Getting to know the chargers

Trickle charge

>3 kW

10 miles RPH (Range Per Hour)

3 pin plug

Fast charge

3.7 - 7 kW

15-30 miles RPH (Range Per Hour)

'Wallbox' home chargers and some public chargers too

Rapid charge

22 - 50 kW

80+ miles RPH (Range Per Hour)

Charging on the go (Motorways and mains routes)

Acronyms

EV - Electric vehicle

A vehicle that is powered via electric power (either partially or fully)

HEV - Hybrid electric vehicle

A vehicle that runs on both an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor

PHEV - Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

A vehicle that runs on both an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor which can be charged up at an EV charge point; PHEVs can travel much further than traditional HEVs

AFV - Alternative fuel vehicle

A vehicle that runs on substances other than petrol/diesel

BEV - Battery electric vehicle

EVs that run on battery power without an internal combustion engine (ICE) at all

ICE - Internal combustion engine

An engine powered by the burning of fossil fuels (i.e. in a petrol / diesel vehicle)

kW - Kilowatts

The power output of a battery/solar/EV

kWh - Kilowatts per hour

The energy capacity of a battery/solar/EV

AC - Alternating current

This is when the current is constantly changing in direction. Mains electricity is supplied by AC as it is best for transporting current over long distances

DC - Direct current

This is when the current flows in just one direction. Batteries and devices such as TVs and computers use DC - they convert the AC current that enters the device into DC

CSS - Combined charging system

A standard for EV charging, using Combo 1 and Combo 2 (Type 1 and Type 2) connectors providing power at up to 350 kW a.k.a. high-power DC fast charging; it was developed by various German carmarkers

CHAdeMO - Charge de move charging system

A rapid-charging DC standard allowing for fast charging of the Nissan Lead, Toyota Prius Plug-In and other models (generally Japanese carmakers). It actually comes from the Japanese phrase ‘O cha demo ikaga desuka’ which means ‘How about a cup of tea?’, referring to the time it would take to charge a car (30 mins!)

RFID cards - Radio-frequency identification cards

Used to pay for some public charging stations; they may come with advantages such as discounted charging and the ability to pay in low-signal areas

RPH - Range per hour

The maximum range of miles that a charge point can produce in an hour