EV Chargers glossary

EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) - the wall-mounted box people call a charger. It supplies AC power and manages the safety handshake; the AC-to-DC conversion happens in the vehicle. Onboard charger - the vehicle's internal unit that sets the maximum AC charging rate your car can accept, regardless of how big the wall unit is.

Level 1 - charging from a standard 120-volt outlet, about 1.9 kW, roughly 2 to 5 miles of range per hour. Level 2 - 240 V (or 208 V) charging at roughly 7.2 to 19.2 kW, about 10 to 25 miles of range per hour depending on the source and the equipment. DC fast charging - up to 500 kW, roughly 100 to 200-plus miles in 30 minutes; a public-infrastructure product, not a residential one.

kW vs kWh - kW is how fast energy moves (the charger's rating); kWh is how much energy you used (what your utility bills). A 7.2 kW charger running for one hour delivers about 7.2 kWh. Continuous load - the NEC classification applied to EV charging infrastructure, which affects how the circuit and overcurrent protection are sized relative to the equipment's rated current.

NEC Article 625 - the National Electrical Code article containing most of the provisions applicable to EV charging equipment. Hardwired vs plug-in - whether the unit is permanently wired to the circuit or connects via a receptacle; $850-$1,800 versus $1,000-$2,200 including labor. Time-of-use rate - a utility pricing plan where electricity costs less at off-peak hours, which AFDC notes some utilities offer to charging equipment owners.