Automotive News Canada - September 2022 - 16

16
* SEPTEMBER 2022
While Canada's three largest
cities require that new
construction accommodate
EV chargers, building codes
elsewhere in the country are
hit-or-miss.
PHOTO: SWTCH ENERGY
There's just simply no way that
someone will ... purchase an EV if they
realize that their home is not able to
accommodate a charger.
HOME
CHARGING
IS GETTING
THE CODE SHOULDER
EV uptake is on the rise,
but there's no common
standard across the
country to ensure that
owners moving into new
condos and apartments
will have a place to plug in
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
DEVELOPERS OF NEW MULTIUNIT
residential buildings (MURBs) in many
cities have begun installing electric-vehicle
chargers to serve some of the nearly
half of Canadians who live in condominiums,
rental apartments and other homes
lacking private driveways.
But as EV adoption ramps up,
Canada's patchwork of federal, provincial
and municipal building codes has
put developments in a handful of regions
on the fast track to EV readiness while
leaving others stuck in the past, automotive
and EV-charging experts say.
In the country's three largest cities,
plugging in has become
a consideration
for essentially all
developers working
on MURBs,
said Carter
Li, CEO of the
Toronto-based
charging-technology
company
Swtch
Energy.
" It's not really a choice whether they
want to put in EV charging, but they
have to in order for their buildings to be
approved in a lot of cities, " he said.
In Vancouver, city building regulations
stipulate that all new parking
spots, except
visitor spaces, be
EV-ready, meaning
equipped with
an " energized outlet "
for EV charging,
though not necessarily
with the charger
itself, according to
the bylaw. The city
estimates that its
rules for new building
projects are creating
9,000 residential
charging circuits
each year.
Li: Rather than
install chargers,
prepare the
infrastructure to
support them.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
Similarly, in
February, Toronto
City Council approved a bylaw that
would require all residential parking
spaces in new MURBs be EV-ready. The
rule is under appeal and not yet in force,
city officials said.
And in Montreal, boroughs such as
Sud-Ouest, Ville-Marie and PlateauMont-Royal
have enacted bylaws requiring
EV infrastructure in MURBs.
CODES NOT UP TO SCRATCH
Yet outside Canada's largest EV markets,
building codes are typically lagging.
The
country's three next most populous
cities - Ottawa, Calgary and
Edmonton - do not have requirements
for EV chargers or for " roughed in " electrical
infrastructure that would allow
chargers to be easily installed later.
Provincial governments, which regulate
development through building codes,
have generally steered clear of the issue.
The National Building Code of Canada,
developed by the federal government and
used as a model by provinces, has been
silent on EV charging in MURBs.
The disjointed approach will dampen
demand for EVs, said Brian
Kingston, CEO of the Canadian Vehicle
Arsenault: It's easier to wire for
EV chargers during construction than
retrofitting an existing building for them.
PHOTO: LINKEDIN
Manufacturers' Association (CVMA),
which lobbies on behalf of the Detroit
Three automakers.
" There's just simply no way that someone
will ... purchase an EV if they realize
that their home is not able to accommodate
a charger, " Kingston said.
If the federal government is going to
mandate that new-vehicle sales reach
100 per cent electric by 2035, it must also
ensure that every province is " on the
same page " on charging infrastructure
in new MURBs, he said.
Multiunit charging regulations would
have the greatest influence in denser cities,
but nearly half of Canadians could
be affected. According to the 2021 census,
47.5 per cent of the population lived
somewhere other than a detached house.
DESIGNED TO CHARGE
Denis Arsenault, president of the
architecture and engineering company
Spitfire Design Co. in Moncton, N.B.,
said more developers of rental apartments
are asking for chargers in their
designs. But the percentages remain relatively
modest.
One of Spitfire's recent projects
included four parking spaces with chargers,
plus roughed-in electrical infrastructure
for six more spaces. This was
typical of a 60-car garage, Arsenault said.
These developers are also " being proactive, "
as neither New Brunswick nor
Nova Scotia requires chargers in new
builds.
But the extent of the future-proofing
depends on the type of project. Much of
Spitfire's recent work has been higher-end
developments that cater to retirees
looking to downsize, Arsenault said.
Builders behind the luxury projects are
much more likely to install chargers
than those building lower-income apartments,
he said.
Yet with most EV drivers doing about
80 per cent of their charging at home and
Ottawa calling for all vehicle sales to be
zero-emissions by 2035, even new parking
garages with a handful of EV-ready
spaces will soon be dramatically behind
the times.
Every parking space in a new development
today will eventually be occupied
by an electric vehicle, said Mark
Marmer, owner of the Markham, Ont.based
electrical contractor Signature
Electric. It " just seems sensible " that
new spaces be wired for EVs during initial
construction, he said.
BRIAN KINGSTON
CEO, Canadian Vehicle
Manufacturers'
Association
" It would level the playing field for
everybody, and everybody who got a
parking space would have the opportunity
at some point to ... have an EV in their
space, " Marmer said.
Doing the electrical work as part of
the initial construction
is also far cheaper
than trying to
refit a building later,
Marmer said, adding
that it could be half
the cost of a retrofit,
depending on the
project.
" It's just way more
economical, " he said,
and the garage layout
could be optimized
to accurately predict
the amount of power
required from the
utility.
Arsenault agreed.
" It's a lot easier to do
Kingston: A lack
of consistent
charger policies
will hurt EV
adoption.
FILE PHOTO
it upfront, " he said, pointing to issues
such as a lack of wiring and underpowered
electrical panels when trying to add
chargers after the fact.
A PATCHWORK OF
BUILDING CODES
* Canada: The National Building Code
of Canada is used as a model for construction
codes in all provinces. It has no
requirements for EV charging in multiunit
residential buildings (MURBs). A spokesperson
for the Canadian Commission on
Building and Fire Codes said EV charging
rules are being evaluated for code
updates in 2025 and 2030.
* Quebec: The Quebec Construction Code
requires new houses or other residential
buildings with four or fewer units to
include electrical infrastructure for EVs.
This rule does not currently extend to
MURBs.
* Ontario: The Ontario Building Code does
not contain any requirements for EV chargers
in MURBs. An earlier version of the
code required builders to install EV chargers
and rough-in electrical infrastructure
in some residential buildings, but the rule
was repealed in 2019.
* British Columbia: The B.C. Building Act
has no requirements for EV chargers in
MURBs. It considers the issue " out of
scope, " giving local governments the ability
to regulate it.
* Vancouver: Since 2019, the City of
Vancouver has required that 100 per
cent of parking stalls in new MURBs
Automotive News Canada - September 2022

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