Terminology
The terminology pages define what Fenexity means by important technical terms. This is controlled terminology, not merely an abbreviation reference: each entry answers when must I use this term?, what exactly does it mean at Fenexity?, and which competing words must I not use?.
Each entry records a canonical term, its Fenexity definition, the context in which that meaning applies, and the terms it must not be confused with. Entries with status normative are controlled FTL definitions; entries with status informative record current usage that still requires internal ratification.
Electrical / battery
Active power
German: Wirkleistung
The real power transferred to or from a system, measured in watts (W) or multiples such as kW and MW.
Distinguish from: reactive-power, apparent-power, power
Avoid: real power
Note: Active power is an electrical quantity; it is not the same as energy.
Sources: IEC 60050
Status: normative
Charge capacity
German: Ladekapazität
The amount of electric charge that a battery can store or deliver, measured in ampere-hours (Ah).
Distinguish from: energy-capacity, state-of-charge
Sources: Fenexity, IEC 62620 (2014)
Status: normative
Coulombic efficiency
German: Ladungswirkungsgrad
The ratio of charge delivered during discharge to charge accepted during charge over a full cycle, expressed as a percentage.
Distinguish from: energy-efficiency
Sources: Fenexity
Status: normative
Electric charge (Q)
German: elektrische Ladung
A property of matter expressed in coulombs (C) or ampere-hours (Ah); the time integral of electric current.
Distinguish from: energy, charge-capacity
Sources: IEC 60050
Status: normative
Energy
German: Energie
The capacity to do work, measured in watt-hours (Wh) or multiples such as kWh and MWh.
Distinguish from: active-power, electric-charge, charge-capacity
Note: Energy is power integrated over time.
Sources: IEC 60050
Status: normative
Energy capacity
German: Energiekapazität
The amount of energy that a battery can store or deliver, measured in watt-hours (Wh).
Distinguish from: charge-capacity, state-of-charge
Sources: Fenexity
Status: normative
Energy efficiency
German: Energieeffizienz
The ratio of useful energy output to energy input over a defined cycle or period, expressed as a percentage.
Distinguish from: coulombic-efficiency, round-trip-efficiency
Sources: Fenexity
Status: normative
State of Charge (SoC)
German: Ladezustand
An estimate of the remaining charge in a battery relative to its nominal or rated capacity, expressed as a percentage.
Distinguish from: stored-energy, state-of-health, charge-capacity
Note: SoC is an estimated battery state, not a directly measured physical quantity.
Sources: Fenexity
Status: normative
State of Health (SoH)
German: Gesundheitszustand
A measure of the condition of a battery relative to its rated condition when new, used to estimate remaining capacity or aging.
Distinguish from: state-of-charge
Note: SoH is an estimate derived from measurements and models, not a single directly measured physical quantity.
Sources: Fenexity
Status: normative
Charging
Charging session
German: Ladevorgang
The period during which a vehicle is connected to an EVSE and energy is delivered or a charging transaction is active.
Distinguish from: charging-plan, transaction
Note: In OCPP the equivalent concept is a transaction.
Sources: OCPP (2.0.1), Fenexity
Status: normative
Charging station (CS)
German: Ladestation
A physical facility or device that provides electric power to one or more vehicles for charging and that contains one or more EVSEs.
Distinguish from: evse, connector, charging-point
Avoid: charger, charge point, charging point
Note: A charging station can contain multiple EVSEs.
Note: A charger is a different concept; do not use it as a synonym for charging station.
Sources: OCPP (2.0.1), IEC 61851
Status: normative
Connector
German: Stecker
The physical interface of an EVSE through which electric power and signals are delivered to a vehicle, for example a Type 2 or CCS connector.
Distinguish from: evse, charging-station, plug
Avoid: socket
Note: The connector is not the EVSE and not the charging station.
Sources: OCPP (2.0.1), IEC 62196
Status: normative
EVSE
German: Ladeeinrichtung
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment: equipment that provides electric power to an electric vehicle for charging and that can communicate with the vehicle.
Distinguish from: charging-station, connector
Avoid: charger, charging station
Note: An EVSE can expose one or more connectors depending on the applicable model.
Note: A charging station is a facility or device that contains one or more EVSEs.
Sources: OCPP (2.0.1), IEC 61851
Status: normative
Operations / software
Alarm
German: Alarm
A condition detected by the system that requires operator attention or a defined response because it may affect safety, availability, or equipment integrity.
Distinguish from: event, notification, fault, warning
Note: Not every change of state is an alarm.
Note: An alarm implies an expected operator response; an event does not.
Sources: Fenexity
Status: informative
Event
German: Ereignis
A change of state or occurrence detected by the system that is recorded for monitoring or analysis.
Distinguish from: alarm, notification
Note: An event does not necessarily require operator attention or a defined response.
Sources: Fenexity
Status: informative
Notification
German: Meldung
A message that informs a human or a system about an event or condition without necessarily requiring a defined operational response.
Distinguish from: alarm, event
Note: A notification informs; an alarm requires a defined response.
Sources: Fenexity
Status: informative
Software engineering
Configuration
German: Konfiguration
The set of parameters and options that determine how a system behaves.
Distinguish from: confirmation
Avoid: config [in formal documentation]
Note: In VDV material, conf can mean confirmation. Do not use the ambiguous abbreviation conf in FTL documentation.
Sources: Fenexity, VDV
Status: normative
Repository
German: Repository
A version-controlled collection of source code, configuration, and documentation for one project.
Distinguish from: workspace, module
Avoid: repo [in formal documentation]
Note: Use repository in formal FTL documentation; repo is an acceptable casual abbreviation.
Sources: Fenexity
Status: normative
How terms are maintained
- Terms are defined in the machine-readable terminology data that also produces
/api/latest/terms.json. - Each definition carries its sources, so an external standard (for example OCPP or IEC) is attributed instead of silently rewritten.
- Where a term has different meanings in different domains, that collision is recorded explicitly rather than resolved implicitly.
- Adding or changing a canonical meaning is a terminology change with the same review discipline as a writing-rule change.