3 phase home charging

[JJMatrixx]

Ok, can't find any threads on this already so here goes...

I have 3 phase at home, with 2 phases already taken:

1. Can I dedicate a phase to charging my car?
2. Are there any benefits to this in terms of charge speed?
3. My house is ripped to pieces at the mo so running cables etc and getting the spark to install the charge box will likely be much cheaper than going down the grant/approved installer route. What is the recommended spec/setup? I have a Tesla Model 3 Performance.

Cheers!

[PHuzzy]

JJMatrixx said:

Ok, can't find any threads on this already so here goes...

I have 3 phase at home, with 2 phases already taken:

1. Can I dedicate a phase to charging my car?
2. Are there any benefits to this in terms of charge speed?
3. My house is ripped to pieces at the mo so running cables etc and getting the spark to install the charge box will likely be much cheaper than going down the grant/approved installer route. What is the recommended spec/setup? I have a Tesla Model 3 Performance.

Cheers!

1) Yes, but that's just 230V like everyone else.
2) No
3) No idea.

What do you mean 2 phases are already taken? The load should be balanced fairly evenly across all 3.

[Dave Hedgehog]

uk 240v system?

a single phase 32amp charger will give you 7KW which works out at about 10% charge per hour

3 phase can go to 22KW i believe so would be nearly 3 times faster

unless your doing 100s of miles a day and return home several times i doubt anyone needs more than 7KW as a home charger

[springfan62]

Zappi do a three phase charger, charges at 22kW so full charge in three or four hours.

https://midsummerwholesale.co.uk/buy/zappi/zappi-v...

I think it would be installed across all three phases.

[FlossyThePig]

Nicolas Raimo put a video up on YouTube a couple of days ago which may be of interest.

Which Electric Vehicle Charger Should You Buy? INCLUDES PRICE!

P.S. When I recently had solar panels installed I found I had a three phase supply but only one phase is being used. I believe our house was owned by the MD of the Eastern Electricity Company in the late '50s, early '60s. Future proofing in action years ago.

[granada203028]

I wish I had 3 phase

[OldGermanHeaps]

granada203028 said:

I wish I had 3 phase

its dear as fk apparently, higher standing charge and no discounted tariffs.
one of my customers has 3 phase to run his heated drive and heat his pool before he did away with it and the power bills are eye watering.

[AnotherUsername]

I have three phase and prices are just the same for the electricity as you still pay per kw/h like everyone else.

[gangzoom]

OldGermanHeaps said:

its dear as fk apparently, higher standing charge and no discounted tariffs.
one of my customers has 3 phase to run his heated drive and heat his pool before he did away with it and the power bills are eye watering.

I think the highe bills is probably the cost of heating the pool than actual 3 phase electricity

[gangzoom]

FlossyThePig said:

P.S. When I recently had solar panels installed I found I had a three phase supply but only one phase is being used.

We have the same, but haven't bothered with 'activating' true 3 phase supply.

Just standard one phase seems fine, on a 100Amp main fuse. Our EV charges overnight so no real benefit of having 3 phase.

Also think about Powerwall compatibility, we are having one installed next few weeks and the backup/emergency power supply feature I think only works on 1 phase.

I'm going to double check this with the installer as we're going to be doing some major building work on the house, add probably another 4-6KW of solar PV and may even add another PowerWall, so if 3 phase is useful might get it sorted.

[anonymous-user]

OldGermanHeaps said:

its dear as fk apparently, higher standing charge and no discounted tariffs.
one of my customers has 3 phase to run his heated drive and heat his pool before he did away with it and the power bills are eye watering.

Incorrect. Same tariffs and standing charges as any other domestic supply.

[OldGermanHeaps]

he showed me his bill, he was on an expensive standing charge and high unit price and when he tried to switch supplier he was told he had to get a business tariff because it was 3 phase.
can you suggest who to switch to and I will pass it on?

[AnotherUsername]

SSE as a micro business. You don’t actually have to be a business, it’s just a term they apply. Currently about 15p kw/h

[sjg]

springfan62 said:

Zappi do a three phase charger, charges at 22kW so full charge in three or four hours.

https://midsummerwholesale.co.uk/buy/zappi/zappi-v...

I think it would be installed across all three phases.

Podpoint and others do too. But they cost £600+ more for not a huge benefit.

Tesla Model 3 only charges at 11kW on 3-phase AC, not the full 22. Not many cars will do 22kw AC - the Zoe, some Model S with dual chargers fitted, some Smarts is about it.

Model 3 will do the same 7kW on single phase as most other EVs.

As said, a regular 7kW point will charge a Model 3 from near-empty to full in 10 hours or so (27ish miles per hour). A 3-phase point will only take a few hours off that (40ish miles per hour). So it's only a benefit if you're coming back from a long trip, familiar enough with the range to cut it really fine, and need to be fully charged for another long trip early in the morning. Almost all normal usage patterns you'll have plenty of time for the car to charge while you sleep.

If you've got enough high drain stuff to need 3 phase then it probably makes sense to have charging on the least loaded but your electrician can advise.

If your house is being ripped apart for rewiring anyway then just get them to include a circuit for the car charging and run a suitable 32A / 6mm cable into a junction box to where you want it to be. Then an OLEV-registered installer can easily fit under the grant without having to run new cable or disturb anything, and a fitted grant install is cheaper than just buying a new unit.

I don't think the official Tesla home charge unit is on the OLEV list though - so if you want one of those ignore the above - just order it from Tesla and get your electrician to fit.

[anonymous-user]

Costs a few grand to have installed though, you’d have to have a really strong use case for it to drop thousands on getting it put in. Typically it’s £2500 to £5500 + VAT to get the supply connected according to UK power networks, plus you’ve got to budget for remediation of groundworks, your own electrician for changes to the wiring upstream of the meter etc.

Not cheap!

https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/electricity/upgr...

[anonymous-user]

OldGermanHeaps said:

he showed me his bill, he was on an expensive standing charge and high unit price and when he tried to switch supplier he was told he had to get a business tariff because it was 3 phase.
can you suggest who to switch to and I will pass it on?

I’m currently with Scottish Power (probably time to move on though!). I just use the the same comparison websites as everyone else - there’s no reference to 3 phase or otherwise - which is probably only of interest to the infrastructure provider which is UK Powernetworks in our case.

[RobDickinson]

The best argument for 3 phase is if you have multiple evs you do big miles in.

For a single ev it only makes sense for a very few people.

[dhutch]

AnotherUsername said:

I have three phase and prices are just the same for the electricity as you still pay per kw/h like everyone else.

Domestic property? Did you pay to have it added?

[jjwilde]

OldGermanHeaps said:

he showed me his bill, he was on an expensive standing charge and high unit price and when he tried to switch supplier he was told he had to get a business tariff because it was 3 phase.
can you suggest who to switch to and I will pass it on?

Never heard of this. Switched about with 3phase no problem, last people I was with were Scottish power. There is no difference between 3 and single for tariffs.

[OldGermanHeaps]

jjwilde said:

Never heard of this. Switched about with 3phase no problem, last people I was with were Scottish power. There is no difference between 3 and single for tariffs.

I'll have a chat next time I am there, like I say it isnt my bill, I'm just going on second hand info.
The heated drive is 22kw but its only ever on during a hard frost.