Beginner's Guide to Electric Cars
With every car manufacturer racing to follow Tesla and get in on the electric vehicle craze, they're becoming an increasingly common sight on our roads. Here's a basic beginner's guide to electric cars to help you get up to speed.
What Electric-Car Terms Should You Know?
Motor Power: Most power quotes are in horsepower but for EVs it's also sometimes expressed in kilowatts, and one kilowatt is equal to 1.34 horsepower.
Battery Capacity: Battery capacity is usually measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), this is the time in hours over which a battery can output power in kilowatts. Battery capacity is also usually expressed in usable capacity rather than the gross capacity as automakers include buffers to prevent the battery from completely charging and discharging.
Home Charging: There are 2 types of home charging, level 1 and level 2. Level 1 charging uses a 120-volt wall outlet, and level 2 charging uses a more powerful 240-volt circuit and requires dedicated charging equipment.
DC Fast Charging: The quickest type of charging is known as DC fast charging, it's intended to support EVs travelling for long-distances and they're usually found at large charging stations near highways.
Charging Rate: The rate at which an EV can recharge is measured in kilowatts (kW). Level 1 and 2 runs from about 1.0 to 19.2 kW, and level 3 chargers usually range from 50 kW to 350 kW.
Vehicle to Load: Also known as bidirectional charging, it allows a vehicle to export electricity from their battery to power anything they want, making it a handy generator to use.
Source: Car and Driver
Here's an infographic showing some basic information you need to know about electric cars:
Comments