New to the world of EVs and EV charging? There are a few key terms you should know. In this blog, we’ll simplify essential EV terminology to help you understand how electric vehicles and their charging systems work. From batteries to charging, this quick guide is designed to make EV technology easy to grasp for people who want to know more about EVs and EV charging.

List of Basic Electric Vehicle Terms that you should know

A

AC (Alternating Current): A form of electric current that consumers use when they plug in kitchen appliances, fans, televisions, etc.

Amp (Short for Ampere): Unit used to measure electric current.

B

Battery: The battery is the energy center of the EV and is recharged by plugging the EV into a charging point.

Battery Pack: The battery system in an EV, is composed of modules, high-voltage hardware & protective features.

BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle): BEVs are vehicles that utilize the energy stored in rechargeable battery packs.

Battery Management System: An electronic system within the vehicle that manages & protects the battery.

C

Charging: EVs require an EV charger to keep the battery full, just like any chargeable device. This process is called charging.

Charging Point: A piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging EVs.

Charging Station: A facility with one or more electrical outlets for recharging the batteries of EVs.

CCS (Combined Charging System): It is a standard for charging EVs with AC & DC. Both AC & DC vehicle connectors can be charged via the vehicle inlet. It is a European standard connector now used globally.

CSMS (Charging Station Management Software): A system built for managing, controlling & optimizing the EV charging process.

Captive Charging Station: an exclusive facility for charging of EVs owned or controlled by the owner of the charging station or governed by him under a business agreement. 

Central Nodal Agency: Central Nodal Agency is responsible for the rollout of public EV charging infrastructure across the country. 

Charge Point Operator (CPO): any individual/entity operating the EV Charging Station. 

Charger Management System (CMS):  a system used by fleet operators, charge point operators, and others, to monitor and optimize electric vehicle charging operations. 

Community Charging Station:  semi-public charging station installed at Group Housing Societies or other residential accommodations where only residents or authorized visitors can get their EV charged.

D

DC (Direct Current): One-directional flow of electric charge. Fast chargers for EVs make use of DC.

DC Fast Charging: Offers accelerated charging away from home, primarily available at public charging stations. This type of charging allows for high power transfer and faster recharges.

E

EV (Electric Vehicle):  any vehicle propelled, partly or wholly, by an electric motor drawing current from a rechargeable storage battery, other portable energy storage devices, or other self-generating electric source, 

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI):  Network of charging stations catering to diverse EV charging requirements and includes components such as EVSE, connection to DISCOM’s supply system including electricity meter, Power Management System for energy optimization, energy distribution, grid stability and renewables integration, Communication network to assist data exchange in real-time and remotely manage EV charging stations, cables, connectors, RFID tags, software applications, circuit breakers, solar panels (if connected), civil work, smart meter, transformer, etc.

 Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE): element in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) that supplies electric energy for recharging the battery of electric vehicle

F

FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle): A type of EV that uses a fuel cell instead of a battery, or in combination with a battery.

G

Green House Gases: Conventional vehicles emit greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide & methane). These are the ultimate causes of global warming.

Grid: Electricity supply mechanism. The EV ultimately draws power from the grid.

Group Housing Society (GHS): a building unit constructed or to be constructed with one or more floors having more than two dwelling units having common service facilities where land is owned jointly (as in the case of co-operative societies or the public agencies, such as local authorities or housing boards, etc.) 

H

HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle): An HEV utilizes a dual system of electric propulsion & an internal combustion engine.

Home charging: Plugging your EV when it is parked at home (typically overnight). A dedicated home charging point is the safest way of doing this.

I

ICE (Internal Combustion Engine): An engine powered by fuel in the form of petrol or diesel.

Incentives: Governments offer benefits to encourage buyers to choose an EV.

K

kW (kilowatt): A unit of electric power.

kWh (kilowatt-hour): The basic measurement of an EV’s energy – how much power (kilowatts) it can supply over a period of time (hours).

L

Lithium-ion battery: Also known as a Li-ion, it is a common rechargeable battery.

Level 1 charging: Charging your EV using a common household outlet up to 120v. Level 1 is the slowest method of charging and can take up to 24 hours to fully charge your EV.

Level 2 charging: Charge your EV at 240v using an installed outlet. Level 2 chargers are the most recommended chargers for EV owners.

Level 3 charging: Also known as DC charging, the fastest method of charging for all EVs. It can fully charge an EV battery in about half an hour.

N

Network Service Provider (NSP): with respect to any electronic record is an intermediary which receives, stores transmits, or provides any service with respect to that record. This includes telecom service providers, internet service providers, web-hosting service providers, search engines, online payment sites, online auction sites, online places, and cyber cafes. 

O

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer): A manufacturer of vehicles, vehicle parts & related services. Usually, the term is used for EV manufacturers.

Off-peak charging: Charging your electric vehicle at low-cost off-peak hours (usually at night).

OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol): A protocol of communication between EV charging stations & charging management systems (even when produced by different vendors). 

 Open Access: It means non-discriminatory provision for the use of transmission lines or distribution systems or associated facilities with such lines or systems by any licensee or consumer or a person engaged in generation in accordance with the regulations specified by the Appropriate Commission.

Open Automated Demand Response (Open ADR): It is an open, highly secure, and two-way information exchange model and Smart Grid standard to standardize, automate, and simplify Demand Response (DR) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) to enable utilities and aggregators to cost-effectively manage growing energy demand & decentralized energy production, and customers to control their energy future

Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI): a communication protocol that supports information exchange between multiple network service providers (NSPs) and charge point operators to enable automated roaming between public charging networks for the ease of EV charging. 

 Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP): an open protocol used for communication between EVSE and the Charger Management system. 

P

PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle): A hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external power source.

Public charging: Charging infrastructure in public spaces accessible to everyone.

PM E-Drive: PM E-Drive, or the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement, is a scheme by the government. It provides INR 36.79 billion in incentives to promote battery-powered two-wheelers, three-wheelers, ambulances, trucks, and other advanced EVs.

 Public Charging Station (PCS): EV charging station where any electric vehicle can get its battery recharged, without access restriction.

R

Range: The total distance an EV can travel on one full charge before the battery needs to be recharged.

Range anxiety: Stress caused due to the fear that an electric car will run out of battery power before the destination is reached.

Regenerative braking: A method of breaking used by an EV in which energy generated from the braking of the vehicle is stored and used.

Roaming: Roaming for EV charging enables drivers to charge their EVs with charging stations of different networks, using a single account.

S

SoC (State of Charge): The level of charge of an electric battery relative to its capacity.

Smart Charging: It is a way to optimize the charging process according to distribution grid constraints, utilization of renewable energy sources, and customer preference. This helps reduce transformer overloading requirements for enhancing the capability of the grid and mitigating voltage fluctuation in grids having high penetration of renewable energy sources. Smart charging includes bi-directional vehicle-to-grid integration

State Nodal Agency (SNA): an agency designated by the government for the rollout of Public EV Charging Infrastructure in the state. 

T

Top-up charging: Make use of the time your EV is not in use to add charge to your battery (usually when outside).

U

Unified Energy Interface (UEI): a standard and interoperable network based on open source Beck Protocol, which facilitates interoperability among charging networks, flexible demand response, grid services, and cloud storage. 

V

V2G (Vehicle to grid): A system that allows Electric Vehicles to communicate with the power grid to manage the flow of electricity in either direction.

W

Watt: The basic measurement of electrical power.

Z

Zero emission: Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, or process that emits no greenhouse gas.