A - to - Z
Karfu dictionary
A
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Autopilot
A feature on Tesla electric cars that allows the EV to self-drive using a technological system of high definition cameras and ultrasonic sensors.
B
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BEV
Battery Electric Vehicle. A car powered solely on a fully electric drivetrain and, therefore, requiring no fossil fuel. It produces 0% of local emissions. Its battery recharges via an external power source.
C
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Charging Rate
The amount of electric charge a battery accumulates per second while charging. In other words, useful for understanding how many miles can be driven for every minute charged.
D
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Depreciation
The decrease in the value of a car over time, by a rate that is mainly influenced by price, running costs and quality. Yep, time moves slowly, but passes quickly - even for cars.
E
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Electric bike
A bicycle in which an electric motor has been added to assist its rider in pedalling, thus making pedalling easier and indeed, ‘assisted’, while also cutting the phenomenon of the downwind perspiration breeze…
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EVHS
Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme. It’s a scheme wholly used to reduce the demanding cost of purchasing and installing a home charging point. If you own an EV, you can apply for one charge point per eligible vehicle with a maximum of two cars per household.
F
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Fuel cell
An electrolyte membrane, sandwiched between two electrodes, that is able to consistently generate electric energy through a series of chemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen fuel cells are refilled at a service station, like a petrol tank, not recharged like a battery.
G
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GAWR
Gross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum amount of weight that can be supported by each axle
H
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HEV
Hybrid Electric Vehicle. These promote fuel economy thanks to their powertrain, which uses the coordinated and propelled action of an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors, powered by non-rechargeable battery packs.
I
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ICE
Internal Combustion Engine. The most traditional type of engine that follows the basic formula of "burning fuel equals energy" and is powered by gasoline, diesel, biofuels or natural gas.
J
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Joule
It’s a unit of energy (j) that equals to the work done by the force of 1 newton to move a body of 1m. There are many joules in an electric car battery – like two million.
K
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kW
A kilowatt, i.e. a measure of how much power an electric appliance consumes. 1 Kilowatt is equal to 1,000-watts of power.
L
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Li-ion
Lithium Ion. A battery technology that is widely used in several fields, mobility included, as it can deliver more energy and last longer compared to conventional batteries, such as lead-acid batteries.
M
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MPGe
MPGe is a metric used to measure how alternative fuel vehicles compare to petrol powered cars.
N
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NOX
A generic term for Nitrogen Oxides, a poisonous gas family generated by ICE vehicles and industrial sources. They form when fuel is burned at high temperatures.
O
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OLEV
Office for Low Emission Vehicles. A team working across government that helps support the transition to zero emission vehicles but are more popularly known as the good samaritans that give you a £500 grant to install a homecharge (see EVHS Scheme).
P
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PHEV
Plug-in-hybrid Electric Vehicle. Halfway between a zero emission and an ICE, a PHEV is equipped with an electric motor and a petrol engine, which can operate either combined or separately, supported by a battery that can be externally recharged.
Q
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Quadricycle
A vehicle that displays the characteristics of a car but it’s placed in the category of a lightweight vehicle, due to its smaller size, engine power and speed limitations. That makes it subject to less draconian requirements when compared to regular cars.
R
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Range anxiety
The fear of not being able to find a place to recharge the battery of your EV before the battery runs out. Which is more or less the equivalent of running out of petrol on the road..so why is everyone so worried about this?
S
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Self-Charging Hybrid
A hybrid vehicle that combines an electric motor and a petrol/diesel engine. No need to plug-in as they operate using a battery pack that is charged by both regenerative braking and the petrol/diesel engine.
T
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TCO
Total Cost of Ownership. An estimate that helps to work out both the direct and indirect costs associated with owning a car.
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TCU
Total cost of use: it’s our unique, magnificent, exceptional, outstanding methodology that allows you to compare diverse vehicles across traditional and new ways to access them in a super simple way.
U
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UFC
Ultra Fast Charging. An advanced system that simplifies and speeds up the process of electrifying the infrastructure for powering electric vehicles, while reducing operating costs, and allowing car batteries to be quickly recharged in less than 15 minutes.
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ULEV
Ultra Low Emission Vehicle. Cars that emit 50% cleaner emissions compared to the current average year’s models, using low carbon technologies and emitting less than 75g of CO2/Km from the tailpipe. They are currently the government grant’s first prize winners.
V
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Voltage
The EV’s voltage is the requirement of a battery to ‘pull’ electric current through the vehicle. It roughly translates to how many standard battery cells will be required in the car.
W
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Workplace Charging
It's when your boss instals a chargepoint for electric vehicles around your business’ premises, and you can blissfully benefit from it.
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Watts
It’s a unit of electrical energy that is equivalent to one joule per second, and is identified by the letter W. To keep it simple, it is the unit of energy delivered or absorbed by an element during a definite time.
X
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X-Drive
Intelligent four-wheel drive system implemented by BMW for all its cars since 2003, which pretty efficiently distributes drive torque between the front and rear wheels.
Y
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Yaw
Yaw is the measurement of a vehicle's rotation around its central axis
Z
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Zero Emission
A power source (motor, engine, process, energy source), designed to reduce global warming: it produces none of the greenhouse gases that are the very enemy to the environment.