Electric vehicle jargon buster
Team Egg | 01/04/2022
Head feeling scrambled? We know the world of EVs and renewables can be pretty overwhelming, and that’s really not very on-brand for us here at Egg. So we’ve compiled a jargon buster for you, explaining all the terms that you may find useful to know in your transition to clean energy.
At a Glance
Find out more about the different types of charging for your electric vehicle
And get to know what all those pesky acronyms mean
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