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Single vs Three Phase Electricity - Difference

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dzakarta

Hello everyone!

Our bill arrived and using ARMS calculator I have confirmed that we are charged for the electricity based on a three phase consumption. We live in a duplex that got separated and we are only using the ground floor - the meter is still the same for both apartments (upper part is empty for now).

I was wondering if someone could explain me when are the apartments on single and when on three phase? We are doubting that the three phase charge is because of the duplex and that we should be paying the fee only for the single phase.

Thank you!

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volcane

Its about how many electricity cables you have entering your building providing power.

3 seperate cables through 1 meter or just 1.  If you can show that your actual apartment only has 1 phase on its meter and perhaps other one has the rest you might save some

dzakarta

Thanks @volcane. Would you say that all regular one floor apartments have a single phase? I'm trying to understand if the three phase is due to the flat being a duplex.

volcane

I don't know about whats typical for flats, my house has three phase thats how I know about this :)

It could be that there's some per-flat splitting arrangement going on, best you ask a pro's oppinion

SimCityAT

Many of the residences in the North American and European regions use single-phase alternating current electric power supply, which is typically used for powering up lights and household appliances. However, a single-phase system may not be the best choice when it comes to industrial or business usage as it involves heavy load and power requirements. As today’s data centers are growing power hungry with a need to provide more computing and storage capability to keep up with the explosion in demand, power supply has become a major consideration. Traditional single-phase systems can no longer keep up with the power requirements for these data centers without going through a rewiring process as the number of units that can be mounted in a rack has gone up way high because of miniaturization. Fortunately, three phase power distribution systems can come to the rescue with their superior power carrying capability at a reduced cost. Here are some of the key differences between single phase and three phase systems that you need to know.

The cost to install and maintain three-phase systems is substantially lower than that of single-phase systems. Three-phase systems use substantially less conductor material than that of single-phase systems – about 25 percent less for the same amount of power delivered. For the same amount of time, three-phase power lines can carry more power than that of single-phase power lines at a reduced cost. In addition to reduction in copper, a three-phase system requires fewer circuit breaker pole positions for 208 Volt loads. The power delivered is almost constant in three-phase power circuits, making them ideal candidates for transmission lines, power grids, and data centers.

volcane

If you have a lift in your building you must have 3 phase - or a big aircon. I have a massive multi room Aircon unit and it needs it

DP4

Hi,I lectured on electrical installations in the UK for 20 yrs, 3 phase has 2 connections, delta or star, the star connection has a neutral so single phase can be obtained, delta connection only provides 400/415 volts, when a star connected supply is used each phase & neutral is trapped off  in turn to balance the supply. So maybe you could find out which phase is supplying you?

dzakarta

Thanks for much for your answers everyone!

Derek, how could I check which phase is in charge of our consumption? Thank you!

DP4

It's not the sort of thing you can find out yourself the electrical supplier determines which phase is allocated to each customer. Some electricians put tape around the supply phase, the old colours were, red, yellow, blue, the neutral being black, the new colours are brown, black, grey, and the neutral is blue, confusing eh? You could have a look, otherwise contract the electrical supplier. Good luck

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