A significant factor that scares people away from electric vehicles is confusion over charging. Every gas station in the land is fitted with nozzles that will fill any gasoline-powered car’s fuel tank. But not all EVs use the same plug, and then there’s the matter of alternating current (AC) versus direct current (DC) systems. And what do the different levels of charging mean?

The good news is that it’s not that complicated, and we’re here to explain everything you need to know.

EVs require electricity to charge, as the “E” in EV suggests. But that electricity can be AC, like the appliances in your home, or DC, like a USB device, only many times more powerful.