Simply stated, EV charging etiquette can be summarized in the immortal words you learned in kindergarten: “Treat others the way you would want to be treated.”
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A Guide to Understanding Electric Vehicles
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EV Battery Capacity: Folks, It’s Not a Gas Tank
Although it doesn’t contain any miles, we are all guilty of thinking of battery capacity in terms of “miles.” That’s equal part laziness and human nature.
A Bigger Battery Size Isn’t Always Better: Sizing Up Your EV’s Battery
Battery size is one of the most important questions to consider when buying an EV. But how do you determine how much you’ve got available for a road trip?
EV Road Trips: Surging Out of Your Comfort Zone
What does it take to prep for an EV road trip? Mostly just a little careful planning. Driving beyond your comfort zone is where your EV turns into just a car.
Congratulations! You Bought Your First EV. Now What Happens?
The learning curve for driving electric is not steep nor particularly long. But it isn’t zero, either. So what should your next steps be after buying your first EV?
Outsmarting the Guess-O-Meter
Anyone who has hung out in EV-centric forums for any length of time has seen the acronym ‘GOM’ used to describe the estimate of the number of miles remaining in your EV’s battery. All you really need to know is that GOM stands for “guess-o-meter,” but let’s dive a bit deeper than that.
EV Adapters and Extension Cables Give You The Charging Flexibility You Crave
Adapters for Level 1 & 2 AC chargers (both to and from Tesla and J1772) are relatively inexpensive and can give you flexibility when using public charging infrastructure. Extension cables can be a bit more pricey but also invaluable when flexibility is needed. Adapters for DC fast charging are more expensive and problematic. So how do you pick the best product to fit your needs?
The Advantages of The Two Charging Standards – To Tesla, or not to Tesla. That is the question.
In the North American market, there are two main charging standards for electric vehicles. Tesla uses its own proprietary plug for electric vehicle charging, which supports Level 1, 2, and DC fast charging (or DCFC). “Everyone else” (in North America) uses the J1772 standard for Level 1 and 2 charging and the CCS Type 1 standard for DCFC.
Why You Should Consider Buying an Electric Vehicle
There are as many reasons for buying an electric vehicle (or EV) as there are people buying them. If you’re put off by environmentalists telling you that you should buy an EV or else civilization will cease to exist as we know it, you’re not alone. Spoiler alert: that’s far from the only reason to buy an EV.
What does Level 1, Level 2, and DCFC mean?
There are a lot of terms associated with electric vehicle supply equipment. In order to make sense of it all, we have to define the equipment. What exactly is an EVSE? What is a car charger? And how does Level 1, Level 2, and DCFC fit into the mix?