EV Charging Terminology

A tethered charger has a fixed charging cable permanently attached to the charge point. It is normally checked against vehicle compatibility, socket or cable arrangement, installation design and the intended user group.

Third-party platform support means the charger can connect to charge point management systems or backends other than the manufacturer's own platform, typically through an open or supported protocol such as OCPP.

Three-phase charging uses a three-phase AC supply and can support higher AC charging rates where the vehicle and charger are compatible. It is normally assessed alongside phase availability, circuit capacity, protective devices, cable sizing and DNO/site constraints.

TN-C-S earthing is an arrangement where neutral and protective functions are combined in part of the supply and separated within the installation. It is normally assessed during product selection, circuit design, installation verification and maintenance of EV charging equipment.

TN-S earthing is an arrangement where the neutral and protective earth conductors remain separate from the supply source to the installation. It is normally assessed during product selection, circuit design, installation verification and maintenance of EV charging equipment.

TT earthing is an arrangement where the installation uses its own earth electrode rather than relying on the distributor's protective conductor. It is normally assessed during product selection, circuit design, installation verification and maintenance of EV charging equipment.

Type 1 is an AC EV charging connector associated mainly with older or non-European vehicles using the SAE J1772 format. It is normally checked against vehicle compatibility, socket or cable arrangement, installation design and the intended user group.

Type 2 is the standard AC charging connector widely used for EV charging infrastructure in the UK and Europe. It is normally checked against vehicle compatibility, socket or cable arrangement, installation design and the intended user group.

A UKCA Declaration is a declaration that a product meets the applicable Great Britain requirements for placing that product on the GB market. In many cases, this declaration can be issued by the manufacturer themselves, depending on the applicable regulations and conformity assessment route.

Ultra-rapid charging describes very high-power DC charging designed for short dwell times and high energy transfer. It is normally assessed alongside charging mode, AC/DC architecture, power rating, connector type and how the charger shares or delivers power.

An untethered charger provides a socket outlet and requires the user to supply a separate charging cable. It is normally checked against vehicle compatibility, socket or cable arrangement, installation design and the intended user group.

User authentication verifies who is allowed to start, stop or access a charging session. It is normally considered alongside charge point management systems, OCPP support, firmware updates, reporting and remote diagnostics.

Vehicle-to-Building allows an EV to supply energy to a building or site load through compatible bidirectional charging equipment. It is normally assessed alongside vehicle compatibility, export permissions, grid connection requirements and the supported communication standards.

Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) is an umbrella term for bidirectional EV charging use cases where energy can flow from the vehicle to another load, building, home, grid or wider energy system. It includes V2G, V2H, V2B and V2L depending on the destination of the exported energy.

Vehicle-to-Grid allows an EV to export energy back to the electricity grid or support grid services through compatible charging equipment. It is normally assessed alongside DNO requirements, import/export limits, generation, storage and wider site energy management.

Vehicle-to-Home allows an EV to supply energy to a home through compatible bidirectional charging equipment and electrical controls. It is normally assessed alongside vehicle compatibility, export permissions, grid connection requirements and the supported communication standards.

Vehicle-to-Load allows an EV to supply power directly to external loads such as tools, equipment or appliances. It is normally assessed alongside vehicle compatibility, export permissions, grid connection requirements and the supported communication standards.

A charger designed to be fixed to a wall or similar vertical surface. It is normally checked against mounting method, exposure, durability, access requirements and the conditions at the installation location.

Warranty is the manufacturer's stated cover period and conditions for repair, replacement or support if a product develops a covered fault. It is normally used to keep manufacturer, product, support and procurement information consistent across charger listings.

A warranty extension is an optional or included increase to the standard warranty period or support cover. It is normally used to keep manufacturer, product, support and procurement information consistent across charger listings.

Wi-Fi or WLAN is wireless local area networking used to connect a charger to a router, gateway or internet connection. It is normally considered alongside site connectivity, router/modem configuration, signal availability and ongoing remote support.

Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz is a wireless frequency band commonly supported by EV chargers and routers. It is normally considered alongside site connectivity, router/modem configuration, signal availability and ongoing remote support.

Wi-Fi 5 GHz is a wireless frequency band that can provide higher throughput but often shorter range than 2.4 GHz. It is normally considered alongside site connectivity, router/modem configuration, signal availability and ongoing remote support.

Wi-Fi 6 GHz is a newer wireless frequency band associated with Wi-Fi 6E and later networking equipment. It is normally considered alongside site connectivity, router/modem configuration, signal availability and ongoing remote support.

WLAN to Ethernet describes a network arrangement where a wireless connection is bridged or converted to wired Ethernet for charger connectivity. It is normally considered alongside site connectivity, router/modem configuration, signal availability and ongoing remote support.

A worker is a device, service or software process that performs tasks under the direction of a controller, server or backend system. In modern controller-worker terminology it is commonly used as the alternative to “slave” in master-slave configurations, while in backend software it can also mean a background process that handles tasks such as messages, reports or diagnostics.

EV charging provided at offices, depots, staff car parks or commercial premises for employees, visitors or business vehicles. It is normally used to match charger features to the intended environment, utilisation pattern and user group.