An EVSE Installed parking space, sometimes called EV Installed, has electric vehicle supply equipment mounted, wired and working when the building opens. It is the highest of the three tiers used in codes and ordinances.
Codes usually require a smaller share of EVSE Installed spaces than EV Capable or EV Ready spaces, because equipment ages and improves while conduit and capacity do not. Nonresidential and public parking often has higher installed requirements than residential, since drivers cannot bring their own equipment.
EV Capable, EV Ready and EVSE Installed compared
- EV Capable. Electrical capacity and a raceway or conduit path reserved for a future circuit. No wire, no outlet. Cheapest now; most work later.
- EV Ready. A complete branch circuit ending in a receptacle or junction box near the space. A driver or owner can add a charger with little more than mounting it.
- EVSE Installed. Charging equipment is in place and working on opening day.
What to decide before installing
- Power level and connector type for the users the facility serves. See connector and DC fast charging.
- Network, payment and software platform, and who owns the customer data. See OCPP.
- Maintenance and uptime commitments, since a broken charger counts against the facility.
- Whether the installed spaces are also accessible charging spaces.
The Parkonomics view
The tiers are a way of buying the future in installments. Capacity and conduit are cheap during construction and expensive afterward; the charger itself is the part that gets cheaper and better every year.
Related terms: EV Capable, EV Ready, EVSE, Charger Uptime, Charging Utilization