Fast Guide to EVs — understand everything in 5 minutes

Welcome to the Electus Fast Guide — everything you need to know about EVs in 5 minutes.

- What is an electric car?
- Weather impact on range
- Daily charging
- Fast charging
- Road-tripping in an EV

What is an electric car?

An EV is technically simple: an electric motor drives the wheels, powered by a battery. No gearbox, no clutch, etc.

The battery stores energy while charging (e.g., overnight) and releases it when driving. Battery capacity is measured in kWh (kilowatt-hour) — a quantity of energy. Don’t confuse it with kW, which is power.

There are two ways to charge: slow/accelerated charging with AC (alternating current) — the kind you have at home — and fast charging with DC (direct current) at public fast chargers.

Two connectors are used: Type 2 for AC and CCS for DC.

For home or slow public charging, you use AC and the car’s onboard charger converts AC to DC for the battery.
If your onboard charger is 7 kW, then even on an 11 or 22 kW post, the car will only take 7 kW.

For occasional fast charging, you use DC: current goes straight to the battery. Max power is higher but limited by your battery.
A Peugeot e-208 can charge at 100 kW DC; on a 150 kW charger you’ll get up to 100 kW.

In short: with slow (AC) you’re limited by the onboard charger; with fast (DC) you’re limited by the battery’s capabilities.

Weather impact on range

Depending on conditions, an EV’s performance and usable capacity can be slightly affected.

In cold weather, you’ll have less available energy and slightly higher consumption. Cold temporarily reduces capacity: part of the energy is unavailable until the pack warms up.

Charging performance can slow down. To mitigate this, some cars offer battery preconditioning (warming the pack before a DC fast charge).

Heating increases consumption slightly, mostly at the start — short trips are more affected.

In summer, even in high heat, A/C adds a small overhead, usually barely noticeable.

Rain and wind increase drag and thus consumption.

Daily charging

Your daily setup depends on where you live.

In a detached house with a driveway/garage, two easy options. If you drive up to 180 km/day, a Green’Up reinforced outlet will fit (use off-peak hours).

If you drive more or want extra convenience (fixed cable), a wallbox typically fills the battery in 6–8 hours.

In multi-unit housing or if you can’t install your own charger, other solutions exist. See “Buying an EV” > “Charging solutions”. A helper tool is coming soon.

For public AC charging, bring your Type 2 to Type 2 cable (avoid a domestic-plug-to-Type 2 cable — it’s slower).

To simplify your experience, order your Electus badge.

Fast charging

Whether on a road trip or for a quick top-up, a few fundamentals matter.

Fast charging uses the CCS connector; some vehicles don’t have it.

Each post has a maximum power (kW). Depending on your car, you may not reach that maximum.

Technically, the car won’t hold peak power through the session: the charging curve tapers as the state of charge rises (cold/heat also affect it).

Above 80%, power drops sharply — on trips, unplug around 80% and keep going. To make things easier, order your Electus badge.

Road-tripping in an EV

For journeys that require more than one charge, use the Electus Trip Planner.

In the app, open Planner. Add your vehicle and SOH (if known). Enter your destination, set your target SOC, tune advanced options (max speed / route type), and pick preferred operators. Start the calculation.

Electus shows where and how long to stop, plus the estimated cost.

To save time, it’s best to charge only up to ~80%.