Parking Structures and Heavy EVs
"The Charles Pankow Foundation has funded a study to assess parking garage safety in light of the heavier weight of electric vehicles compared to traditional cars. Led by researchers from the University of Colorado and University of Massachusetts, the investigation will evaluate whether current design standards for garage live loads, set at 40 pounds per square foot , remain sufficient." A standard US parking stall measures 18x8.5 ft or 153 ft2. The standard parking stall area times the 40 lb/ft2 weight standard yields a maximum of 6,120 lb or 2776 kg. A large US parking stall measures 20x9 ft or 180 ft2. The large parking stall area times the 40 lb/ft2 weight standard yields a maximum of 7,200 lb or 3266 kg. The largest light duty EV sold on the US is the Hummer EV by General Motors. It weighs 9,640 lb. Clearly, many of them parked in the same parking deck of a parking structure will pose a problem. However, the rest of the EVs on sale, as of end of 2023, as shown in th...