One more item to add to the honey-do list: Did you plug the car in? Quartz reports on a new wrinkle in the ICC building codes.
In January, the International Code Council (ICC) approved changes to building standards that preview a world in which every home has at least one electric car. The building standards organization, which sets voluntary guidelines for new homes, voted to approve a new provision that, functionally, will make all new homes built in the US “EV-ready.”
That’s a big change. Homes in the US are typically built with wiring for only a few 240-volt outlets in the garage, typically enough to handle a washer and dryer. But the ICC cites research (pdf) indicating the US will need 9.6 million new electric vehicle charging ports by 2030. Almost 80% of those will be in single and multi-family residential buildings.
So the new voluntary guidelines call for installing panels, outlets, and conduits capable of charging at least one full-size EV in a single-family garage overnight. Multi-family buildings will need two spots, along with more that can be easily retrofitted, a standard known as “EV capable.” Homeowners will still need to install their own EV charging equipment.
