Site Design Guidelines

Initial Site Guidelines

Designing electrical infrastructure to support current and future EV Electric Vehicle charging demand can help avoid costly upgrades later as EV Electric Vehicle adoption grows.

Complete an on-site evaluation to determine conduit and wiring requirements from the panel to the proposed parking spaces, as well as to measure cellular signal levels and identify suitable locations for any necessary cellular signal booster equipment.

If you have pre-existing infrastructure or are using your own preferred electrical contractor to prepare your site, a Construction Signoff Form by a ChargePoint Operations and Maintenance (O&M) partner is required to certify compliance with electrical code, and to ensure everything was prepared to ChargePoint specifications.

You must be a licensed electrician and complete online training to become a ChargePoint certified installer. If you do not complete training, you cannot access the ChargePoint network to complete installation. Find online training at: https://www.chargepoint.com/partners/training-certification. If the charging station is not installed by a ChargePoint certified installer, using a ChargePoint approved method, it is not covered under warranty and ChargePoint is not responsible for any malfunctions.

Plan for the Future

Consider current EV Electric Vehicle charging needs and also potential future needs as EV Electric Vehicle adoption grows.

Consider running raceway or conduit to all planned EV Electric Vehicle parking spots and pulling electrical wiring from the panel to meet current needs.
Consider installing a dedicated electrical panel for EV Electric Vehicle charging and leveraging ChargePoint Power Management. This efficiently uses available power at a site to support more EV Electric Vehicle charging ports than would otherwise be possible.

Charging Station Placement

To help minimize costs, choose station locations that are as close as possible to the available electrical infrastructure. Selecting these types of locations helps minimize long conduit and wire runs, as well as any trenching work.

The charging station must be installed on a level concrete base or a flat wall rated for the weight of the station. Asphalt cannot support the full weight of the station. Failure to install the station on a suitable surface may cause the station to tip over, resulting in death, personal injury, or property damage.

Layout Considerations

To ensure a successful and cost effective installation of the charging stations, the following layout factors should be carefully evaluated:

Identify station locations for EV Electric Vehicle charging spots.
Charging stations can be installed either indoors or outdoors.
They can be mounted on walls or in the ground (pedestal mount).
Charging stations do not have an integrated active ventilation system.
To help minimize costs, choose station locations that are as close as possible to the available electrical infrastructure.
Consider locations where it will be easy to add future stations.
Consider how easily drivers can find the stations they need to access.
Identify suitable locations with smooth, plumb surfaces for wall mount stations or suitable floor surfaces for pedestal mount stations.
Consider a layout to minimize electrical infrastructure costs to all proposed EV Electric Vehicle parking spaces.
Avoid or minimize trenching requirements.
Comply with regional accessibility laws, regulations, and ordinances. The charging station must not block ramps or pathways and the height of the interactive display cannot exceed the maximum height as dictated by local laws.
For stall parking, ChargePoint recommends using perpendicular parking stalls to better accommodate EVs with front and rear charge ports.
Use dual-port pedestal mount stations where possible in open areas for adjacent parking or adjoining parking spaces.
Consider protective bollards and wheel blocks where appropriate, especially for open tandem parking spaces.
If the charging station has a camera, orient the camera towards the parking space.
Use professional cellular test equipment to measure cellular signal levels to ensure adequate cellular coverage at the station installation location. To ensure adequate signal strength in underground or enclosed parking structures, cellular repeaters may be required. Use an indoor antenna located near EV Electric Vehicle parking spaces and an outdoor antenna typically located at the garage entrance ceiling or on the rooftop where cellular signals are best. See Connectivity for more details.
When the charging stations cannot be placed close enough to the source of power to avoid undesirable line losses, consider increasing the size of the conductors.
When the circuit conductors must be larger than the maximum wire sizes allowed (1/0 AWG American Wire Gauge for Canada; 2/0 AWG American Wire Gauge for United States) you may need a disconnect nearby to the station and terminate the upsized conductor at the line side lug of the disconnect. Then, connect a short length of conductor (max of 1/0 AWG American Wire Gauge for Canada, max of 2/0 AWG American Wire Gauge for United States) to the load side lug of the disconnect and the station. Adding disconnects close to the stations is also helpful when the circuit breakers are relatively far away, and may also be a requirement for local code.

Pedestal Base Designs

There are three basic pedestal base designs:

In front of a curb (a) - Does not obstruct a pedestrian pathway or disturb landscaping.

900 mm (3 ft) on each side (b)

Area: 0.42 m² (4.5 ft²)

Volume: 0.26 m³ (9 ft³)

Behind a curb (a) in a planter or berm

1350 mm (4 ft 5 in) on each side

Area: 0.37 m² (4 ft²)

Volume: 0.23 m³ (8 ft³)

Use a retaining wall as needed to prevent dirt from accumulating on the pad.

Two stations back to back, centered between four spaces 900 mm (3 ft) on each side

Area: 0.84 m² (9 ft²)

Volume: 0.51 m³ (18 ft³)

Pedestal Configurations for Different Parking Arrangements

The pedestal base design can be configured in a variety of ways to serve different parking arrangements. Ensure a sufficient volume of concrete to provide anchoring for the charging station.

ChargePoint charging stations are available in various product lines and configurations. Images in this document might not match your station exactly; however, the information is applicable unless otherwise noted.

Place the station against the curb between spaces with wheel stops 900 mm (3 ft) from the front of each stall. The base of the charging station can be flush with the parking spaces or at curb level.
Place the station in a planter or berm between spaces with wheel stops 900 mm (3 ft) from the front of each stall or the curb (a).
Place two stations back to back centered on four spaces with wheel stops 900 mm (3 ft) from the front of each stall. The base of the charging station can be flush with the parking spaces or at curb level.
When placing a dual holster station centered on the right space, the charging cables can reach two vehicles. Place a wheel stop 1220 mm (4 ft) (a) from the center of the charging station.

Note the following details for this arrangement:
- The arc shows the usable reach of the two charging cable lengths available: 5.5 m (18 ft) (b) and 7 m (23 ft) (c).
- The 7 m (23 ft) cord option is recommended for this configuration.
- The base of the charging station can be flush with the parking spaces or at curb level.
- Ensure to install EV Electric Vehicle Charging Station signs on both spaces.

Place a dual holster station centered between two parallel parking spaces, each 6 m (20 ft) long. Place the station (a) 450 mm (18 in) from the curb. A 7 m (23 ft) charging cable is recommended.
Place a single holster station for a single parallel parking space 6 m (20 ft) long. Place the station (a) 450 mm (18 in) from the curb, and 1.8 m (6 ft) from the front of the parking space (b) This allows the cord to reach any part of the vehicle without blocking the curb side doors.