EV charging is no longer a nice-to-have in Pune and Mumbai commercial offices. A growing share of employees drive electric, and the cheapest moment to plan for it is during a fit-out, when cable routes, panels, and parking layouts are already open. Left unplanned, charging becomes a retrofit problem: surface-run cabling, disputed load, and chargers that nobody can book or bill fairly.
The same applies to the parking layer around it. Smart parking and access technology works best when it is designed with the charging plan, not bolted on afterwards. This article sets out how to approach both in one coordinated decision.
Start with electrical load planning
Every charging point is a significant electrical load, and in a leased office the spare capacity is rarely unlimited. The first step is a load study: what the base building can supply to the parking levels, what the existing fit-out load already consumes, and what headroom remains. This is a conversation with the landlord and their facility team as much as an internal engineering exercise.
Load management changes the maths. Modern chargers can share a fixed supply dynamically, so six charging bays may run on less capacity than six individual connections would suggest. Ask any vendor to model this against your actual headroom, and record the assumption in the fit-out electrical design. Our MEP engineering team treats this as part of the base electrical scope, not an accessory.
Choose charger types and counts to match parking
Charger choice should follow dwell time. Employees parked for eight hours do not need DC fast charging; visitors and fleet vehicles sometimes do. Over-specifying wastes capital and electrical capacity; under-specifying creates queues and complaints.
| Charger type | Typical power draw | Best use case in an office |
|---|---|---|
| AC slow (approx. 3.3–7.4 kW) | Low, similar to a heavy appliance | Full-day employee parking; cheapest per bay, easiest on load |
| AC fast (approx. 7–22 kW) | Moderate; often needs load balancing across bays | Shared bays with mid-day turnaround; visitor and premium parking |
| DC fast (approx. 25 kW and above) | High; needs dedicated capacity and usually landlord sign-off | Fleet vehicles, high-turnover bays, buildings selling charging as an amenity |
Decide the count in phases. A common approach is to install a small number of live points now, and reserve conduit, panel space, and bay markings for the next phase. The reservation costs little during a fit-out and a lot after the ceilings and finishes are closed.
Integrate charging with access control and building systems
A charger without an access policy becomes a free-for-all. Linking charging bays to the office access control system lets you restrict use to authorised employees, allocate bays fairly, and generate usage records without clipboards. Integration with the building management system adds visibility of energy consumption and faults alongside HVAC and lighting data.
Plan the data path like any other technology scope. Chargers that need to talk to access control or a BMS need network points, a protocol decision, and a named owner for the integration. This is the same discipline we apply to smart office network infrastructure: decide the interfaces before devices are ordered. Where multiple systems must exchange data, our smart technology scope and smart building API integration guidance cover how to brief and verify the links.
Coordinate with landlord infrastructure early
In most leased Pune and Mumbai buildings, the parking levels and their electrical infrastructure belong to the landlord. Chargers draw from base-building supply, so landlords typically want to review the load calculation, metering arrangement, cabling route, and fire safety approach before granting consent. Start this conversation during site due diligence.
Settle four questions in writing: who pays for the upgrade, who meters the energy, who maintains the chargers, and what happens when the tenancy ends. Getting these answers before the design freeze prevents the most expensive version of this project: one negotiated in the middle of construction.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single ratio. Start with a survey of how many employees and visitors actually drive electric today, add a modest buffer for growth, and confirm how much spare electrical capacity the base building can offer. A phased plan with conduit and panel space reserved is usually safer than installing every point on day one.
In most leased commercial buildings, yes. Chargers draw significant load from base-build infrastructure, so landlords typically want to review the load calculation, metering arrangement, and installation method before granting consent. Start the conversation during site due diligence, not after the fit-out design is frozen.
It is worth planning for. Linking chargers or parking bays to access control lets you restrict use to authorised employees, allocate bays fairly, and keep usage records in one place. Retrofitting this integration after handover is more disruptive than specifying it during the fit-out.
Four decisions matter most: how many bays will be EV-ready, which charger type each bay gets, where the electrical capacity and cable routes will come from, and who owns and maintains the system after handover. Record these with the landlord and the design-build team before procurement is released.