We appreciate the world of EV charging is full of acronyms, terms and jargon. 

In this guide, we try to simplify the jargon and answer the most common questions. 

What do I need to charge my EV at home? 

This depends on your daily mileage. Most people charge whilst parked at home overnight . 

A charger that plugs into a 3 pin domestic socket  will give approximately 90 to 95 miles of range during a 12 hour overnight charge (for example, 7pm to 7am).

If you do less than 90 miles in your daily commute, a 3 pin portable charger is perfectly adequate for your needs.  

If your daily commute/mileage is more than 90 miles then you may want to consider a more powerful 7kW charger (240 miles of range in 12 hours ). The costs involved in purchasing the 7kW charger are higher at around £1,000+ fully installed. 

I want to charge at my local supermarket/public parking or service station. What cable do I need?

The chargers found at public car parks, service stations and supermarkets all have a universal socket outlet which is common/standard across the UK and Europe.

All our cables and coiled cables (except tethered cables) have a connector at one end that fits this universal standard perfectly. 

All you need to do is select the correct cable type for your vehicle (see below).

What is Type 1 and Type 2 and what do I need for my vehicle? 

Type 1 and Type 2 refer to the shape of the plug/connector used to charge your electric vehicle.

More than 95% of vehicles sold in the UK use a Type 2 plug/connector. 

Only a few vehicles use a Type 1 plug/connector. The most popular models using Type 1 plug/connectors are Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan Leaf pre 2018.

Pretty much all other vehicles (with a few limited exceptions- see table at the end of this guide) use a Type 2 plug/connector.

I keep seeing 2, 7, 22, 50kW (kilowatts) what does this mean?

This means the amount of electricity/charge your vehicle will receive in a given period of time. 

The table below translates this jargon into the range added to your vehicle for each hour of charging.  

2.3kW - approximately 8 miles of range per hour of charge

7kW - approximately 20 miles of range per hour of charge

22kW - approximately 60 miles of range per hour of charge

50kW - approximately 120 miles of range per hour of charge

Not all EVs will take high charge rates. Most EVs take at least 7kW of charge and as the EV industry develops higher charge rates are becoming more and more common.

What does 16 and 32 amp mean?

Think of your EV cable as a pipe.

A 32 amp cable is in effect a larger pipe with a bigger diameter than a 16 amp cable and can carry more electricity giving a higher and therefore faster charge rate.  

What length cable do I need?

This depends on your needs.

The longer the cable the more versatile you can be in charging, for example with a 15 metre cable if someone is parked in a charging bay you can park in another bay and still charge.

The shorter the cable the less weight to carry and space to lose in your vehicle.

                                                                                                                                     

The above is a very basic guide that answers most common questions asked but not all. 

If you have another question please call us on - 0333 577 3836 or email us at sales@ev-extras.com we would be pleased to assist.  

Vehicles that use a Type1 plug/ connector

Chevrolet Spark
Chevrolet Volt
Citroen C-Zero
Dynamo Taxi
Fiat 500
Fisker Karma
Ford C-Max
Ford Focus Electric
Ford Transit
Kia Soul EV
Mitsubishi-I Miev
Mitsubishi Outlander Phev
Nissan Leaf 2012 - 2017
Nissan NV200 SE Van
Peugeot Galicia
Peugeot Ion
Peugeot Partner
Renault Fluence
Renault Kangoo
Tata Indica Vista EV
Toyota Auris
Toyota Prius pre-2017