Electric car batteries stores the chemical energy that is converted into electricity then this Electric energy is converted to mechanical energy to move the wheel of the car
kWh and kW Explained:
kWh stands for ‘kilowatt-hour’. It’s a unit of electricity. So 1 kWh = 1 unit of electricity. It’s used to measure the amount of energy that a device uses over a period of time.
In electric vehicles, the battery’s capacity is its ability to store energy & it’s measured in kWh. This is analogous to the size of a fuel tank in a petrol or diesel car. The higher the kWh rating, the more energy the battery can store, and more the distance a vehicle can travel on a single charge. For example, an electric vehicle with a 40kWh battery can store enough energy to power a 40kW electric motor for one hour or to power a 1kW electric motor for 40 hours. A larger kWh battery vehicle may be more suitable for longer journeys or less frequent charging. A lower kWh battery could be sufficient for city driving or shorter commutes.
Let’s consider a car . It has a 40 kWh battery. When fully charged, the car can store 40 units of electricity. As we drive the car, we use up electricity from the battery. It will go down from 40 kWh to 38, 36, 34 and so on.
kW is short for kilowatt. kW is a unit of power. It represents the rate at which energy is used or produced. For electric cars, kW is usually used in two contexts: the power output of the motor or how fast the car can use energy to drive and the charging power or how fast the car’s battery can be charged.
Power Output:
The power output of an electric motor, tells us how much power the vehicle can produce. It can be related to electric equivalent of horsepower in a conventional internal combustion engine. The higher the kW rating, the more powerful is the vehicle. This power rating directly impacts the vehicle’s performance, including its acceleration and top speed. A higher kW rating means quicker acceleration and a higher top speed.
Charging Power:
When charging an electric vehicle, the kW rating refers to the charging station’s power. It’s the speed at which the charger can transfer energy into the vehicle’s battery. A higher kW charger can charge an electric vehicle faster, assuming the vehicle’s onboard charging system can accept that rate of charge. For example, a 7.2kW home charging point will charge an EV faster than a standard 3.6kW charger. Fast chargers at public charging stations have much higher ratings – up to 100kW, 150kW.
Not all electric vehicles can accept the full power from high kW chargers due to limitations in their onboard charging systems. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand the kW rating of available charging stations and the maximum charging power potential electric lease vehicle can accept.