Summary
12.1.15
San Francisco EV-Ready Building Code
Proposed Amendment to the San Francisco Green Building Code for New Construction
Snapshot
This code amendment for new construction will leverage and expand the current State EV code, and will prepare
San Francisco buildings for a 100% EV fleet in the future with minimum cost and maximum flexibility over the life of
the building. It will:

Minimize future retrofit costs

Remove barriers for distributing and managing power for charging at any or all parking spaces in the
building, and

Help drive the EV market.
Context

By far, the easiest and least costly time to install infrastructure for EV chargers is at the time of construction.

The state has taken a modest step forward with new requirements in the CalGreen state building code. The
state code requires developers to provide electric capacity and access to power for 3% of parking spaces.

SFE and DBI staff have worked together to develop a proposed amendment to the City’s Green Building
Code that is innovative, more aggressive, and yet flexible and feasible in cost impact.
Proposed San Francisco EV-Ready Building Code

Nothing in the code will require parking. This applies only to parking that is already planned as part of the
development in accordance with city policies.

New multifamily buildings (3 or more units) and new commercial buildings
o Must have enough electrical capacity to fully power EV chargers in at least 20% of their parking
spaces (specifically, at least 8 amperes to each parking space, with a minimum of 40 amperes per
circuit), and
o Must be able to distribute the power to any of the parking spaces on their premises. (This is achieved
by specifying that EV electrical panels must be installed on every parking level, and the conduit
pathways must be identified in construction drawings.)
Important benefit of the combined effect of the two points above: These requirements facilitate the use
of EV charging management systems that will make it possible for buildings to install additional chargers,
at minimal cost, for more of their parking spaces – as many as 100% of spaces if needed in the future. (The
charger management systems allow multiple chargers to be operated on a single circuit.)

New Single Family Homes, and 2 Residential-Unit Buildings
o If garage or carport parking is planned, electrical capacity and conduit must be installed for a
charger for each unit.
Cost Analysis

Building Electrical System
o The average cost of electrical infrastructure necessary to comply with this proposed EV-Ready
Building Code is $114 per parking space, based on estimates from the California Air Resources Board
(ARB) staff.1 This cost is minimal, particularly when compared to ARB staff’s estimated cost of $3,750$6,975 to retrofit existing buildings with electrical EV charging infrastructure.2

Incremental Cost of Utility Service
o Consistent with the State EV building code, a cost test is included in the proposed amendment,
allowing the 20% requirement to be reduced if utility-side costs assessed to the developer would
exceed $400 per parking space.
Status

SFE and DBI are completing the draft ordinance language, with review underway by the City Attorney.

PG&E is being consulted for technical and cost evaluation.

Stakeholder engagement is being planned with affordable housing and commercial developers, as well as
other impacted communities.
See ARB Submission for EV Charging Provisions in the CALGreen Code, October 5, 2015, Table E13, in which ARB
staff estimated average cost of $570 to install panel capacity to support dedicated branch circuits to each EVcapable charging space. This proposed code requires sufficient panel capacity for 20% of parking spaces, so the
per-space cost would be 20% of $570, or $114.
2 Ibid., p. 23.
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