Singe phase or 3 phase

[Ch0pper]

Hi all,

Have just ordered my Model 3 and now preparing for its arrival. I plan on doing all my charging at work and so I have ordered a Tesla wall charger. I have the option of either 3 phase or single phase and I wanted to get an opinion on which I should be installing onto.

Not being an electrician and being new to EV's I would like someones opinion whether installing a wall charger onto 3 phase is worth it given the Model 3's onboard charger rate of 11KW. Thanks in advance

 

[ACarneiro]

Definitely worth 3 phase. You get 50% faster charging for no cost, would be silly not to take advantage.

 

[Yev000]

I plan on doing all my charging at work and so I have ordered a Tesla wall charger.

I presume we are talking about your house?

3 Phase is of course better if available. Just from the perspective of something like Octopus Agile which has plunge pricing, the more you can charge in any 30 min period, the better. 5.5Kwh (Thats a 10% charge in an SR+ in 30 min) is better than 3.5Kwh.

Lets say that price was -10p/KWh at 00:30 am - you just earned 55p instead of 35p and got 10% charge.

The other benefit is if you have 2 Teslas, you can daisy chain another wall charger and both can charge at 11+Kwh at the same time.

 

[MrBadger]

If you want time of use based tariffs make sure they can fit a smart meter that handles 3 phase.
3 phase install will be a bit not re to install as more cable.
Obviously you need 3 phase to the property - most domestic properties are not and it’s usually silly money to upgrade. But if you already have it, probably worth paying the bit extra on the install.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Unless something has changed recently, there isn't a 3 phase smart meter option for domestic use, so, AFAIK, there's no way of having a domestic 3 phase installation and being able to take advantage of some of the flexible, smart meter only, tariffs.

 

[Ch0pper]

I presume we are talking about your house?

3 Phase is of course better if available. Just from the perspective of something like Octopus Agile which has plunge pricing, the more you can charge in any 30 min period, the better. 5.5Kwh (Thats a 10% charge in an SR+ in 30 min) is better than 3.5Kwh.

Lets say that price was -10p/KWh at 00:30 am - you just earned 55p instead of 35p and got 10% charge.

The other benefit is if you have 2 Teslas, you can daisy chain another wall charger and both can charge at 11+Kwh at the same time.

By work I mean at my office rather than my house.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

3-phase.

AFAIK, M3 can only get 11kW from 3-phase (16A * 3 * 240v). it’s limited to 7.6kW on single phase (32A * 1 * 240v)

You’re also future-proofing it and able to provide faster charging to MS/X and non-tesla

 

[LukeT]

I went 3 phase. Although mine (S) goes to 16kw (and reports up to 18) it is really nice to have that little bit more flexibility where you get more charge on the occasions you plug in for limited time, and even going to 11kw would I think achieve that. Often I can pop in to work just for a couple of hours and have that do all the charging I need.

I have a 3 phase connection at home too but no charge point there yet. As @Jeremy Harris says above, when I was researching smart meters I couldn't find a 3 phase one.

 

[dutchchili]

There are multiple variables that could determine what is best for you.
- required charging speed
- cost of installation
- distance to nearest super charger
- cost of electricity (compared to super charger)
- ability to fully charge in off-peak hours
- comfort

3-phase will give you the fastest charging speed.
Charging at work is probably cheaper that at a super charger (which also requires a credit card)
Changing infrastructure from 1-phase to 3-phase is more expensive than no change at all.
Living close to a super charger may reduce the requirement to have 'fast charger' at work.

If your daily commute can be recharged within 'office hours', you might as well plug it into a wall socket using the mobile connector.

 

[pdk42]

Singe? - where's the monkey?

 

[LukeT]

Singe? - where's the monkey?

dans l'arbre!

 

[Cwmwd]

There might be an argument for splitting the 3-phase up and having two 7kW chargepoints: EVs tend to multiply at work, from what I've heard, and having two 7kW points might be more useful than one 11kW point by next year...

Also, don't forget to mention to your employer that they can apply for an OLEV Workplace Charging Voucher for up to £500 per socket or 75% of the total installation.

Workplace Charging Scheme guidance for applicants, installers and manufacturers

 

[ACarneiro]

Installing multiple 7kW 1ph charge points seems like shooting yourself in the foot.
You don't know what the future brings. Who knows, maybe battery energy density will go up and 200kW/h batteries may be a thing in the future?
Best to install multiple 3ph chargers, IMHO.

 

[LukeT]

There might be an argument for splitting the 3-phase up and having two 7kW chargepoints: EVs tend to multiply at work, from what I've heard, and having two 7kW points might be more useful than one 11kW point by next year...

Also, don't forget to mention to your employer that they can apply for an OLEV Workplace Charging Voucher for up to £500 per socket or 75% of the total installation.

Workplace Charging Scheme guidance for applicants, installers and manufacturers

If using tesla charge points you could just wire them both up 3 phase anyway. Extra cost minimal. I think they load share if both are in use but in any case they'd be capable of delivering 22kw so should still deliver 11kw x2. (caveat: I am not an electrician!)

 

[Ch0pper]

If using tesla charge points you could just wire them both up 3 phase anyway. Extra cost minimal. I think they load share if both are in use but in any case they'd be capable of delivering 22kw so should still deliver 11kw x2. (caveat: I am not an electrician!)

Thats a great point. load sharing with a 3 phase on 2 model 3's will still get you the max 11 KWh, whereas load sharing on single phase will get you just over 3KWh per car. I'm sold on 3 phase, as has been said it will future proof. Thanks everyone for your input