The demand on Australian’s power grid continues to grow. Our businesses and homes will require either a three phase power supply, or a single phase power supply, depending on their power consumption needs.
As a general rule, domestic homes or small businesses usually have single phase power, whereas larger, commercial business which may have specialised machinery or industrial equipment will often need three phase power to be sufficient. However, modern technology and the desire for products which draw a higher power load even at a family home (eg high end induction cooktop, solar system or new heater pool install), may result in the needs to upgrade from a single to three phase power supply.
For Commercial or Body Corporate EV charging solutions, having a three phase power supply is essential to be able to provide enough power capacity to handle an EV charging network. Without it, only a small amount for electric vehicle could be charged at once.
Home owners may also choose to upgrade to three phase power to maximize charging speed at their home, however it is a case by case basis and the other demands of the home should also be considered. With the right set up, you can enjoy all the benefits of EV ownership while maximizing the efficiency and convenience of charging in your own home or office.
In short, whatever your plans are, our electricians will provide expert advice in what size power supply is required at your premises.
Call Us - 1300 788 455Whether or not you need to upgrade your switchboard from single to three phase power supply will be determined by your electrician. It may be the result of continuous mains overloading or because you want to install multiple air conditioners or EV chargers to your unit complex or home. Some examples are:
If the power starts tripping at your home or apartment, an electrician should be called to investigate the issue. The electrician will calculate the maximum demand at the property and determine power usage. Once calculated, this will help determine whether increasing the single-phase load (for example, from 40amps to 63amps) or upgrading to a 3-phase power supply is the best and most beneficial option for the household.
A medium to large household (with 4 to 5 bedrooms) running Items such as an electric car charger, a swimming pool with a pool heater and/or spa, induction cooktop, double oven and/or several airconditioners should consider a 3-phase power supply.
These types of buildings will generally require a 3 phase power supply because the machinery and equipment used will have larger load requirements.
Before committing to buying 3-phase power equipment, an electrician should be contacted for consultation. If required, the electrician will liaise with Energex or Ergon to determine if their electricity network has capacity to provide the extra load required by at the location. This will differ on a case-by-case basis and could be costly, so make sure you get professional advice first.
Our Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast customers can receive a free on-site evaluation. We’ll come to you and run a free evaluation of your site, and provide you with a preliminary outline and phase power upgrade solution.
Moving from single phase to three phase power almost always means upgrading your switchboard. A three phase switchboard spreads your load across three active phases, giving you more capacity for air conditioning, machinery, pool equipment and fast EV charging, and reducing nuisance tripping.
We handle the whole job for homes, businesses, body corporates and industrial sites across Brisbane and South East Queensland – from the Energex application to the new board, mains and metering.
Single phase power supply is 240v whereas a 3 phase power is supplied at 415v.
By default, a residential house will usually have a single-phase power supply. A standard single-phase power supply delivers 240V.
Most contemporary household appliances do not require a lot of power and are designed to run on 240V.
However, larger dwellings with many high load items including appliances, pool motors, pool heaters, spa’s and air conditioning may require 3 phase power as the load is too much for a single phase supply.
You can expect to pay somewhere between $3,000 and $7,000 to upgrade your single-phase power supply in an existing property.
A 3-phase power supply delivers 415V continuously. This provides sufficient voltage and current to effectively run more appliances or high load machines for industrial installations.
In most cases, yes. A single phase switchboard is not designed to distribute load across three phases, so the board, and often the consumer mains and meter, are upgraded at the same time.
This is not really a straightforward answer and each scenario needs to be individually assessed by a qualified electrician. As a general rule, larger unit or apartment blocks and commercial businesses will most likely benefit from the greater supply which comes from a 3 phase power supply. Home owners do not necessarily need to upgrade if just installing a Level 1 EV charger.
Energy data logging is the process by which an electrical meter is attached to an electrical circuit to collect detailed information regarding the energy usage for that circuit. This information is then examined by the qualified electrician to determine if an electrical upgrade is necessary when considering a change in power usage at that warehouse, office, home or apartment block.
It depends on the Energex approval and the size of the job. We confirm how long the power will be off when we quote, and keep you updated on approval timeframes so you can plan ahead.
Licensed electrical contractor (Lic. 90334) · Fully insured · 5.0★ Google rating · 120+ switchboard projects
Our goal here at switchboard solutions is to make what seems like a complex process, easy! What makes us different is we are highly experienced electricians who have the real world experience to guide you the complexities of understanding your switchboard capabilities, power requirements and charging options, from start to finish. That’s right, everything from the design of the charging network to the installation of the project is completed with us, in-house. No fancy sales pitch, just real data and easy to understand information to make your choice easy.
CEO
