Do I need a Title 24 report to install an EV charger?

No energy report is needed for the charger itself. It is electrical work under the California Electrical Code, and it needs whatever permit your building department requires.

What is the difference between EV capable and EV ready?

EV capable, the CALGreen mandatory measure for new houses, provides the raceway and panel capacity. EV ready, the Tier 1 measure, installs the 40-ampere circuit as well.

Does a new ADU need EV charging infrastructure?

CALGreen excepts ADUs and JADUs without additional parking facilities from its new-construction EV requirements. If the ADU adds parking, ask your building department how the rule applies.

Does my city require more than CALGreen?

It may. Local governments can adopt CALGreen tier measures or their own amendments. Your building department can tell you which apply at your address.

Does an EV Charger Need Title 24?

Not a Title 24 energy report. EV charging requirements for new buildings are in CALGreen, Title 24 Part 11, and installing a charger is electrical work under the California Electrical Code, Part 3. The Energy Code, Part 6, does not require EV charging.

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Title 24 has parts, and EV charging sits in two of them

Title 24 is the whole California Building Standards Code. A "Title 24 report" means Part 6, the Energy Code, and Part 6 does not require chargers or charging infrastructure. EV charging appears in two other parts. Part 11, CALGreen, sets what new buildings must provide. Part 3, the California Electrical Code, governs the installation. CALGreen says so directly: electric vehicle supply equipment shall comply with the California Electrical Code.

New houses: EV capable under CALGreen

CALGreen Section 4.106.4.1 applies to new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses with attached private garages. For each dwelling unit it requires:

a listed raceway for a dedicated 208/240-volt branch circuit, at least trade size 1, running from the main service or subpanel to a box near the proposed charger location
panel capacity for a 40-ampere 208/240-volt dedicated branch circuit, with space reserved for its breaker
the reserved breaker space and the raceway end both marked "EV CAPABLE"

No raceway is needed if a 40-ampere circuit is installed near the charger location during construction. ADUs and JADUs without additional parking facilities are excepted, and a local enforcing agency can find EV infrastructure infeasible case by case, for example where the utility cannot supply adequate power.

EV capable and EV ready are different

EV capable means the pathway and panel capacity are there, but no circuit. EV ready goes further. CALGreen's voluntary Tier 1 measure for houses, Section A4.106.8.1, requires the 40-ampere circuit itself to be installed in that raceway and marked "EV READY".

Tiers are voluntary statewide. The Building Standards Commission notes that local governments may adopt ordinances making tier options mandatory. So whether your city requires EV ready, rather than EV capable, is a local question.

Apartments and condominiums

New multifamily buildings follow Section 4.106.4.2. Where there are at least as many parking spaces as dwelling units, each unit gets at least one low power Level 2 charging receptacle at a parking space. On top of that, 25 per cent of unassigned or common use spaces without those receptacles get Level 2 chargers available to all residents or guests.

Those chargers must have J1772 or J3400 connectors. An automatic load management system may reduce the electrical capacity required, as long as each charging station it serves can still receive at least 3.3 kW at the same time.

Existing multifamily parking is covered too. When a parking facility is altered or spaces are added under a building permit, each added or altered space needs access to a low power Level 2 receptacle or a Level 2 charger, unless the builder or designer shows this is infeasible and the building department agrees.

Adding a charger to an existing home

For an existing house, a charger is an electrical job. It needs whatever permit your building department requires for that work, and no energy compliance documentation. CALGreen's residential measures reach additions and alterations only where they increase conditioned area, volume or size, and only within that area. Its EV rules for existing buildings are written for multifamily parking.

Where the Energy Code does touch it

Part 6 has electric-ready requirements, but they are about gas appliances. Where a new home installs a gas water heater, furnace, cooktop or clothes dryer, Section 150.0 requires circuits and space for a future heat pump water heater, heat pump space heater, electric cooktop or electric dryer. None of them is a charger circuit.

The one place Part 6 names a charger is the solar-ready section. A single-family home in a subdivision of ten or more that installs no PV must reserve a solar zone. One exception to that requires demand responsive thermostats plus one of several measures, and one of the measures is a Level 2 charger of at least 40 amperes.

For how Part 6 and Part 11 differ more generally, see Title 24 vs CALGreen. Local rules can go beyond the state minimums, and your local building department has the final say on what a project needs.