Question 1

What types of electric cars are there?

Accepted Answer

There are a few different types of electric vehicle (EV). Some run purely on electricity, these are called pure electric vehicles. And some can also be run on petrol or diesel, these are called hybrid electric vehicles.

- Plug-in electric - This means the car runs purely on electricity and get all their power when they're plugged in to charge. They don't need petrol or diesel to run so don't produce any emissions like traditional cars.

- Plug-in hybrid - These mainly run on electricity but also have a traditional fuel engine so you can use petrol or diesel too. If you run out of charge, the car will switch to using fuel. When it's running on fuel, these cars will produce emissions but when they're running on electricity, they won't. Plug-in hybrids can be plugged in to an electricity source to recharge their battery.

- Hybrid-electric - These run mainly on fuel like petrol or diesel but also have an electric battery too, which is recharged through regenerative breaking. These let you switch between using your fuel engine and using 'EV' mode at the touch of a button. These cars cannot be plugged in to an electricity source and rely on petrol or diesel for energy.

Question 2

How to charge an EV?

Accepted Answer

You can charge an electric vehicle either by plugging it into a socket or by plugging into a charging unit. There are plenty of charging stations around the UK to stay fully charged while you're out and about. There are three types of chargers:

- Three pin plug - a standard three-pin plug that you can connect to any 13 amp socket.
- Socketed - a charge point where you can connect either a Type 1 or Type 2 cable.
- Tethered - a charge point with a cable attached with either a Type 1 or Type 2 connector.

Question 3

How long does it take to charge and electric car?

Accepted Answer

There are also three EV charging speeds:

- Slow - typically rated up to 3kW. Often used to charge overnight or at the workplace. Charging time: 8-10 hours.

- Fast - typically rated at either 7Kw or 22kW. Tend to be installed in car parks, supermarkets, leisure centres and houses with off-street parking. Charging time: 3-4 hours.

- Rapid - typically rated from 43 kW. Only compatible with EVs that have rapid charging capability. Charging time: 30-60 minutes.

Question 4

How far can you travel on one full charge?

Accepted Answer

An EVs range is dependent on the battery size (kWh). The higher the EV battery kWh, more power, the further you travel. Here are examples of how far some electric cars charge will go:

- Volkswagen e-Golf - range: 125 miles - equivalent to a journey from Bristol to Snowdonia National Park.

- Hyundai Kona Electric - range: 250 miles - equivalent to a journey from London to the Lake District.

- Jaguar I-Pace - range: 220 miles - equivalent to a journey from Edinburgh to Birmingham

Question 5

What are the inner parts of an EV?

Accepted Answer

Here's a breakdown of the parts that keep an EV moving:

Electric Motor - Provides power to rotate the wheels. It can be DC/AC type, however, AC motors are more common.

Inverter - Converts the electric current in the form of Direct Current (DC) into Alternating Current (AC)

Drivetrain - EVs have a single-speed transmission which sends power from the motor to the wheels.

Batteries - Store the electricity required to run an EV. The higher the kW of the battery, the higher the range.

Charging - Plug into an outlet or EV charging point to charge your battery.

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