EV charging 101: Let's charge

Now that you familiar with the basic terms related to electric cars, let's learn more about how to get those batteries full.

But, terminology first:

kWh = kilowatt hours

Kilowatt hours are used to narrate the amount of delivered power. The battery size of a vehicle is expressed in kWh and has an effect on the charging time and the range of the vehicle.

kW = kilowatts

The maximum charging power of a charging device is usually expressed in kilowatts. When you know the size of a battery of a car, you can easily calculate how fast a certain charger fills up your battery:

Battery size / Charging power = Charging time

Public charging

Public EV charging is a bit like fueling at gas stations. Public charging stations, sometimes also called on-route charging, are available for everybody. Stations are usually located near other services: in city centres, by shopping malls, restaurants or stores close to main roads. Stations can offer regular charging or fast charging. Different service providers offer maps for finding public charging stations: view our map on the mobile app or here. Public charging stations have a crucial role in decreasing the "range anxiety" of consumers.

Private charging

Most of the EV charging happens at home and at work. In 2017, over 85% of chargers globally were private. These stations are not available for everybody driving past. Most private charging stations are located in residential or office buildings, and maximum charging power is usually 22 kW or less, depending on the electricity capacity of the building. Private charging stations can be shared with as many EV drivers as the owner wants. When an EV driver has access to a certain private charging station, that station is visible for him/her in the mobile app.

RFID (cards and keyrings)

Many charging devices include an RFID reader. RFID is a card or a keyring connected to a certain customers' account, and with it, customers can identify themselves and start and stop charging. This happens by simply showing the RFID to the reader, usually marked on the device with a symbol:

Virta's customers can charge with the mobile app, as well as RFID cards and keyrings.

How about all those plugs and sockets then? Check out our overview of EV charging plug standards.