FAQ

1. CHAdeMO

Standing for “Charge de Move,” CHAdeMO was designed by a collection of carmakers industry groups, primarily in Japan. Manufacturers like Nissan and Mitsubishi tend to use the CHAdeMO standard.

2. CCS

Designed as an “open industry standard,” vehicle manufacturers around the world use the Combined Charging System or CCS connector, but they are most often associated with North American and European automakers. In North America, all newly manufactured passenger EVs (except Tesla) will use the CCS connector.

3. Tesla – NACS

Tesla connectors are found exclusively in Tesla cars. Because Tesla was one of the first EVs to market with fast charging, they designed their own connector.

NACS is an EV connector type and stands for North American Charging Standard. The NACS connector is most commonly associated with Tesla and works for both AC and DC charging.

4. J1772

This connector is used for “Level 1” and “Level 2” AC charging. Level 1 and Level 2 charging are considerably slower than DC Fast Charging, and are primarily meant for charging over a few hours (like at home or at work). The SAE J1772 connector (also known as “J Plug”) is used by all EVs except Tesla for AC charging (Tesla vehicles come with an adapter to use this connector).

AC Charging: AC stands for alternating current and is a type of power most commonly used for EV charging. Level 1 in North America and Level 2 in North America or Europe home and public chargers both use AC power.

AC Level 2: A charger that uses a 240-volt alternating-current (AC) electrical circuit to deliver electricity to the EV.

Adapter: An EV adapter allows an EV to connect to different types of EV chargers. For example, Teslas can use adapters to connect to other types of EV chargers.

AER (All-electric range): All-electric range is an EV’s maximum driving range using its battery.

BEV (Battery electric vehicle): A BEV is an EV that runs only on electricity. BEVs provide the greatest cost and environmental benefits.

CCS (Combo): CCS stands for combined charging standard, a set of charging standards commonly used for fast charging.

CHAdeMO: CHAdeMO is a type of DC fast charging connector. Tesla public fast chargers use CHAdeMO adapters.

Charger: A device with one or more charging ports and connectors for charging EVs. A charger is also called electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) or EV charger.

Charging Curve: Charging curves visually show how much energy an EV battery takes in over time while charging. Charging rates generally slow down as batteries get closer to a full charge – which is why it’s good to charge your EV to 80% most of the time.

Charging Network Provider: The entity that operates the digital communication network that remotely manages the chargers. Charging Network Providers may also serve as Charging Station Operators and/or manufacture chargers.

Charging Network: A collection of chargers located on one or more property(ies) that are connected via digital communications to manage the facilitation of payment, the facilitation of electrical charging, and any related data requests.

Charging Port: The system within a charger that charges one (1) EV. A charging port may have multiple connectors, but it can only provide power to charge one EV through one connector at a time.

Charging Rate: Charging rate refers to how long it takes to charge an EV. Battery size, station power, and state of charge all affect charging rate.

Charging Station Operator: The entity that operates and maintains the chargers and supporting equipment and facilities at one or more charging stations. This is sometimes called a Charge Point Operator (CPO). In some cases, the Charging Station Operator and the Charging Network Provider are the same entity.

Charging Station: One or more EV chargers at a common location. A large site can have multiple charging stations, such as in various parking lots and parking garages.

Combined Charging System (CCS): A standard connector interface that allows direct current fast chargers to connect to, communicate with, and charge EVs.

Connector: The device that attaches EVs to charging ports to transfer electricity. Multiple connectors and connector types (such as J1772, CHAdeMO, Tesla NACS, and CCS) can be available on one charging port, but only one vehicle will charge at a time. Connectors are sometimes called plugs.

Contactless Payment Methods: A secure method for consumers to purchase services using a debit, credit, smartcard, or another payment device by using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and near-field communication (NFC).

DC Quick Charging (DCQC): This is another abbreviation for DC fast charging.

Direct Current Fast Charger (DCFC): A charger that uses a 3-phase, 480-volt alternating-current (AC) electrical circuit to enable rapid charging through delivering a direct-current (DC) electricity to the EV.

Electric Vehicle (EV): An automotive vehicle that is either partially or fully powered by electricity.

Hybrid: A hybrid vehicle runs on both an internal combustion engine (ICE) and a small electric battery.

ICE (Internal Combustion Engine): ICE vehicles are old-fashioned cars that run by burning fossil fuels or other liquids. While still the dominant vehicle, they are quickly being replaced by EVs for cost and environmental benefits.

ICEd: When an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle parks in an EV charging spot and prevents an EV driver from charging, an EV driver has been “ICEd.”

Kilowatt (kW): A kilowatt is a measure of power or the rate at which energy is used. Kilowatts influence the speed of EV charging. It represents 1000 watts.

Kilowatt-hour (kWh): A kilowatt-hour is a measure of energy use over time and is used to track the amount of energy added to an EV battery while charging. More kWh means more energy for an EV to run on. EV battery capacity is measured in KWh.

Level 1 (L1): In North America, Level 1 (L1) AC charging is the slowest type of EV charging. Level 1 requires no special equipment and can connect to a standard wall outlet delivering AC power.

Level 2 (L2): Level 2 (L2) AC charging is the intermediate type of EV charging. Many EVs use Level 2 charging at home and in public.

Level 3 (L3): Level 3 (L3) DC charging is the fastest type of EV charging. EVs can use Level 3 charging in public when going long distances or when time is scarce.

Miles of range per hour (RPH): Miles of range per hour or RPH refers to an estimate of how far an EV can travel on one hour of charging.

NACS: NACS is an EV connector type and stands for North American Charging Standard. The NACS connector is most commonly associated with Tesla and works for both AC and DC charging.

Networked Charging: Networked charging is when an EV charger is connected to a larger smart network of EV chargers, unlike standalone EV chargers that are not part of a broader EV charging network.

Open Charge Point Protocol: An open-source communication protocol that governs the communication between chargers and the charging networks that remotely manage the chargers.

PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle): PHEVs run on both gas engines and electric batteries. Some PHEVs first run on electricity and then switch to gas when electricity runs out. Others use both simultaneously. PHEVs are not as efficient as BEVs but offer more environmental and cost benefits than hybrids.

Plug and Charge: A method of initiating charging, whereby EV charging customers plug a connector into their vehicle and their identity is authenticated, a charging session initiates, and a payment is transacted automatically, without any other customer actions required at the point of use.

Port: A port is where a station’s connector plugs into an EV to charge. The different types of connector plugs all have corresponding ports.

Public Charging: Public charging refers to EV charging stations available to people away from home. Popular public charging stations can be found at parks, libraries, grocery stores and on the road. Use an app like ChargePoint to find public charging stations right for your EV and location.

Range Anxiety: Range anxiety refers to the fear people switching from ICE vehicles to EVs have about running out of electricity on the road. New EV drivers quickly discover that running on electricity is not that different from running on gas as batteries and tanks both have reasonable limits for drivers.

Real-Time Availability: Real-time availability refers to immediate knowledge of charging station availability in an EV charger affiliated app or an industry app like Plugshare.

Regenerative Braking: Regenerative braking refers to when an EV captures the energy from a driver pressing the brakes or letting up on the accelerator. EVs capture and use this energy to charge their batteries.

RFID Card: An RFID (radio frequency identification) card, such as a ChargePoint card, allows EV drivers to connect, charge and pay when needed at public charging stations. While not as convenient as charging apps like ChargePoint, RFID cards are a good backup.

Site: A parcel of land bounded by a property line or a designated portion of a public right-of-way.

Smart Charging: Smart charging refers to chargers that are connected to a network. The network allows the chargers to be managed remotely and unlocks smart features like pricing, access control for specific groups of drivers or scheduling charging at times when energy costs are low.

State of Charge (SOC): The state of charge refers to the percentage of charge for an EV battery. For example, 0% is empty and 80% is functionally full to preserve an EV battery’s lifespan.

Tap to Charge: Tap to Charge is ChargePoint’s proprietary app feature that enables EV drivers to begin charging instantly at certain EV charging stations.

Top-off: A fun way to describe finishing charging your EV, not unlike completing the fill up of a gas tank that was nearly full to begin with.

Turtle: An EV turtles when its battery runs low by reducing speed to save energy. An EV’s ability to turtle provides drivers with peace of mind on long-distance trips, although running out of battery is very rare as most EVs will remind drivers repeatedly to charge.

Vehicle Charging Space: A space to park a vehicle for charging. A vehicle charging space can be a marked parking space, or an unmarked area adjacent to an EV charger.

Volts/Amps/Power: Different ways to measure and describe the electrical current that charges your EV.

ZEV (Zero-Emission Vehicle): Zero-emission vehicles are cars that emit no greenhouse gasses. Full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are Zero-Emission Vehicles.

Yes! There are already enough EV chargers installed to meet your road trip needs, you still need to plan ahead and pinpoint the EV chargers along your route. We at Natron EV Solutions are working diligently to expand charger availability to minimize any inconvenience to over the road EV travelers.

Excessive DC fast charging can negatively impact EV battery performance and durability. Compared to standard charging, eight years of fast charging would take approximately 10% off of the EV battery life. While DCFC is convenient and at times absolutely necessary, this method of charging should be utilized only when essential.

To answer that question, we first have to understand the vehicle’s battery. When most people imagine a car battery, they might imagine one big block sitting inside the car. In reality, inside a “battery pack” are hundreds — and often thousands — of smaller battery cells. As a result, when a battery charges, those thousands of cells are actually what’s being charged.

A helpful analogy might be to imagine sitting in a movie theater. When the theater is empty, it’s easy to find a seat right away. But as the theater fills up, we have to take a few moments to find a seat. That’s what happens with battery cells at the molecular level. When the battery cells are nearly empty, it’s easy to “find a seat” to charge. But as the battery cells fill up, it takes more time to find (and navigate) the empty cells. Generally, above 80% full is when it’s hardest for electrons to find a seat in your battery’s movie theater.

When an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle parks in an EV charging spot and prevents an EV driver from charging, an EV driver has been “ICEd.”

An EV turtles when its battery runs low by reducing speed to save energy. An EV’s ability to turtle provides drivers with peace of mind on long-distance trips, although running out of battery is very rare as most EVs will remind drivers repeatedly to charge.