The Quebec government announced on Friday that it is currently considering a new mandate that would require every new home built within the province – as well as existing rentals – be outfitted with a 240V charging station for electric vehicles. The government has already started an impact study, the results of which are expected to be published by the start of this summer.
The addition of these outlets are expected to increase the cost of new homes -- be they single family residences, condos or duplexes – but only by about $400. That's a heck of a lot less than installing one after the fact. According to Quebec's electric vehicle information site, putting a 240-volt charging station in an existing home will run you about $1500 on average, depending on the model of charger and installation costs. However, Quebec offers a $1000 subsidy for doing so, so really it's about the same price either way. And of course, once the upfront costs are handled, operating the station is dirt cheap – only about $300 a year in electricity if you drive an average of 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) per year.
This isn't the first time that local governments have nudged home builders towards modernization. In 2013, Palo Alto, California's city government passed a similar requirement demanding that new homes be outfitted with EV charging stations. Heck, back in the 1970's a number of municipalities actually had to legislate the addition of outlets for washing machines and dryers in new homes.
"It wasn't standard in 1975." Quebec's Transportation Minister Jacques Daoust told Le Journal de Montreal. "If you built a house today without an outlet for a dryer, no one would buy it. We're talking about a 30 ampere outlet. It's not the end of the world."
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This article by Andrew Tarantola originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life.
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