New fast EV chargers and three phase power

75gmck25 · Apr 27, 2026

I've seen articles showing that some new cars will be able to use the next generation fast chargers, so you could get an EV charged to 80% really quickly. I think they are like a home version of the Tesla super charger. However, the articles also say these new chargers require three phase power. This would be an example. https://www.amazon.com/PRIMECOM-3-Phase-Station-Charger-J3068/dp/B0852BJ8L5?tag=atomicindus08-20

My question - Does anyone ever do a residential electrical system with three phase power? I thought that in most areas you only have three phase power as an option if you are in an industrial shop area, or happen to be close to one.

mike93lx · Apr 27, 2026

75gmck25 said:
I've seen articles showing that some new cars will be able to use the next generation fast chargers, so you could get an EV charged to 80% really quickly. I think they are like a home version of the Tesla super charger. However, the articles also say these new chargers require three phase power. This would be an example. https://www.amazon.com/PRIMECOM-3-Phase-Station-Charger-J3068/dp/B0852BJ8L5?tag=atomicindus08-20

My question - Does anyone ever do a residential electrical system with three phase power? I thought that in most areas you only have three phase power as an option if you are in an industrial shop area, or happen to be close to one.

I have heard of some parts of FL having 3 phase for HVAC.

Ultra fast charging at home is completely unnecessary for probably 99.9% of people.

More fast chargers at places like Dr offices, grocery stores, banks, etc could be useful, but its really not needed at home

dcg9381 · Apr 27, 2026

Do you have an EV? I'd recommend driving it for a bit to determine what charge rate you actually need.

Some places you can get 3-phase power, but you're talking about very good bucks (5 figures) and you probably can't add 3-phase power to an existing structure that has 1-phase power.

I see no need for this. It charges at 22kW. You can do single phase, 80A+ charging and get to 19.5kW or so.

wssix99 · Apr 27, 2026

Power companies typically will not allow three phase to residences. It's also more expensive. Coupled with the outrageous cost of a fast charger, it doesn't make sense at a residence where we can plug in overnight.

The only reason I would need fast charging at home would be if I were drug running or moonshining.

In normal life, I plug my EV in and it completely charges overnight and is ready the next morning.

mm08822 · Apr 27, 2026

Fast charging is level 3 category chargers and I believe most are 480vac. These require massive xformers especially when (typically) multiple charge stations are built. So within 20 mins, you can take a potty break, get a coffee/meal and move on. This rate of charging is not the best for your battery life, occasionally, no problem.

If your house is supplied by the typical 25KVA pole or pad mount xformer, this could easily be your limit. Especially if you have neighbors of the same xformer.

POCOs really hate these level 3 charge stations b/c their infrastructure gets stressed with large point loads. A high power level 2 charger is probably going to be the max for residential services for some time.

theoldwizard1 · Apr 27, 2026

wssix99 said:
Power companies typically will not allow three phase to residences.

My buddy lives on the edge between suburbia and farm land. His wife raise horse and they have about 5 acres. When they built a new barn, the PoCo insisted on a separate and he gets "farm" rates (although he uses very little power in the barn), but still no 3 phase.

wyliesdiesels · Apr 27, 2026

75gmck25 said:
My question - Does anyone ever do a residential electrical system with three phase power? I thought that in most areas you only have three phase power as an option if you are in an industrial shop area, or happen to be close to one.

3Ø not available to most residential customers for the 3 PoCos i deal with... have to have a very large property and house to get it approved

i only know of 2 houses (with very large properties, ag pumps, ponds, etc) that have 3 phase in my area.... huge houses and properties, so large that single phase service wouldnt cut it on the load calcs

wyliesdiesels · Apr 27, 2026

mike93lx said:
I have heard of some parts of FL having 3 phase for HVAC.

ive read of a few subs in texas that got 3 phase to small and medium size tract homes....

wyliesdiesels · Apr 27, 2026

mm08822 said:
Fast charging is level 3 category chargers and I believe most are 480vac. These require massive xformers especially when (typically) multiple charge stations are built. So within 20 mins, you can take a potty break, get a coffee/meal and move on. This rate of charging is not the best for your battery life, occasionally, no problem.

If your house is supplied by the typical 25KVA pole or pad mount xformer, this could easily be your limit. Especially if you have neighbors of the same xformer.

POCOs really hate these level 3 charge stations b/c their infrastructure gets stressed with large point loads. A high power level 2 charger is probably going to be the max for residential services for some time.

bingo

we have 3 newer (1 is brand new) tesla charging stations (also has a few generic chargers) with 10+ stations and the padmounts the PoCo had to install are massive. one of them is 750KVA 480v IIRC. the heat sinks on the tank alone are massive...

EDIT: just drove by yesterday. its actually 14 chargers and a 1500kVa transformer. holy ****

gtae07 · Apr 27, 2026

mike93lx said:
Ultra fast charging at home is completely unnecessary for probably 99.9% of people.

I can't think of any reason to put a fast charger at your house. If for some reason you just have to charge up super quickly at home (and I can't think of one), it would probably be cheaper to just buy two cars and drive one while charging the other on a normal 240V charger.

wssix99 said:
it doesn't make sense at a residence where we can plug in overnight.

This. We have two EVs and we normally get by charging at 36A (about 8.6kW), though it can go hogher if needed*. I have a long commute and haven't needed a fast charger since our trip across the state for Thanksgiving.

The charging strategy is the biggest shift with going to an EV. You have to get away from the "drive it for a few days till it's low, then fill up somewhere" mentality. Just set a modest charge target that meets your daily needs with some margin, and plug in every night.

*I keep it dialed back in normal situations because there's no need to make the charging gear hot unnecessarily. But we can do 48A in a pinch.

dcg9381 said:
You can do single phase, 80A+ charging and get to 19.5kW or so.

That assumes your vehicle can accept that much while charging on AC. An 80A charger does me no good when my car maxes out at 48A...

jblnut · Apr 27, 2026

Get yerself a rotary phase converter and bobs your uncle. I have a few scattered around running well pumps feeding irrigators ranging in size from a 60hp to a 200hp phase converter.

I have a 75hp phase converter here on the farm to power a host of 3ph things from motors to high amp heaters and it’s great. Getting 3ph on the wire here would have been close to $250k says the poco so I opted for a phase converter lol.

I just purchased a spray drone and it charges at 56a on 240v 1ph. That’s bonkers !!

micromind · Apr 27, 2026

My service is 200 amp, 120/208 3Ø 4 wire.

It cost quite a bit more than single phase but with all the 3Ø shop equipment I have, it ws worth it.

I wouldn't be interested in a huge 3Ø car charger but if something around 5-8KW 208 3Ø existed, I'd buy it in an instant.

u3b3rg33k · Apr 28, 2026

you can get DCFC down to 25kW
1ø; 200-277 Vac; 60Hz; 134A

but if you plug in a tesla, it's gonna throw ALL that power into heating the battery up to DCFC charging temps BEFORE it starts charging the battery.

Norcal · Apr 28, 2026

Arizona, had 3Ø for A/C equipment, using a delta breaker which is no longer permitted by the NEC, see the link below to learn a little bit about them.

The Elusive Delta Circuit Breaker

QuoteI bought this on eBay. I had seen them in old catalogs, but never laid eyes on one. Use prohibited by NEC section 384-16 (e)beginning with the 1978 edition. The date on the box is May 27 1963, so it's almost as old as I am. NORCAL (edited to post clearer images)...

www.electrical-contractor.net

Denwood · Apr 28, 2026

I think this is a non issue really. Home charging is almost always overnight when most folks are parked, and rates are cheaper. Cooling loads also tend to be less for those in warm climates. I would suggest that very, very few people need to anything faster than a 240V@40A charging setup. I shot this video so show how much range is added via the different standard receptacles.

I did up these animations as well which pretty much tell the story for each typical receptacle. This one is for the 240V@40A scenario. You're adding 37 miles/hour or 60 km/hour of range to the typical EV. EVs are all pretty much in the 100 to 130 MPGe range so you can average the range added values. This scenario is with a 60 kWh battery, and a LOT of new EVs in NA have larger packs than this.

Full vid here:

micromind · Apr 28, 2026

Norcal said:
Arizona, had 3Ø for A/C equipment, using a delta breaker which is no longer permitted by the NEC, see the link below to learn a little bit about them.

The Elusive Delta Circuit Breaker

QuoteI bought this on eBay. I had seen them in old catalogs, but never laid eyes on one. Use prohibited by NEC section 384-16 (e)beginning with the 1978 edition. The date on the box is May 27 1963, so it's almost as old as I am. NORCAL (edited to post clearer images)...

www.electrical-contractor.net

Bend Oregon had some of those, there are a few neighborhoods in Reno that have them too.

Some of those 3Ø A/C units are still working at 40 years old.

Stuart in MN · Apr 28, 2026

Three phase residential services are unusual but they are available in some locations, it just depends on the standards of your particular service provider.

inphx · Apr 28, 2026

Wonder if an "off grid" three phase solar inverter (i.e. not grid tied output - but use solar and secondary grid in) can be effective. SolarEdge has a 3 phase for about $3600 that can make 10kw (no experience with it). I have a "off grid" system and shed some loads like Tesla charging, AC and my server racks into it with 48v batteries that suits me fine without feeding back into the grid. Rest of homestead is low load remaining on grid.

I see the LV6048 (taiwanese) i use in parallel have a supported L1 L2 L3 config with a third parallel inverter... https://mppsolar.com/manual/SPLIT PHASE LV/LV6048 split phase manual-20201120.pdf I my need to revisit that because i bought a spare pre-tariff and <tin foil hat> pre EMP.

dcg9381 · Apr 28, 2026

inphx said:
Wonder if an "off grid" three phase solar inverter (i.e. not grid tied output - but use solar and secondary grid in) can be effective. SolarEdge has a 3 phase for about $3600 that can make 10kw but in a quick review. I have a "off grid" system and shed some loads like Tesla charging, AC and my server racks into it with 48v batteries that suits me fine without feeding back into the grid. Rest of homestead is low load remaining on grid.

I've been asked to "build" this system for an individual. Basically they want to charge their PHEV 100% "grid free".
In no means or world would this ever be a cost effective thing to do. You have to store the power as PV solar not consistent or really stable (clouds, etc). No way I'd go over 240V either. Car is 30kWh, that's 6 batteries and probably 15kW of solar to have a chance at fully charging the system on a good sunny day.... Easily $14-15k in just the hardware costs. $40k to do it commercial turn-key...

u3b3rg33k · Apr 28, 2026

dcg9381 said:
I've been asked to "build" this system for an individual. Basically they want to charge their PHEV 100% "grid free".
In no means or world would this ever be a cost effective thing to do. You have to store the power as PV solar not consistent or really stable (clouds, etc). No way I'd go over 240V either. Car is 30kWh, that's 6 batteries and probably 15kW of solar to have a chance at fully charging the system on a good sunny day.... Easily $14-15k in just the hardware costs. $40k to do it commercial turn-key...

stack them up an EG4 or delta pro ultra and call it a day?

inphx · Apr 28, 2026

Your 14-15k diy parts price is pretty accurate. Too bad the 30% tax rebate sunsetted last year. I started grid free but the safety net and built in feature of grid in secondary eliminated a load transfer design i was sketching out.

dcg9381 · Apr 28, 2026

u3b3rg33k said:
stack them up an EG4 or delta pro ultra and call it a day?

I don't like EG-4s stuff. It DOES work. And it IS probably the cheapest out there, but support for it ***** and they've shipped me so many things with bugs.... I have 12 EG4 batteries currently, as long as you treat them like "dumb storage" they've worked.. But as soon as you try to get comms to work, that's been a nightmare... But I was an early adopter, so maybe it's gotten better. People do use it successfully. Warranty is terrible to deal with (based on what I've read).

cybrdyke · Apr 28, 2026

75gmck25 said:
I've seen articles showing that some new cars will be able to use the next generation fast chargers, so you could get an EV charged to 80% really quickly. I think they are like a home version of the Tesla super charger. However, the articles also say these new chargers require three phase power. This would be an example. https://www.amazon.com/PRIMECOM-3-Phase-Station-Charger-J3068/dp/B0852BJ8L5?tag=atomicindus08-20

My question - Does anyone ever do a residential electrical system with three phase power? I thought that in most areas you only have three phase power as an option if you are in an industrial shop area, or happen to be close to one.

That charger isn't just 3 phase, it's also 277/480 volts. I wasn't aware that you could have 277 or 480 at a residence. Maybe it's different rules in different places.

Sparky??

CD

William Payne · Apr 30, 2026

Is there a “US infrastructure for dummies” book or website? I’d love to learn more about how distribution works over there. I find it genuinely interesting.

Most houses in most countries don’t have 3 phase power. But it not being on the distribution side fascinates me.

No criticism, just genuine curiosity.

mike93lx · Apr 30, 2026

William Payne said:
Is there a “US infrastructure for dummies” book

Yeah, its the manual used to operate it

rlitman · Apr 30, 2026

75gmck25 said:
I've seen articles showing that some new cars will be able to use the next generation fast chargers, so you could get an EV charged to 80% really quickly. I think they are like a home version of the Tesla super charger. However, the articles also say these new chargers require three phase power. This would be an example. https://www.amazon.com/PRIMECOM-3-Phase-Station-Charger-J3068/dp/B0852BJ8L5?tag=atomicindus08-20...

BS. You're being misled. I'll set the record straight.

High speed charging is done via DC. Tesla super chargers are one example of HVDC chargers, but not the only one. You do need a 3-phase source to power an HVDC charger (and these are CHARGERS), but they require an ENORMOUS amount of power. Far beyond what's available on a residential grid. It's actually a stretch even for many commercial circuits.

Everything else is an EVSE. EVSE stands for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, and an EVSE is NOT a charger. It is just a smart extension cord that allows a vehicle's on-board charger to pull power from the grid. How fast the car charges off an EVSE (the power it is able to pull) depends on the vehicle charger's capabilities as well as the voltage and current available to the EVSE.

Every single EVSE you will encounter will be single phase.

Three phase J3068 EVSEs (what you found) exist for commercial fleet vehicles (mainly school busses at the moment, but also some trucks), and vehicles with a J3068 can indeed charge faster using 3-phase power, but you're never going to find a car at a dealership with this sort of plug, so don't sweat that amazon EVSE, because you're never going to need one at home.

gtae07 · Apr 30, 2026

William Payne said:
Is there a “US infrastructure for dummies” book or website? I’d love to learn more about how distribution works over there. I find it genuinely interesting.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/171850232X?tag=atomicindus08-20

He also has a good YouTube channel...

u3b3rg33k · Apr 30, 2026

William Payne said:
Is there a “US infrastructure for dummies” book or website? I’d love to learn more about how distribution works over there. I find it genuinely interesting.

Most houses in most countries don’t have 3 phase power. But it not being on the distribution side fascinates me.

No criticism, just genuine curiosity.

there's plenty of 3ø distribution in residential areas. in a city/suburb, there'll be 3ø on the "main" line, and then each street alternates A/B/C phase.

William Payne · Apr 30, 2026

u3b3rg33k said:
there's plenty of 3ø distribution in residential areas. in a city/suburb, there'll be 3ø on the "main" line, and then each street alternates A/B/C phase.

Much like feeding a garage. Main line to it. Then smaller supplies distributed out to all the outlets.

I probably sound critical of the US electrical grid but I’m really not even if I do think they make it harder for people to he productive and impede potential business growth through lack of infrastructure.

I’m just not familiar with it. It’s literally foreign to me. Here is 3 phase on most every pole (always exceptions obviously) then single phase connections jumping off to each property. For connections that need 2 of 3 phases they just connect more cables.

wyliesdiesels · May 1, 2026

we have 3 phase feeding our sub but going down the individual alleys that feed each house, there are only 2 out of the 3 phases on the top crossbar. no need for the third wire that will just sit there doing nothing.

rlitman · May 1, 2026

William Payne said:
...Here is 3 phase on most every pole (always exceptions obviously) then single phase connections jumping off to each property...

It is a little like that by me too. Three phase medium voltage at pole tops leaves the substation, and if that right of way passes by commercial areas, it stays three phase, but the residential blocks it passes along the way only get single phase transformers. Further from the substation, the individual phases branch out into residential dead-end circuits.

u3b3rg33k · May 1, 2026

William Payne said:
Much like feeding a garage. Main line to it. Then smaller supplies distributed out to all the outlets.

I probably sound critical of the US electrical grid but I’m really not even if I do think they make it harder for people to he productive and impede potential business growth through lack of infrastructure.

I’m just not familiar with it. It’s literally foreign to me. Here is 3 phase on most every pole (always exceptions obviously) then single phase connections jumping off to each property. For connections that need 2 of 3 phases they just connect more cables.

my garage has it's own 200A service. in theory I could run a 30HP motor on a VFD on a 125A QO breaker. not sure what they're making hard for me.

mm08822 · May 1, 2026

u3b3rg33k said:
my garage has it's own 200A service. in theory I could run a 30HP motor on a VFD on a 125A QO breaker. not sure what they're making hard for me.

B/c most electrical residential infrastructures can't handle it.

POCOs want to know if you would be starting 7.5 hp motors across the line. 4x that even with a vfd would dim out the neighborhood.

And then a couple neighbors want to do the same to keep up with the ubergeeks down the street.

William Payne · May 1, 2026

u3b3rg33k said:
my garage has it's own 200A service. in theory I could run a 30HP motor on a VFD on a 125A QO breaker. not sure what they're making hard for me.

I worked in tool and die for years. Still spend a lot of time on machining and welding forums. Power is the most common problem I hear from people trying to start something at home in the USA.

30hp could be one lathe. I myself have a welder that draws over 63a at 400v supply.

It depends on what you want to do. Most people would probably never think much of it.

mike93lx · May 1, 2026

William Payne said:
I worked in tool and die for years. Still spend a lot of time on machining and welding forums. Power is the most common problem I hear from people trying to start something at home in the USA.

30hp could be one lathe. I myself have a welder that draws over 63a at 400v supply.

It depends on what you want to do. Most people would probably never think much of it.

No one is "starting" something at home with a 30hp lathe

It's quite hard to exceed what we commonly have available in the US for a single person working.

u3b3rg33k · May 1, 2026

mm08822 said:
B/c most electrical residential infrastructures can't handle it.

POCOs want to know if you would be starting 7.5 hp motors across the line. 4x that even with a vfd would dim out the neighborhood.

And then a couple neighbors want to do the same to keep up with the ubergeeks down the street.

honestly i doubt anyone would notice if I soft started a 30HP motor here. if I wanted to be nice I'd slap a DC choke on it.

maybe it'd be a problem when it's 95F out in july. everyone's AC running puts the same load on the transformer.

William Payne · May 1, 2026

mike93lx said:
No one is "starting" something at home with a 30hp lathe

The problem with that statement is there are people doing that. There are people with full machine shops in their garage.

That is an actual fact.

People can deny it all they like but there are a whole bunch of shop tour videos on YouTube and people on machining forums doing just that.

u3b3rg33k · May 1, 2026

mike93lx said:
No one is "starting" something at home with a 30hp lathe

It's quite hard to exceed what we commonly have available in the US for a single person working.

that's why i told the POCO that i'd be running a welder, a compressor, an AC, a plasma, and charging an EV at the same time.
they didn't blink, just approved the additional service.

mm08822 · May 1, 2026

u3b3rg33k said:
that's why i told the POCO that i'd be running a welder, a compressor, an AC, a plasma, and charging an EV at the same time.
they didn't blink, just approved the additional service.

Doesn't mean the full load capacity is really there for you AND all of your neighbors. They use historical diversity factors and known loading data when possible.

How many times have you run everything at once?

When (if) it becomes a frequent enough problem, they'll look to justify any needed upgrades.

It's all grid location dependent.

What size xformer feeds your shop/street?

u3b3rg33k · May 1, 2026

mm08822 said:
Doesn't mean the full load capacity is really there for you AND all of your neighbors. They use historical diversity factors and known loading data when possible.

How many times have you run everything at once?

When (if) it becomes a frequent enough problem, they'll look to justify any needed upgrades.

It's all grid location dependent.

What size xformer feeds your shop/street?

there's a handful of what look to be 25kVA transformers down the line, and they appear to be paralleled.

but i always run the plasma and compressor together

New fast EV chargers and three phase power

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