Did You Know? Denver Requires Electric Vehicle Charging Compatibility with New Residential Electric Construction.

A greener and more sustainable future has been in Denver’s sights for a while now, especially new residential electric construction. Since 2016, the City and County of Denver have rolled out initiatives and discussions to become an “EV-Ready State”, along with a growing list of others across the U.S. This has brought efforts and requirements within Denver to provide easier access to electric vehicles and help facilitate the rate of adoption of electric vehicles in the future. But did you know, Denver has updated their building code some time ago already to help build out the access of electric vehicles within every Denver home? It’s true, that Denver’s Residential Compliance Checklist has a requirement for all garages in new residential electric construction (remodel or new construction) to provide at least one EV-Ready space.

Does my garage need an EV Charging Station?

Denver only requires new residential electric construction of a dedicated parking garage to have the capabilities for ability to install an EV Charger. ‘New’ construction just means any construction moving forward and not just ground-up construction. This includes brand new ground-up construction, home additions (garage), ADUs, or extensive remodels that also affect the garage. Yes, older homes that will have new residential electric construction done on their garages will require a retrofit upgrade to their wiring and panel to handle the extra load. Homeowners who are not doing any construction don’t even have to worry about this requirement.

What is the code requirement for New Residential Electric Construction?

Since 2000, the IECC or International Energy Conservation Code Compliance Checklist was published and adopted by states all over the U.S to establish a minimum construction requirement for energy efficiency. That ultimately affected the transportation needs and thus Denver released its Electric Vehicle Action Plan. So naturally, homes needed to be able to handle the slow introduction of electric vehicles. The Residential Compliance Checklist handles this by the IECC Prescriptive path. It is a list of requirements for new residential construction and follows a series of focus areas to provide energy efficiency. Each home will need to pass this checklist in order to have permits approved or signed off on. Specifically, for Electric Vehicle Charging the code section R404.2.1 Application of Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers states:

“Each dwelling unit with a dedicated attached or detached parking garage or on-site parking space shall be provided with at least one EV Ready space. See the definitions in the DBCA.

This requirement only applies to one- and two-family dwellings and IRC Townhouses.”

I am building a garage, do I need an electrician?

If you are building a new garage or even remodeling your current one, you will need to hire an electrician. If you have a general contractor make sure they have a knowledgeable electrician available or even have them reach out to us. O’Brien Electrical Contractors has years of experience with new residential electrical construction. And ultimately, this requirement by the city and county of Denver is very small compared to other code requirements. Homeowners will not have to worry about installing an EV Charger in their garage unless they want one. The garages are simply being fitted for compatible wiring and power sources.

However, if you are interested in installing an EV Charger for Home Electric Car Charging, see our article about some of the basics and what to expect. O’Brien Electrical Contractors is here for the Denver Metro Area and neighborhoods for any type of Residential Electric Construction.

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O’Brien Electrical Contractors are your source for all electrical installs and repairs. Call us today at (303) 463-1800 or reach us through our contact form for immediate service!