Pillar

Charging Tech Explained

Connectors, kilowatts and charging curves, in plain English.

Most EV charging confusion comes from a handful of technical ideas explained badly: why a 250 kW charger does not charge your car at 250 kW, why the last 20% takes as long as the first 60, and which plug fits what.

These are the explainers we point back to from everywhere else on the site. No jargon without a definition, and no specification quoted without saying whether it is a manufacturer claim, a measured figure or our own estimate.

All charging tech explained guides

8 articles

Close-up of an electric vehicle charging connector plugged into a car's charge port, with water droplets on the surrounding paintwork.

Tech8 min · 31 Jul

CCS, NACS and Type 2 — what actually plugs into what

Three connectors, two continents and a standards migration in progress. What fits your car, and the adapters worth owning.

The view through a car windscreen of an open road ahead, hedgerows blurred by motion on either side.

Tech6 min · 22 Jul

Why your car says one range and delivers another

The number on the dash is a prediction based on how you have been driving. Change the conditions and the prediction changes with you.

A suburban house at dusk with warm interior lighting and a car parked on the driveway.

Tech6 min · 17 Jul

What V2L, V2H and V2G actually do

Three different ideas with confusingly similar names. One is available now and genuinely useful; one needs hardware; one needs a tariff.

A rapid charging cable running between a charging post and a car in bright winter sunlight, with frost on the ground.

Tech6 min · 12 Jul

Why DC charging slows down near 80%

It is not a bug and it is not the charger. It is chemistry, and understanding it will save you real time on a long trip.

Thermal management radiator and cooling pipework inside the front compartment of an electric vehicle.

Tech5 min · 5 Jul

Battery preconditioning: what it is and when to use it

Warming the battery before a rapid charge can halve the stop. In winter it is the single most useful habit an EV driver can have.

An abstract curved light trail arcing across a dark green and charcoal background, suggesting a rising and falling curve.

Tech7 min · 30 Jun

Charging curves: how to read one before you buy

The area under the curve decides your stop length. The peak on the brochure decides nothing.

Extreme close-up of the ribbed texture of a heavy-duty rubber charging cable sheath under raking light.

Tech5 min · 24 Jun

What does kW actually mean when charging an EV?

Kilowatts are speed. Kilowatt-hours are distance. Getting the two straight makes every other charging decision easier.

Three different electric vehicle charging connectors laid out on a dark slate surface under dramatic side lighting.

Tech6 min · 21 Jun

AC vs DC charging, explained without the engineering

Batteries only accept DC. The difference between AC and DC charging is simply where the conversion happens.

Charging changes, useful tools, new cars and money-saving ownership advice. Unsubscribe in one click.

All charging tech explained guides

Two emails a month. The changes that move your bill.