Technology

You’ve probably seen it mentioned in EV spec sheets: Plug and Charge. It sounds brilliant in theory. You arrive at a charger, plug in, and the car handles payment automatically. No fumbling with apps in the rain, no tapping cards, no wondering if the charger recognizes your RFID fob. Just plug in and walk away. … Read more

Plug and Charge is one of those features that sounds almost too good to be true: you arrive at a compatible charger, plug in your car, and charging starts automatically. No app to open, no RFID card to tap, no payment screen to navigate in the rain. The car and charger simply recognise each other, … Read more

Bidirectional charging lets your car send power back to your home instead of just drawing it from the grid. After years of waiting, we’ve finally got affordable EVs that support it, chargers you can actually buy, and regulations that make installation straightforward. The question now isn’t whether it’s possible, but whether it makes financial sense … Read more

Bidirectional charging, the ability for your EV to send power back to your home or the grid, has been ‘just around the corner’ for years. In 2026, it’s finally here in the UK, but only if you buy the right combination of car and charger. Get it wrong and you’ve got expensive equipment that can’t … Read more

You’ve probably seen the advice: pre-condition your EV battery before rapid charging. It sounds sensible enough. Your car warms up the battery to its optimal temperature, typically between 25°C and 35°C, so it can accept charge faster when you plug in. But here’s the thing: pre-conditioning uses energy too. So does warming up your battery … Read more

That range estimate on your EV’s dashboard? It’s lying to you. Well, not lying exactly, but it’s making some fairly optimistic assumptions about how you’re going to drive for the next 200 miles. In the EV community, we affectionately call it the GOM (Guess-O-Meter), and understanding why it’s wrong will make you a much calmer … Read more

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which lets your EV sell electricity back to the National Grid when you’re not driving, has finally moved beyond the trial phase. Several UK charging networks now offer bidirectional charging at public locations, though the picture is patchy and you’ll need the right car to make it work. Here’s what actually exists … Read more

Plug and Charge sounds like science fiction: you arrive at a compatible charger, plug in your EV, and it automatically authenticates your account and starts charging. No app to open, no RFID card to tap, no contactless payment. The car and charger simply talk to each other using a protocol called ISO 15118, which lets … Read more