Glossary of EV terms

Alternating Current. An electric current that regularly reverses direction - the type of power that comes from power stations to homes and businesses

All-Electric Range, the range any EV is able to reach solely using electricity

Alternative Fuel Vehicle, a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than petrol or diesel

Short for ampere, is a unit of electrical current

Battery Electric Vehicle, a vehicle that runs purely on electric power, stored in an on-board battery that is charged from mains electricity (typically at a dedicated chargepoint)

An electronic system within the Vehicle that manages and protects the battery

Charge Circuit Interrupting Device, a safety protection component within a charging station that reduces the chance of a person getting an electric shock

Combined Charging System, is the DC rapid or super-rapid charger connector/plug you’re most likely to use in the UK and Europe

Congestion Charge Zone, a traffic reducing policy applied by large towns and cities

A type of connector used on rapid or super-rapid DC chargers

Charging preference that automatically charges your car according to the preferences you input (e.g. EV charging will begin at 22:00 and stop at 06:00)

Slow, or Mode 2 charging, maximum 2.3kW from a domestic 3-pin socket.
Fast, or Mode 3 charging, typically maximum charging of 7.4kW using a dedicated home charging point (single phase domestic electricity supplies). Mode 3 22kW chargers are available, but these are limited to home or workplaces with three-phase power supplies only.
Rapid and Super Rapid, or Mode 4 charging, uses DC current to charge at 22-100+ kW. Typically these destination chargers are found at motorway services, supermarkets or shopping malls

Location where electric vehicles can be plugged in and charged

Direct current, An electric current that flows in one direction. DC is used in low voltage applications such as charging batteries, solar panels and automotive applications for fast charging Electric Vehicles 

Rapid and Super Rapid, or Mode 4 charging, uses DC current to charge at 22-100+ kW.   Typically found at motorway services, supermarkets or shopping malls

Electric Vehicle, a broad category that includes all vehicles that are fully powered by electricity or an electric motor

The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme, the UK Government grant scheme providing up to 75% of the cost to install electric vehicle chargepoints, which came to an end in April 2022 for homeowners.  The scheme remains open to homeowners who live in flats, or those in rental accommodation (flats and single use properties)

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment. Infrastructure designed to supply power to EVs, such as home charging points or destination chargers

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, an EV which uses a hydrogen fuel cell to power its electric motor. The fuel cells create the electricity to power the car

Or Mode 3 charging, typically maximum charging of 7.4kW using a dedicated home charging point (single phase domestic electricity supplies). Mode 3 22kW chargers are available, but these are limited to home or workplaces with three-phase power supplies only

A 100% fossil fuelled hybrid car. The most common is the Toyota Prius. A small battery is charged through regenerative braking that generates some electric power in combination with a combustion engine, but the car’s energy originates from petrol. The electric motor can only power the car for short periods at low speeds

Green House Gas, a gas such as Carbon Dioxide that contributes to global warming through the absorption of infrared radiation

a Government scheme providing a % discount to incentivise the purchase of electric vehicles and chargers

Hybrid Electric Vehicle (Hybrid), a vehicle that runs off a rechargeable battery and an internal combustion engine

Internal Combustion Engine, conventional mechanical engines using fossil fuel power (Petrol and Diesel)

Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle, fossil fuel powered vehicles (Petrol and Diesel) using conventional mechanical engines

Also known as CHAdeMO, is a method developed to quickly charge Electric Vehicles through the use of a special adapter/plug

Kilowatt, a unit of electric power (equal to 1000 Watts of power), the most common measure of power in an EV

Kilowatt Hour, s unit of energy equivalent to the energy transferred in one hour by one thousand watts of power. Electric car batteries are typically measured in kilowatt hours. 1 kilowatt hour is typically 3-4 miles of range in a BEV

American terms, the equivalent to British and European Slow, Fast and Rapid charging

A common type of rechargeable battery used in EVs, HEVs and PHEVs

Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle. The most common is the Toyota Prius. A small battery is charged through regenerative braking that generates some electric power in combination with a combustion engine, but the car’s energy originates from petrol. The electric motor can only power the car for short periods at low speeds

Miles per gallon petrol/diesel equivalent. Represent how many miles an electric vehicle is estimated to be capable of travelling on the amount of energy contained in a gallon of petrol/diesel

Temporarily disables all charge schedules and simply charges your car at full power

These modes indicate the type of charger being used and its power output - Mode 2, 3 and 4.

Slow, or Mode 2 charging, maximum 2.3kW from a domestic 3-pin socket with an inbuilt protection device and power control that emulates basic Mode 3 charger signals.
Fast, or Mode 3 charging, typically maximum charging of 7.4kW using a dedicated home charging point (single phase domestic electricity supplies).
Mode 3 22kW chargers are available, but these are limited to home or workplaces with three-phase power supplies only.
Rapid and Super Rapid, or Mode 4 charging, uses DC current to charge at 22-100+ kW. Typically, these destination chargers are found at motorway services, supermarkets or shopping malls

Miles Per Kilowatt Hour, how many miles your EV will travel per KWh of energy used 

New European Driving Cycles, an outdated test designed to assess the emission levels of car engines and fuel economy in passenger cars.  Now replaced with  WLTP.

Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, a UK Government department tasked with supporting Ultra Low Emission Vehicles, or ULEV

Charging your electrical vehicle at a lower rate during off-peak hours

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.  PHEVs contain a battery that is able to be charged with an external electric power source, PHEV’s are a mixture of all electric and combustion power

Plug-in Car Grant, one of the many terms used to reference Government grants available for the purchase of plug-in cars/vehicles

Plug-in Vehicle, a blanket term for any vehicle with a plug socket, including BEVs and PHEVs

The act of turning the charger off and on again from the main circuit breaker/consumer unit

The term given to a fear of running out of charge while driving a plug-in electric vehicle. This fear can be avoided by top-up charging wherever you park throughout the day and en-route charging on longer journeys

A type of hybrid EV that has a small petrol engine to charge the battery when range is depleted. This allows for increased range

Rapid and Super Rapid, or Mode 4 charging, uses DC current to charge at 22-100+ kW.   Typically, these destination chargers are found at motorway services, supermarkets or shopping malls

A braking system that captures energy during vehicle motion, decreasing energy waste.  Captured energy is stored in the vehicle batteries.

Typically found in most UK homes and small businesses, this is what all standard 3 pin plug sockets provide. A single-phase electricity supply can power a dedicated chargepoint up to 7kW

Or Mode 2 charging, maximum 2.3kW from a domestic 3-pin socket.  Typically charging a 60kW EV in over 26 hours.

An intelligent charging system that optimises charging connected via WiFi, or GSM (cellular telephone network).  Typically this refers to things like load balancing, energy monitoring and “managed charging”, i.e. shifting charging periods away from periods of high grid demand and/or low grid supply and to periods of low grid demand and/or high grid supply

pid and Super Rapid, or Mode 4 charging, uses DC current to charge at 22-100+ kW.   Typically, these destination chargers are found at motorway services, supermarkets or shopping malls

A super-fast charging system provided by Tesla that can provide up to 120 kW directly to the car’s battery.  Superchargers can now be used by non-Tesla branded EVs

Found on commercial and industrial sites, this provides three alternating currents and allows for 22kW AC charging. Significant three-phase power availability is also a prerequisite for DC rapid charger installation

The practice of plugging in your electric vehicle whenever you park while out and about, making use of the time your car is not in use to add charge to your battery. This helps avoid range anxiety and means you will rarely find yourself waiting for your car to charge

The slowest type of charging, often referred to as Mode 2 charging, maximum 2.3kW from a domestic 3-pin socket

A five pin plug that also features a clip, this connector is common in the US and is typically found on EVs manufactured by Asian and US brands

A seven pin plug with one flat edge, this connector is now the European standard

Ultra Low Emission Vehicle, a type of hybrid EV that has a small petrol engine to charge the battery when range is depleted. This allows for increased range

Ultra Low Emission Zone, a defined area of a town or city which has tight emission control regulations.  Typically, entry in to a ULEZ may result in a fee which is dependent on the type of vehicle you are driving, specifically petrol/diesel vehicles that do not meet newer European standards for emission control.  EVs do not pay a ULEZ charge

Is a technology that enables energy to be pushed back to the power grid from the battery of an electric car.  The main idea behind V2G is to take advantage of electric vehicle batteries when they are not used for driving, by charging and/or discharging them at appropriate times. For example, EVs can be charged to store excess renewable energy production and discharged to feed energy back into the grid during consumption peaks

Worldwide harmonized Light vehicle Test Procedure. Detailed emission and efficiency test to obtain the real world electric range of an EV

A measure of power.  1 kilowatt=1000 Watts, therefore a domestic 7.2kW electric charger = 7200 Watts of power.

A vehicle that emits no pollutants