A Guide To All The Names In The Electric Car Game
As we enter the world of electric vehicles and hybrids, there are certain terms and monikers thrown around that those who aren’t so familiar with these electric advancements might find confusing. After a while, it might get pretty confusing, especially if you’re looking to purchase another vehicle. That’s why Driver’s Auto Mart has developed the perfect guide to help you navigate the new lingo in this strange automotive world. Here are All The Names In The Electric Car Game.
KWH: Kilowatt Hour
Kilowatt-hour or kWh is used when addressing the capacity of a battery, and it represents the amount of energy used in one hour by one kilowatt of power. Simply put, a kilowatt is the rate of energy flow, therefore, it would be comparable to the number of gallons per minute that a gas pump could give out.
Think of a kilowatt-hour as the measure of electricity, such as a gallon. The more kilowatt-hours you have, the more electricity. If you were to go to an EV charging station for an hour, with the pump delivering one-kilowatt, it would provide your vehicle with one kilowatt-hour of electricity. The same would apply if you ran a pump with 50-kilowatts for an hour, you would have an hour worth of 50 kilowatts of electricity.
MPGe: Miles Per Gallon Equivalent
The EPA (Environment Protection Agency) introduced MPGe’s / miles per gallon equivalent to help relieve confusion over the kWh’s. Instead, it compares battery electrics and internal combustion engines on a one-to-one ratio.
Numbers are quite easy to convert, as a gallon of gasoline measures up to 33.705 kWh of electricity. Therefore, the number of miles that a battery electric can travel is the exact kWh number that the gasoline measures up to, serving as its MPGe.
Just remember, this only tells you how much distance is traveled in comparison to a car with a combustion engine, not the actual price that it would cost to charge your battery.
RPH: Range Per Hour
Ranger per hour or RPH is a unit of measurement made to determine how many miles a charger can provide in an hour. For example, if a charger says that it has 130 RPH, that’s telling you that after charging your battery electric for an hour, you’ll be able to journey on for 100 more miles. This is not, however, an indicator of how far the car can travel within an hour, it’s just the miles.
Regenerative Braking
If you’ve been looking into reviews for various battery electrics, then you’ve probably heard the term regenerative braking thrown around. This type of braking generates energy. It’s a battery that captures and stores kinetic energy from braking, which in turn, prevents the battery from losing energy as quickly.
It’s this type of braking that traditional hybrid models don’t even have to be recharged, as the motor’s battery is given its juice each time that the driver hits their brakes.
One-Pedal Driving
Another type of term that is often thrown around regarding battery electrics and plug-ins is one-pedal driving. Its name perfectly describes its function. Drivers accelerate and decelerate without using the brake pedal. You’ll often see these on many new electrics and plug-ins.
With this type of driving, you simply have to taper off the pressure on the accelerator to begin to slow down. While it may take a bit longer to brake than with an actual brake pedal, once it does finally stop, the conventional hydraulic braking system activates to ensure that the driver stays in their stopped position, until he or she presses on the accelerator again.
Driver’s Auto Mart
Now that you have the electrified knowledge, why not use it while purchasing a car at Driver’s Auto Mart. We carry a wide range of vehicles from various automakers, including Nissan, with its electric Leaf hatchback.
Check our online pre-owned inventory and see all that we have to offer, and if we find something that feeds your fancy, simply chat with a representative for further assistance.
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