Do you own an electric vehicle (EV) or are you considering purchasing an EV? It may be bewildering at first with the sheer amount of jargon used within the industry. As a renewable energy company, we pride ourselves in using a non-jargon approach and we don’t want to leave you confused. We have created a jargon buster for when you may be doing your research.

Types of EVs

BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle)

Instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs), the vehicle is propelled by an electric motor and a motor controller. They have no internal combustion engine, fuel cell, or gasoline tank because they get all of their power from battery packs.

Hybrid

These cars combine an electric motor with an internal combustion engine (sometimes known as an ICE) that both charges the batteries and provides power when needed.

PHEVs

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles are almost identical to standard hybrids, except they can also be charged via a mains connection.

FCVs

Fuel Cell Vehicles aren’t as widespread yet, but they use a fuel cell rather than a battery. Most of these vehicles use hydrogen as their main fuel source.

Currents

AC/DC (Alternating Current / Direct Current)

So you may be thinking of the rock band … but AC is an electric current in which the flow of electric charge alternates direction regularly, and DC is a type of electric current in which the flow of electric charge is constant.

Charging

Fast Charger

Fast chargers can supply charges to EVs between 7 and 22 kilowatts, and depending on the manufacturer and connection, your car can be charged in three to four hours!

Rapid Charger

So you thought the fast charger was fast … Rapid charging can charge the average EV battery in under an hour!

Supercharger

This refers to the Tesla Supercharger. They can be found in cities at motorway stations, charging vehicles in less than two hours.

Batteries

Lithium-Ion

This battery is used in most EVs today. The life of a lithium battery is estimated at 8-10 years.

Solid State

This is a type of battery that uses both solid electrodes and solid electrolytes (but don’t worry about that!). This is an exciting development within EV technology as they are a lot smaller than lithium batteries and cheaper (win, win).

Incentives

The stuff we all REALLY want to know …

Homecharge Scheme

This is a great scheme for those of you wanting to install an at-home charge point. This scheme can provide funding up to 75% towards the cost of installation.

OLEV

Office for Low Emission Vehicles is the new government body that manages the UK's EV incentives.

Plug-In Grant

This scheme can offer 25% off a new electric car’s list price up to £5,000.

Workplace Charging Scheme

This grant can provide support towards the up-front costs of the purchase and installation of EV charge points.

If you are interested in any of these incentives … then get in touch with SolarCentric today.