EV charger jargon buster

Many of our customers are new to the EV market. This may be their first electric or hybrid vehicle or they may just be putting some feelers out to check it's right for them. We understand that which is why we will always talk them through the technical side of the charging.  Not everyone knows the difference between tethered and untethered, let alone what a 3-phase supply or head fuse are.  So to try and clear some confusion, here is a bit of an EV charging jargon buster for you!

Untethered or tethered

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Universal or untethered[/caption]An untethered or universal charge point is a socket, not like a plug socket in the house, but one that uses a public charging cable so drivers plug in their public charging cable. These units are universal meaning you can charge any make and model of electric and hybrid vehicle, provided you have the correct type 1 or type 2 charging cable.[caption id="attachment_1782" align="alignleft" width="88"]

Tethered unit[/caption]A tethered charge point has either a type 1 or a type 2 charging cable attached. Drivers will unwrap the cable and plug it into their vehicle to charge then remove once charged.

Type 1 or type 2

Type 1 is a five pin plug that features a clip. This is mostly found on vehicle brands such as Mitsubishi, older style Nissan Leaf, VauxhallType 2 is a seven pin plug with one flat edge and is the most common connector type found in Tesla, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, VW and many more.

3.6kW, 7.2kW or 22kW

Most households have a single phase electricity supply which is only suitable for a 3.6kW (16A) or a 7.4kW (32A) charge point.3.6kW will charge very slowly so my be more suited to a plug in hybrid.7.2kW will charge 3 times faster than a 3-pin household plug and is recommended as a way of future proofing your EV charging capability at home.22kW  is only available if you have a 3-phase supply at home. This is expensive to have installed and since most charging takes place overnight, it's worth weighing up the cost of upgrading your supply against the benefits of the faster charging time.

Head Fuse/main incoming fuse

You may be asked what size your head fuse is. This is the fuse that delivers power to your home and most domestic supplies have either a 60/80A or 100A  head fuse. We may ask which high powered items you have running in your home to determine your supply capability. For instance an induction hob, electric shower and hot tub all use a lot of power and if you were to charge a vehicle at the same time as using these and your head fuse was only 60A, it would overload your supply. During the remote survey stage, we may advise you apply for a head fuse upgrade before we can install an EV charge point.