In recent years, the number of new energy vehicles in China has continued to rise rapidly. Recharging has become the most frequent and essential scenario for EV owners in their daily use, with owners interacting with various charging piles almost every day.
However, with the popularization of charging scenarios, various misconceptions about charging, online false rumors, and consumer rights protection issues have frequently occurred. Many new EV owners are misled by these difficult-to-distinguish claims, unnecessarily increasing their anxiety about vehicle usage.
Wang Dongfang, a senior engineer at PetroChina Kunlun Network Power, specifically clarified the most widespread radiation rumors in a recent popular science interview. Radiation is mainly divided into ionizing radiation and electromagnetic radiation. Only ionizing radiation causes clear harm to the human body. Electric vehicles produce only electromagnetic radiation during operation and charging, which does not fall into the category of harmful radiation.
China's domestic electric vehicle industry has long established mainstream electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards such as GB/T 18387 and GB 14023, which clearly define the upper limits for vehicle electric and magnetic field radiation emissions. All electric vehicles sold through official channels must pass strict EMC testing before obtaining compliance certification for sale.
According to the current national standard "Limits of Electromagnetic Environment" (GB 8702—2014), the control limit for public daily electromagnetic exposure is 100μT. Actual measurements by multiple authoritative third-party institutions show that the overall electromagnetic radiation level of electric vehicles produced by regular manufacturers, whether driving or fast charging, is less than 10% of the national standard limit. This is far below the national safety standard requirements, with radiation levels comparable to or even lower than common household appliances like hair dryers and microwave ovens. Long-term exposure poses no harm to human health.
Regarding the widely believed claim among many owners that "high-power fast charging severely damages EV power batteries, and only slow charging should be used daily," experts have clearly stated that this is a widespread false rumor with no factual basis.
During the actual charging process, the vehicle's built-in Battery Management System (BMS), commonly known in the industry, always holds absolute control. The charging pile is only responsible for outputting electricity in accordance with the vehicle's instructions. The final charging speed is determined by the vehicle itself, not the charging pile.
The core cause of battery damage is the destruction of cell structure due to abnormal high temperatures. A mature BMS system can precisely control the temperature difference between cells within 5°C, fundamentally avoiding the risk of overheating damage. The safety of using fast charging in daily use is fully guaranteed.
Long-term tracking test data from multiple professional research institutions shows that, under the protection of intelligent thermal management systems, the difference in battery capacity degradation over the entire lifecycle between vehicles using only fast charging and those using only slow charging is less than 3%. The impact of fast charging on overall battery life is negligible and can be almost ignored.
The online claim that "mixing charging piles from different brands damages EV batteries" is also an unfounded rumor. Experts explain that the actual charging process is entirely dominated by the vehicle's BMS system. The charging pile acts more like an intelligent execution switch that follows the BMS commands throughout, without the authority to independently adjust output parameters.
After the charging gun is plugged into the vehicle, the charging pile and the vehicle's Battery Management System (BMS) first complete a round of safety verification and information exchange regarding power requirements. Only after the BMS confirms that all parameters meet safety requirements will it issue a command to the charging pile to allow power output. Throughout the charging process, the BMS continuously monitors the battery's status and can actively reduce charging power or stop charging at any time. This mechanism prevents the charging pile from unauthorizedly outputting abnormal current that could damage the battery.
China has also issued a series of national standards such as GB/T 18487, GB/T 20234, and GB/T 27930, comprehensively regulating all details of charging piles, including equipment body, interface specifications, and communication interaction. As long as charging piles from different brands are sold and operated compliantly in China, they must strictly meet all national standard requirements.
In addition, the online claim that "charging with low-quality electricity is unsafe and easily damages vehicles" has been officially debunked by experts. There is no concept of so-called "low-quality electricity" in the industry. The electricity output by compliant operating charging piles is stable and safe. The claim that using low-quality electricity causes vehicle spontaneous combustion is purely a fabricated rumor.
There is no inherent distinction of superior or inferior quality in electricity transmission itself. All compliant public charging piles undergo multiple rounds of inspection and certification by authoritative agencies before being officially operated. The quality of the output electricity fully meets national standards, with stable voltage and current output throughout, safely adapting to various compliant new energy vehicle models.
Many industry professionals also remind new energy vehicle owners not to be misled by the endless stream of charging anxiety rumors online. Using various public charging piles for recharging according to the vehicle manual will not cause battery damage. There is no need to deliberately spend extra hours waiting for slow chargers, adding unnecessary trouble to your daily travel.