What is DC fast charging?
DC chargers are the largest and fastest way to charge an electric vehicle. Here's why.
FAQs
101 posts
Our electric car expert Bryce Gaton answers questions about electric vehicles, EV charging, batteries, infrastructure and more.
Want to know the facts on electric vehicles? Check out our article countering fake news in the lead up to the 2019 federal election.
Bryce Gaton is an expert on electric vehicles and contributor for The Driven and Renew Economy. He has been working in the EV sector since 2008 and is currently working as EV electrical safety trainer/supervisor for the University of Melbourne. He also provides support for the EV Transition to business, government and the public through his EV Transition consultancy EVchoice.
What is a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)?
The first of the 'new generation' EVs on the market in the 1990s, HEVs are refuelled exclusively with fossil fuels.
What is a battery electric vehicle?
The simplest form of EV is a BEV: a battery feeds an electric motor to drive the car.
What is a fuel cell electric vehicle?
FCEVs are technically very similar to a BEV, but swap out a sizeable chunk of the battery and replace it with two components.
Are EVs greener than ICE vehicles?
If you buy an EV over an ICE vehicle for city travel and run it exclusively from the grid, the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’.
Are EVs cheaper to run than ICE vehicles?
Per kilometre, an electric vehicle is much cheaper to run than its internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalent. And here's why.
What are the different types – and speeds – of EV charging?
There are a number of different modes of EV charging, and each comes with a different rate of charge.
What is an ‘EV’?
When it comes to electric cars and trucks, there are four distinct types of EV that we generally hear about today.
Can I cover the surfaces of my EV with solar panels and never need to plug it in to recharge?
The answer depends on how much energy can you get from solar cells placed on a car, and how much energy per km a road registered EV uses.
Why can’t I get the same distance from an EV battery pack as I can from a petrol tank?
This comes back to why fossil fuels are popular as an energy source: they are a really energy dense material that is packed full of energy waiting to be liberated.