DriveElectricTN releases multifamily electric vehicle charging infrastructure guide

Developers and property owners can save thousands of dollars per charger by making sites EV-ready during construction

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 13, 2023) – Drive Electric Tennessee (DET) released the “Multifamily Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Guide” to their website on September 13, 2023. The Multifamily Task Force within the DET Infrastructure Working Group created this guide to help multifamily developers and owners plan and install electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. The Working Group collaborated with partners from planning and design consultancy Kimley-Horn; Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), Memphis Light, Gas, Water (MLGW); Tennessee Tech University (TTU); and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to put together this technical guide.

With EVs forecasted to represent more than half of all new vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2030, residents of multifamily properties (i.e., apartments, condos, duplexes) must have access to charging their current or future EVs at home. EV owners prefer to charge at their residences for convenience and lower cost, even when workplace or public charging is an option.

“Multifamily properties are one of the largest untapped locations in Tennessee and across the country to deploy new EV chargers,” said Ryan Gram, EV charging practice lead at Kimley-Horn. “Property owners and developers can add value to their properties and for residents while increasing revenues and improving the community’s air quality.”

This guide provides a roadmap for multifamily property owners to evaluate, prepare, develop and implement EV charging on their properties with easy-to-understand language and explanations of each step in the process.

Whether motivated by revenue, people or the environment, property owners can find their reasoning for adding EV charging units to their property thanks to the help of this resource. For example:

• Retrofitting a parking space for EV charging can cost six times the cost of installation during new construction.
• 80% of EV charging occurs at home.
• EV chargers help companies and local governments meet their sustainability goals.

The “Multifamily Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Guide” walks property owners through the necessary considerations and support they may need when starting this process. It ensures that owners will be well informed and prepared to make final decisions about the long-term opportunity to invest in EV charging for their residents.

The complete guide can be downloaded from DriveElectricTN.org/Resources. For more information, please reach out to DET at info@driveelectrictn.org.

About Drive Electric Tennessee

DET is a statewide EV and EV charging infrastructure awareness and implementation program managed by the nonprofit East Tennessee Clean Fuels. DET was created in 2018 by a consortium of organizations to see at least 200,000 EVs on Tennessee’s roadways by 2028. The organization comprises several Working Groups, chapters, and individual projects and programs, all with an EV focus.