06/02/2026
BUILDLAB
5 min readCalGreen EV Charging for Existing Multifamily: The 2026 Retrofit & ALMS Playbook
The 2025 CalGreen code (effective January 2026) added EV-charging requirements that reach existing multifamily parking on alterations and additions. Here is how to comply on a retrofit without blowing the electrical budget.
Most EV-mandate coverage focuses on new construction. But the 2025 Title 24 / CalGreen code, effective January 1, 2026, also reaches existing multifamily — when you alter or add to parking, EV provisions can be triggered. Retrofits are where the budget pain concentrates, because the existing electrical service was never sized for a wall of chargers.
What can trigger EV requirements on an existing building
Alterations and additions to parking facilities can bring EV-ready or installed-charger obligations into scope, with a Level 1 pathway available in some existing-building scenarios and Level 2 requirements for a share of common parking. The exact triggers and percentages depend on the scope of work and local amendments — confirm them with your AHJ before you scope the job.
How load management saves the retrofit
The reason retrofits scare owners is the assumed service upgrade. An Automatic Load Management System (ALMS) shares limited capacity across many chargers — code allows it to reduce the capacity you must design for down to a modest per-charger floor — which often means keeping your existing service instead of paying for a new transformer and switchgear. On an existing podium garage, ALMS is frequently the line between a feasible retrofit and an infeasible one.
- Survey the existing electrical capacity before deciding the charger count.
- Design around ALMS, not full simultaneous demand.
- Use the Level 1 pathway where the code allows it.
- Coordinate the networking and backhaul for managed chargers — that’s a low-voltage scope, not just electrical.
- Phase the install so conduit and raceway are future-proofed.
