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by PeterBarrett 1467 days ago
In the UK you have the advantage of easy access to 3 phase electricity, most houses can simply pull 2 more wires from the mains and have it. Whereas in the likes of Ireland you need a special setup and massive extra cost to get 3 phase.

Having a 22kw charger at home is amazing especially for only £1300!
1 comments
VBprogrammer 1467 days ago
Emm. No we don't. We only have a single phase supply to the home. At least traditionally, new homes may be built to different standards.

Ours comes into the house via a very scary looking lead sheathed TN-S cable.

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PeterBarrett 1467 days ago
Hmm, fair enough, maybe it's only in large towns and cities. The pricing you got seems a bit suspect in that case because you would need 3 phase to run a 22kw charger and if you don't have easy access to 3 phase then the cost would be quite a bit higher as new wires would need to be added.

The charger alone would cost around 1000 (if not slightly more) so I can't imagine them doing the amount of required work for 300 pounds.

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VBprogrammer 1467 days ago
It's actually usually the other way around. In a rural location you are much more likely to have access to a 3-phase supply. Farms for example almost always have a 3 phase supply for running pumps, motors and heaters etc.
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IshKebab 1467 days ago
Yes we do. Well, theoretically anyway - you know those electricity poles with 4 cables above each other? That's 3 phase. Usually each house just gets one phase but I guess theoretically having 3 phase would just be a matter of connecting up the other wires too.

I'd be surprised if you could actually convince suppliers to do that for a house though, and definitely not for £1300.

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VBprogrammer 1467 days ago
This is the same the world over. Power is generated and distributed as 3 phase because it is better for the generators and it makes better use of the power cable since you don't require a neutral for a balanced 3 phase load.
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cr3ative 1467 days ago
Ha, my cables are all underground, making life harder.

Some DNOs are only installing 3-phase now - they'll just connect a single phase up, but the wiring will be ready for three.

Not mine, of course. Bitter about that.

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