What’s the difference between single and three-phase EV chargers?

If you’re one of the 33% of Australians considering purchasing an electric vehicle (EV) within the next five years, understanding EV charging is an integral part of the transition.

You may only currently think about your house’s electricity supply when the power bill arrives in the mail or in the unfortunate event of a blackout. However, it turns out knowing what wiring you’ve got plays a role in determining what EV charger to install at home.  

Let’s start with a crash course in electricity cables. Chances are that the cable powering your TV contains two wires – a single ‘phase wire’ for the power supply and a neutral wire for the drain. Up to 240 volts can be delivered through single-phase AC power, but the overall amount possible to be delivered is limited.  

If your home was built more recently, it may already have three-phase power. This is most typically found in industrial or commercial settings, where high power demand is already required. As the name suggests, three-phase power has three ‘live’ wires and one neutral wire. This type of AC system can deliver up to 480 volts and more power than its single-phase alternative. To work out what type your home is running, simply check the number of main switches on your fuseboard, which correspond to the type of power.  

Energy Management 

Typically, a single phase will give you a 7.4kW power supply and three phase provides a 22kW supply for charging an electric vehicle. For most people’s driving habits, a single-phase AC charger will be sufficient as you can charge a single car for 8 hours and get around 320km of range. However, if you want faster charging through a 22kW charger or have multiple EVs in your household, you have two options; to upgrade your power supply or invest in energy management. Arranging for a Level 2 Electrician to upgrade your supply to three-phase can be costly and time-consuming. Fortunately, EVOS Energy’s smart chargers and software solutions (the MyEVOS App and EVOS Energy Platform) allow you to set a charging schedule and to optimize your power supply, as well as drawing on solar.

EV Models  

All EVs can charge with both single phase and three-phase chargers, but this doesn’t mean that they can all use the full capacity of the latter. In many cases, the onboard limitations of your EV may mean that upgrading to three-phase offers no additional benefit. The Tesla Model 3 is a case in point – this type of EV can only charge at a maximum power of 11kW or less.   

Ultimately, deciding whether to choose a single-phase or three-phase charger is a personal preference, and requires you to consider not only your current EVs but future plans as well.  

If you have any questions about EVOS'S energy management solutions, reach out to our friendly sales team at sayhi@evos.com.au