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AFV - Alternative Fuel Vehicle

Any vehicle that doesn’t use petrol or diesel as its primary fuel source.

BEV - Battery Electric Vehicle

An electric vehicle which solely relies on battery power and is recharged once plugged into a chargepoint.

CCS-Combined Charging Stand

Similar to CHAdeMo, a CCS connector has additional connections on the bottom of the

plug and is only used for batteries capable of rapid charging.

CHAdeMO- Charge de Move

A Direct Current (DC) charging system which can be used for rapidly charging an EV.

Clean Air Zones

Electric cars are currently exempt from paying to enter Clean Air Zones (CAZ) and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

Most zones operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and the charging period runs from midnight to midnight. The rates outside of London vary between the zones, but can be paid by visiting the clean air zone section of the governments website. There are also a variety of rules and exemptions.

CPMS – Chargepoint Management System

A back-end system that helps chargepoint operators to optimise the connected chargepoints.

CPO – Chargepoint Operator

A business that operates public or private charging infrastructure.

Current Transformer (CT Clamp)

Monitors the total load in amps used by a property and can temporarily reduce the power available to the EV charger in order to keep the overall load within safe limits.

E-REV - Extended Range Electric Vehicle

Sometimes known as a Range-extended Electric Vehicle (REX), E-REV vehicles have a plug-in battery and an electric motor, as well as an internal combustion engine.

EV - Electric Vehicle

Most commonly used to refer to a vehicle which is 100% electric, the term is sometimes extended to describe any vehicle that uses electricity as its primary source of power.

EV Chargepoint Grant

A government grant that provides funding of up to 75% towards the cost of installing a smart chargepoint at a residential address.

EV Infrastructure Grant for Staff and Fleets

A government grant available to small-to-medium sized businesses to support the installation of new charging infrastructure in commercial car parks.

EVHS - Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme

A government grant scheme which subsidised the cost of purchasing and installing an electric charge point at home. This scheme was replaced by the EV chargepoint grant in April 2022.

EVSE - Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment

A unit which recharges electric vehicles. It can also be known as a charging station, recharging point or charge/charging point.

Fast Charging

A chargepoint defined as ‘fast’ will charge at speeds of 7-22kW; which is the maximum possible at most residential properties.

FCEV - Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle

Rather than relying on a battery, a FCEV converts hydrogen into electricity and emits only air and water. Also known as FCV or HFCV (Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle).

HEV - Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Hybrids have both a battery and an internal combustion engine. Full hybrids can run on electric power alone, whereas the battery in a mild hybrid simply assists the ICE engine in certain situations. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) can be charged from an external power source and have a bigger battery than a full hybrid.

ICE Vehicle

Any vehicle which uses an internal combustion engine, i.e. petrol or diesel powered.

Key Date: 2030

The sale of new petrol or diesel only cars and vans (up to 3.5t) will be banned but new hybrids that are capable of driving a ‘significant’ number of miles with no tailpipe emissions can still be sold.

Key Date: 2035

The exemption for hybrid vehicles will end, meaning that all new cars and vans (up to 3.5t) must have zero tailpipe emissions.

Key Date: 2035 (1)

New trucks up to and including 26t must produce zero carbon emissions, however some exemptions may apply.

Key Date: 2040

Subject to consultation, all new Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are required to have zero emission at the point of use.

kWh – Kilowatt Hours

A measure used to describe an electric vehicle’s battery capacity. Batteries with a higher kWh rating will have a larger capacity and enable the vehicle to travel further between charges.

LIB-Lithium-ion or Li-Ion Battery

A type of rechargeable battery used in almost all electric vehicles and many of other portable electric devices.

Load Balancing

A system that ensures power can be appropriately and safely allocated to chargers based on the charging needs of an entire site. This can be dynamically adjusted or using pre-set rules.

MPGe - Miles Per Gallon Equivalent

A measure of the average distance per unit of energy consumed. It can be used to compare ICE vehicles with EVs.

OZEV – The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles

A government team which works across departments to support the transition to Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). OZEV was formerly known as the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

Rapid Charging

Rapid chargepoints will charge at speeds of 25kW-99kW, however they cannot be installed at a residential address. A 50kW charger would typically take around an hour for an 80% charge.

Slow Charging

Charging at speeds of 3-6kW, these chargepoints are used for vehicles that can be parked up for long periods of time or overnight.

Smart Charger

Smart chargers can send and receive data over the internet and can intelligently manage when and how a vehicle is charged in order to save money, balance needs, or use more renewable energy.

SOC - State of Charge

A general term used when referring to a battery’s level of charge.

Solid State Batteries

Solid state batteries use electrodes and a solid electrolyte and have the potential to significantly improve both charge times and vehicle ranges.

Tethered

Chargepoints can be either tethered or untethered. Tethered chargers have a cable which is permanently attached, untethered chargers use detachable cables.

Type 2

This is the standard type of connector and is used for nearly all new EVs. Most home and public chargers have a Type 2 inlet.

Types of Clean Air Zones

There are four main types of clean air zone, Class A to D. Cars are in Class D and vans in Classes C and D. The following cities currently operate a Class C or D CAZ:

Greater Manchester’s CAZ is currently under review and Aberdeen, Dundee, and Edinburgh operate Low Emission Zones (LEZ), however they will not actually start charging until 2024. Glasgow’s scheme will be enforced from 1 June 2023.

London’s ULEZ operates every day, except Christmas Day, and currently covers all areas within (but not including) the North and South Circular roads. This will be expanded across all London boroughs from 29 August 2023. The introduction of Zero Emission Zones is also being explored.

The cost of entering London’s ULEZ for cars, motorcycles, vans and specialist vehicles (up to and including 3.t) and minibuses (up to and including 5t) which fail to meet the ULEZ standard is £12.50 and the charge can be paid by visiting the TFL website.

ULEV - Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles

Any car or van emitting 75g/km CO₂ or less.

Ultra-rapid Charging

A chargepoint defined as ‘ultra-rapid’ will charge at speeds of 100kW+ and can charge an EV (depending on model) to 80% in around 10-15 minutes.

Vehicle to Grid (V2G)

The process of selling excess power from your vehicle’s battery back to the grid to help support peak-time demand for electricity.

Vehicle to Home (V2H)

Similar to V2G but, instead of sending excess power back to the grid, it is made available for use elsewhere in your home, or another building connected to the chargepoint.

WCS – Workplace Charging Scheme

A government scheme for businesses, charities, and public sector bodies; providing up to 75% towards the cost of purchasing and installing EV chargepoints.

WLTP - Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure

A method of testing emissions and fuel/energy consumption by using real-world data based on different driving and braking phases. It replaces the older and less accurate NEDC.

ZEV – Zero Emission Vehicles

Any vehicle which doesn’t produce pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions through the tailpipe.