Glossary

Glossary Item

ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.

ADA Website

AFDC

U.S. DOE Alternative Fuel Data Center website containing a wealth of information on alternative fuels and vehicles.

U.S. DOE AFDC Website

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit

Internal Revenue Code Section 30C provides a credit equal to 30 percent of the cost of any qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property placed in service by the taxpayer during the taxable year. This credit expired on December 31, 2016.

Cornell Law School Website

AV

Autonomous Vehicle is a vehicle that can guide itself without human input. There are various levels of autonomous technology as defined by SAE from level 0 (no driving automation) to level 5 (full driving automation).

NHTSA Automated Vehicles for Safety

BEV

Battery Electric Vehicle is a vehicle with a drivetrain that is only powered by an onboard battery.

U.S. DOE AFDC

CAV

Connected Autonomous Vehicle is an autonomous vehicle that has vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-infrastructure capabilities.

NHTSA Automated Vehicles for Safety

CCS

The Combined Charging System is a charging method for electric vehicles from the SAE J1772 connector. The plug contains a DC and AC option and is also referred to as a Combo connector. The automobile manufacturers supporting this standard include BMW, Daimler, FCA, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Jaguar, Tesla, and Volkswagen.

SAE Website

CHAdeMO

“CHArge de MOve” is the trade name of a quick charging method formed by Tokyo Electric Power Company, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Fuji Heavy Industries, and later joined by Toyota.

CHAdeMO Association Website

Charging

Charging is the process of recharging the onboard battery of an electric vehicle.

U.S. DOE AFDC

DCFC

Direct Current Fast Charging equipment is designed to rapidly deliver direct current to a vehicle’s onboard battery. DCFCs commonly have power ratings of 50kW or higher.

U.S. DOE AFDC

DER

Distributed Energy Resource

DERMS

Distributed Energy Resource Management System

DOE

Department of Energy is commonly used to refer to the U.S. energy agency or a state energy agency.

U.S. DOE Website

DOT

Department of Transportation is commonly used to refer to the U.S. transportation agency or a state transportation agency.

U.S. DOT Website

DR

Demand Response

DRMS

Demand Response Management System

E&O

Education and Outreach

ENERGY STAR for EVSE

Compliance standards for electric vehicle supply equipment to receive ENERGY STAR certification.

EnergyStar Website

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency is commonly used to refer to the U.S. environmental protection agency or a state environmental protection agency.

U.S. EPA Website

EPRI

Electric Power Research Institute conducts research, development, and demonstration projects to benefit the public in the United States and internationally.

EPRI Website

EV

Electric Vehicle is the commonly used name for vehicles with the capability to propel the vehicle fully or partially with onboard battery power and contains a mechanism to recharge the battery from an external power source. EVs can include full battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

U.S. DOE AFDC

EVSE

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, or charger, is standalone equipment used to deliver power into the battery inside an electric vehicle.

U.S. DOE AFDC

EVSP

Electric Vehicle Service Provider Company provides access and billing to multiple EVSEs.

FAA

Federal Aviation Administration

FAA Website

Federal Tax Credit

Internal Revenue Code Section 30D provides a credit for Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicles including passenger vehicles and light trucks. For vehicles acquired after December 31, 2009, the credit is equal to $2,500 plus, for a vehicle which draws propulsion energy from a battery with at least 5 kilowatt hours of capacity, $417, plus an additional $417 for each kilowatt hour of battery capacity in excess of 5 kilowatt hours. The total amount of the credit allowed for a vehicle is limited to $7,500.

IRS Website

GHG

Greenhouse Gas

U.S. EPA Website

GMS

Grid Management System is based on an architecture and guiding principles to proactively support changing requirements while minimizing disruption to existing operations, consumer commitments, and regulatory requirements.

Southern California Edison Report

GMS

Grid Modernization Strategy

GSE

Ground Support Equipment is equipment used in airports such as belt loaders, luggage tags, and water trucks.

HDV

Heavy-Duty Vehicles have a gross vehicle weight above 26,000 pounds.

U.S. DOE AFDC

ICCT

International Council on Clean Transportation. ICCT is a research group and has published several reports transportation electrification.

ICCT Website

ICE

Internal Combustion Engine

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a professional association whose objectives are the educational and technical advancement of electrical and electronic engineering, telecommunications, computer engineering and allied disciplines.

IEEE Website

IEEE 2030.5

IEEE 2030.5 is a standard for communications between the smart grid and consumers. The standard is built using Internet of Things (IoT) concepts and gives consumers a variety of means to manage their energy usage and generation.

IEEE Website

IEEE P2690

This standard defines communications between Electric Vehicle Charging Systems and a device, network, and services management system, which is typically based “in the cloud” but could also include interfaces to site-specific components or systems (e.g., building energy management systems).

IEEE Website

IGP

Integrated Grid Planning

IOU

Investor-Owned Utility

ISO 15118-1:2013

ISO 15118 specifies the communication between EV and the EVSE.

ISO Website

LDV

Light-Duty Vehicle have a gross vehicle weight at or below 14,000 pounds.

U.S. DOE AFDC

Level 1

Level 1 is part of the charging standard defined by the SAE for charging equipment using standard 120V household electricity.

U.S. DOE AFDC

Level 2

Level 2 is part of the charging standard defined by the SAE for charging equipment using 208V or 240V electricity, similar to the power level used for ovens and clothes dryers.

U.S. DOE AFDC

Make-ready

Make-ready describes the installation and supply infrastructure up to, but not including the charging equipment. The customer procures and pays for the charging equipment, which could be funded by a separate rebate or other incentive by the electric company or other entity.

Managed Charging

Managed charging allows an electric utility or a third-party to control the charging of an EV remotely. This entity could enable or disable charging, or could control the power level for charging.

MDV

Medium-Duty Vehicles have a gross vehicle weight more than 14,000 and less than 26,001 pounds.

U.S. DOE AFDC

MUD

Multi-Unit Dwelling is a type of residence in which multiple housing units are located within a single building or building complex (e.g., an apartment building). This is synonymous with a multi dwelling unit (MDU).

NEMA

National Electric Manufacturers Association

NEMA Website

NGO

Non-Governmental Organization

NHTSA

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA Website

NIST

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NIST Website

NIST Handbook 130

Uniform Laws and Regulations in the Areas of Legal Metrology and Engine Fuel Quality

NIST Website

NIST Handbook 44

Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices

NIST Website

NREL

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

NREL Website

OATI

Open Access Technology International, Inc.

OATI Website

OCPP

The goal for the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is to offer a uniform solution for the method of communication between charge point and central system.

Open Charge Alliance Website

OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer, commonly used to refer to automobile manufacturers.

OpenADR 2.0b

Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) is an open and standardized way for electricity providers and system operators to communicate DR signals with each other and with their customers using a common language over any existing IP-based communications network, such as the Internet.

OpenADR Website

PEV

Plug-in electric vehicle has the capability to propel the vehicle fully or partially with onboard battery power and contains a mechanism to recharge the battery from an external power source. This umbrella term includes both BEVs and PHEVs. Vehicles with a battery that cannot be charged externally, referred to as a hybrid electric vehicle, are not considered a PEV.

U.S. DOE AFDC

PHEV

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle is a plug-in electric vehicle that can be powered by either or both a gasoline/diesel engine or an onboard battery.

U.S. DOE AFDC

Ride and Drive

Event where individuals are given the opportunity to ride in or drive an EV.

ROEV

ROEV is an EV industry trade association created to increase the appeal of EVs by enabling charging network interoperability in the United States.

ROEV Website

RPS

Renewable Portfolio Standard

RTG

Rubber Tired Gantry is a mobile gantry crane used to stack and transfer shipping containers.

TCO

Total Cost of Ownership is a financial estimate that accounts for both purchase price and continued, variable operating costs of an asset.

TE

Transportation Electrification

TNC

Transportation Network Company is a company that connects passengers with drivers via a mobile app or website. Example companies include Uber and Lyft.

Wikipedia

TOU

Time-of-use often refers to electricity rates that can vary by the time of day. TOU rates can also be structured to vary by season.

TRL

Technology Readiness Level is a way to estimate technology maturity. NASA has a nine-step TRL that begins with basic principles observed and reported and ends with actual system proven through successful mission operations.

Wikipedia

TRU

Truck Refrigeration Unit is a device that is installed in a truck to refrigerate a truck’s storage compartment.

V1G

V1G refers to vehicles only capable of receiving power from the electrical grid to the onboard battery. This can also commonly be referred to as demand response for EVs.

V2B

Vehicle-to-Building refers to vehicles capable of sending power from the onboard battery to a building.

V2G

Vehicle-to-Grid refers to vehicles capable of receiving power to the onboard battery from the electrical grid and vice-versa.

V2H

Vehicle-to-Home refers to vehicles capable of sending power from the onboard battery to a home.

VALE

U.S. DOT’s Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program is a national program available to all commercial service airports and is designed to reduce airport ground emissions.

FAA Website

VMT

Vehicle Miles Traveled

VPP

Virtual Power Plant (VPP) is a cloud-based distributed power plant that aggregates the capacities of heterogeneous energy resources for the purposes of enhancing power generation, as well as trading or selling power on the open market.

Wikipedia

ZEV

Zero Emission Vehicle is a vehicle with no tailpipe emissions and includes battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.

CARB Website