Report: Electric Vehicles in Multi-Unit Residential Buildings

Electric Vehicles are an integral part of addressing the climate emergency, as we shift away from combustion engine vehicles and strive to reduce carbon emissions globally. While British Columbians are demonstrating an increased demand and adoption of Electric Vehicles, the infrastructure still needs to catch up. The UNA is proud to share the research of Adriana Valentina Farias, UBC Sustainability Scholar, who worked under the mentorship of Ralph Wells, Community Energy Manager at UBC Campus and Community Planning, and Julia Gellman, Sustainability Specialist at the University Neighbourhoods Association.

Valentina conducted research through policy scans and interviews on Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging in Muti-Unit Residential Buildings. In her report, she shares challenges, rebates, resources, and lessons learned in supporting EV owners and strata councils in the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment retrofitting process. This report focuses on the challenges that strata councils and residents of multi-unit residential buildings face, and explores opportunities to address the lack of chargers in these settings. Ms. Farias discusses the policy context, rebate options, technical considerations, and legal challenges in this holistic report.

Along with case studies in UNA stratas (Logan Lane and Journey), Ms. Farias interviewed representatives to share perspectives across stakeholders, including voices from planning, engineering, contractors, and strata management for this research.

This report was produced as part of the UBC Sustainability Scholars Program, a partnership between the University of British Columbia and various local governments and organizations in support of providing graduate students with opportunities to do applied research on projects that advance sustainability across the region.

This project was conducted under the mentorship of Campus and Community Planning and the University Neighbourhoods Association staff. The opinions and recommendations in this report and any errors are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University Neighbourhoods Association or the University of British Columbia.

Read the report: Electric Vehicle Charging in Multi-Unit Residential Buildings

To celebrate the completion of this research, and share resources with our residents, the UNA invited strata residents, council members, managers, and others to attend our Electric Vehicle Meet & Greet event online on Thursday October 21st, 5 – 6:30 p.m. This event was free to attend. We heard from Electric Vehicle experts from Metro Vancouver and Plugin BC. Thank you to those of you that attended for showing interest in shifting to more sustainable transportation.

Event Recording: Electric Vehicle Meet & Greet