GLOSSARY

Make-Ready Infrastructure

Make-ready is everything behind the charger: utility service and transformer capacity, switchgear and panels, conduit sized for the buildout, load management, metering, trenching, and restoration. In a parking facility:

WIRE IT NOW, ADD CHARGERS LATER panel installed future future future capacity, conduit, and panel space brought to every stall up front, chargers added as demand grows
Make-ready is the expensive, disruptive part of EV charging done once: the service capacity, panel space, and conduit run out to the stalls. With the hard wiring in place, chargers can be added a few at a time as demand arrives, instead of tearing up the deck again each round. Illustrative.
  • Make-ready is roughly half the cost of EVSE and outlives the chargers it serves.
  • The economical moment to buy it is while trenches are open and the building is under construction.

Considerations

  • Utility make-ready programs frequently fund this layer; check before designing. The charger is the cheapest thing in its own installation.