ongoing management. Contractors coordinating EV scope manage electrical coordination, raceway installation timing, charger selection implications, and future expansion planning. The market continues to grow rapidly as EV adoption accelerates. Construction capability in EV charging is increasingly standard commercial competency — contractors without it lose work to contractors with it on projects where EV scope is meaningful.
Written by
Marcus Reyes
Construction Industry Lead
Spent twelve years running AP at a $120M general contractor before joining Covinly. Lives in the world of AIA G702/G703, retainage schedules, and lien waiver deadlines. Writes about the construction-specific workflows that generic AP tools get wrong.
View all posts