Question on Three Phase Charging

[VinnieP]

Hi,

I intend to get a new EV charger shortly.
More specifically, I am aiming for an 11kW charger (exact model here).

However, it seems that upgrading to a three phase power supply is quite expensive in the UK.

Does anyone have experience with upgrading to a three phase supply?

If yes, how much did you pay for it?

Is there some way around the high cost?

Is it even worth upgrading to three phase?

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[MTGBUK]

Unfortunately with regards to the cost for upgrading your electric to 3ph you're asking how long is piece of string.

Factors like where is the closet 3ph feed they use can vary massively. Could be a few feet to a few miles.
Some people have had quotes from £2000-£20000. Get in contact your DNO and arrange for them to provide a quote for the work. Once you have decided to go ahead with that you will contact your electricity supplier (the one you pay your bills to) to get a 3ph meter fitted. In the meantime you will also need an electrician to fit a new 3ph board for you.

No way around the high cost as it's not subsidized as 99% of homes in the UK it's not needed.

Is it worth it? For 11kw instead of 7kw. Absolutely not.

I speak from experiance as I have 3ph coming into my house which my DNO confirmed upon visiting when I enquired about upgrading to 3ph.
I did not bother in the end as when I spoke to my supplier about a 3ph meter they never got back to me (this was nearly a year ago) and feel overnight charging at 7kw is more than sufficient.

I got the Easee EV charger fitted as it is able to accept both 1ph and 3ph in the event I switched to 3ph in the future.

 

[Perry]

If you can get 7kW without three phase then I really don't think it's needed. 11kW is obviously more convenient, but remember that the car will typically just stand there unused during the night anyway, so if you finish charging in 4 hours or 6 hours doesn't really matter.

The only time it really matters is after a road trip where you generally arrive with a pretty empty battery, but even then it will probably barely be more than a slight inconvenience.

Charging a Taycan from zero to full takes about 7.6 hours over 11kW and about 12 hours over 7kW. We spent the first few months when we got our Tesla Model S with only 2.4kW and even that was liveable.

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