Why Apartment Dwellers Are Being Left Behind in the EV Transition

Over a third of the U.S. population lives in multifamily housing without charging access. That's a massive EV transition hurdle. 

So what's the solution? Samuel Bordenave, former Chief Commercial Officer at SWTCH, joins The Urban EV Podcast with some answers as we discuss the equity issues surrounding charging access for multifamily housing, the technical hurdles of retrofitting buildings, and the importance of partnerships in creating a robust charging network. 

Bordenave shares insights from his experience at Tesla and emphasizes the need for a customer-centric approach in the EV industry. The conversation also touches on the future of EV charging, including bi-directional technology and the impact of political changes on the market.

The  Urban EV Podcast is about electric vehicle ownership in a city -- and how that can be daunting when you don't have access to a plug. We explore urban charging infrastructure along with the day-to-day experience and economics of public charging your vehicle in a big city.

The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more. Below is an AI-generated summary of the transcript — edited by a staffer — of the podcast.

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Summary

This episode of the Urban EV Podcast focuses on one of the biggest obstacles to EV adoption in cities: where people charge their vehicles. Host Rob Hoffman interviews Samuel Bordenave, chief commercial officer at Switch, an EV-charging company focused on multifamily housing and commercial parking. Bourne previously worked at Tesla Energy and says his experience there helped shape Switch's emphasis on technology and customer experience. Switch has deployed charging infrastructure in more than 2,000 buildings across more than 300 cities in the U.S. and Canada. 

Charging access is an equity issue

A major theme is that EV adoption cannot become widespread if people living in apartments and condominiums cannot charge at home. Bordenave points out that more than one-third of Americans live in multifamily housing, where residents often share parking garages or park on the street. He argues that these residents — who are disproportionately lower income — risk being excluded from EV adoption if charging infrastructure isn't available where they live. 

The economics are also changing. Bordenave notes that EVs have historically been more expensive and that early adopters tended to have higher incomes, but used EV availability is increasing and more affordable new EVs are entering the market. He argues that lower-income consumers may actually benefit from EV ownership because the total cost of ownership can be lower than that of a gasoline vehicle.

Ride-share drivers provide an interesting example. Many urban Uber drivers already use EVs but lack charging at home, forcing them to rely on public chargers. That costs more and takes time away from earning money. 

Retrofitting older buildings is a major challenge

Installing chargers in existing apartment buildings is considerably more complicated than putting a charger in a single-family garage. Many multifamily and commercial buildings are decades old and weren't designed to accommodate dozens of EVs charging simultaneously.

A conventional approach could require additional electrical capacity, transformers or expensive infrastructure upgrades — potentially costing hundreds of thousands of dollars before the first charger is installed.

Switch's solution is smart load management. Sensors monitor how much electricity a building is using and charging is adjusted around periods of peak demand. Instead of charging every vehicle at maximum power simultaneously, the system can distribute available electrical capacity intelligently. Bordenave says this can allow a building to support 10 or 15 chargers where it might otherwise only support one or two. 

Connectivity and software are just as important as the chargers

The discussion makes clear that an EV charger is much more than a piece of hardware. Chargers need internet connectivity for payments, load management, monitoring, troubleshooting and future utility programs.

Underground parking garages create another problem because installing cellular connections or Wi-Fi throughout a garage can become expensive. Switch has developed a proprietary mesh-network approach intended to reduce the amount of communications infrastructure required. 

Switch also emphasizes customer support and proactive charger monitoring. The broader lesson is that charging infrastructure must work reliably after installation; otherwise, property owners can wind up with an expensive problem instead of an amenity for residents.

Interoperability remains a frustrating problem

Another major issue is the fragmented nature of the charging industry. Drivers can find themselves needing multiple apps and accounts to use different charging networks.

Switch is working with FLO and other charging providers on OCPI integrations, which allow customers from one network to access chargers belonging to another. Bourne sees this as a necessary step toward a truly seamless charging experience. 

The ultimate goal is universal Plug & Charge: a driver simply plugs in, and charging begins without opening an app or dealing with payment authentication. Bourne says Switch is working with charging companies and automakers on pilots and industry efforts to make that possible. The challenge isn't necessarily the underlying technology; agreements between competing companies and the engineering work required to integrate their systems take time. 

Lessons from Tesla

Bordenave’s experience at Tesla also figures prominently in the conversation. He says Tesla taught him the importance of making the customer experience central to the product.

He cites the Powerwall as an example: attractive hardware, an intuitive app and an integrated energy-management experience made the technology appealing rather than simply functional. He says Switch has adopted a similar philosophy by continually improving its app, customer support, reservation capabilities and access controls. 

Politics and the end of subsidies

The conversation also examines the impact of changing U.S. EV policies. Bordenave expects the reduction or elimination of incentives to create some short-term pain for the industry. Tariffs are increasing charger costs, while the loss of EV tax credits could cause a temporary drop in vehicle demand.

However, he doesn't believe the EV transition is ending. Lower-cost EVs and an expanding used-EV market could eventually compensate for the loss of incentives. He also sees the current environment as a reason for charging companies to become more efficient, including using AI and other technologies to reduce costs and improve customer service.

EVs could become part of the electrical grid

Perhaps the most forward-looking part of the discussion involves bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.

Instead of EVs simply consuming electricity, bidirectional vehicles can send electricity back into a building or the electrical grid. Vehicles could charge when electricity demand is low, then provide some of that stored energy during periods of peak demand. This could reduce the need for utilities to build additional generation and transmission infrastructure. 

Bordenave says Switch has already conducted projects involving bidirectional technology. The company is also preparing its software infrastructure so it can take advantage of V2G as more compatible vehicles and chargers reach the market.

The future: charging where the car already is

The central prediction for the next decade is a shift away from thinking about EV charging exclusively as a gas-station replacement.

Bourne describes this as the “cell phone model” of charging. Rather than driving somewhere specifically to refuel, EV owners should charge wherever the vehicle is already parked: at home, at work, while shopping or in a residential parking garage. 

That means cities will need a much more distributed network of chargers rather than relying solely on large public fast-charging stations. Bordenave expects public charging congestion to get worse before it gets better as EV adoption increases, but believes ubiquitous destination, workplace, residential and curbside charging will ultimately reduce pressure on fast-charging hubs. 

Bottom line

The transcript's central argument is that the future of EV adoption will depend as much on infrastructure, software and convenience as on the vehicles themselves. Multifamily residents need affordable home charging, older buildings need intelligent load management, charging networks need to cooperate, and utilities need to embrace EVs as potential grid assets.

The long-term vision is a charging ecosystem that is ubiquitous, interoperable and largely invisible to the driver — a world in which charging happens automatically wherever a vehicle spends time parked rather than requiring drivers to hunt for a charging station.

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