Converting to 3 phase costs

the_amazing_raisin

Hi all,

I'm considering at some point in the future converting my house from a single phase supply to 3 phase.

I've asked the ESB for an estimate of cost but I need to fill out the application form first before they'll give me a quote.

Since this is an idea for the faraway future, I didn't really see the point in completing the application form just to waste their time.

So, has anyone here gotten their supply converted and can you tell me how much it cost and what works were involved? Also, can you tell me if you're a rural or urban supply, since I've heard they can charge more to rural conversions?

I know every situation is different but it'd be good to see if the rough cost is 100s, 1000s or 10,000s.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

2011

There is no standard charge. It depends on many factors such as how close a suitable 3 phase supply is to your house. Sometimes the ESB may have to upgrade a transformer, install poles other times they don’t. It will also depend on the size of the supply that you want. So it could be €1,500 or it could be €60,000

the_amazing_raisin

2011 wrote: »

There is no standard charge. It depends on many factors such as how close a suitable 3 phase supply is to your house. Sometimes the ESB may have to upgrade a transformer, install poles other times they don’t. It will also depend on the size of the supply that you want. So it could be €1,500 or it could be €60,000

Ouch, hopefully it wouldn't be 60k as I'm in an estate. I guess I'll need to chat with the ESB

Luckysasha

Why do you feel the need to upgrade to a 3 phase supply in a housing estate ?

the_amazing_raisin

Luckysasha wrote: »

Why do you feel the need to upgrade to a 3 phase supply in a housing estate ?

Two reasons mainly. I'd like the ability to have a 3 phase car charger, or even two chargers at some point in the future. Also I'm planning on putting solar panels on my roof and the ESB will let you export more power if you're on 3 phase

Luckysasha

How many solar panels can you fit on your roof that you will have enough electricity for your home and some left over to export.? Will you get a payment for exporting power I wouldn’t have thought so on a domestic level. The 2 car chargers can be fed via a priority unit. Seems a lot of hassle and expense to go to for little reward

CeilingFly

3 phase also has a far higher monthly fixed cost I think - definitely it does for business.

the_amazing_raisin

Luckysasha wrote: »

How many solar panels can you fit on your roof that you will have enough electricity for your home and some left over to export.? Will you get a payment for exporting power I wouldn’t have thought so on a domestic level. The 2 car chargers can be fed via a priority unit. Seems a lot of hassle and expense to go to for little reward

Luckysasha wrote: »

How many solar panels can you fit on your roof that you will have enough electricity for your home and some left over to export.? Will you get a payment for exporting power I wouldn’t have thought so on a domestic level. The 2 car chargers can be fed via a priority unit. Seems a lot of hassle and expense to go to for little reward

There's proposals for export metering and the ESB did a trial several years ago with a per kWh rate. They limited the maximum export to 6kW for single phase but it's much higher for three phase.

I reckon I can get between 9 and 12 kW peak of panels on the roof. Since no-one is home during the day, and batteries are still expensive, exporting excess power during the day seems to be the best idea.

Regarding the car chargers, the problem 7kW chargers is that as capacity grows, charging times get ridiculous. So I think 22kW chargers are what'll be standard in a few years time.

Also I'd be concerned about using a priority switch with EV chargers. As far as I know a priority switch depends on the master circuit being off to allow the slave to power on. Many EV chargers never really switch off, they're always communicating with the vehicle, so they might not allow the priority switch to operate.

the_amazing_raisin

CeilingFly wrote: »

3 phase also has a far higher monthly fixed cost I think - definitely it does for business.

Excellent point, I'll definitely need to factor that into my sums

Luckysasha

I think the idea of exporting electricity is where your notion of wanting 3 phase supply fall flat on its face. Think about it logically. You would need to install a battery room to store surplus electricity then export it through a set of whole current CT meters installed in a rather substantial enclosure back to the nearest unit sub not a mini pillar. There the ESB would install a check metering unit to varify the units they are receiving to what you are exporting. At the very least your talking about building a structure to house all this equipment which because your batteries and charging system are classed as hazardous will have to have proper protection and ventilation so you can’t exactly stick it under the stairs. Good luck getting planning for that in a housing estate

ted1

cruisey1987 wrote: »

Luckysasha wrote: »

Why do you feel the need to upgrade to a 3 phase supply in a housing estate ?

Two reasons mainly. I'd like the ability to have a 3 phase car charger, or even two chargers at some point in the future. Also I'm planning on putting solar panels on my roof and the ESB will let you export more power if you're on 3 phase

Why would you like to install a such a large system and donate lots to the grid ?

ted1

ted1 wrote: »

Why would you like to install a such a large system and donate lots to the grid ?

It’s not a donation.

You get a credit against the export meter reading, so it’s akin to selling your excess supply to your provider.

stesaurus

cruisey1987 wrote: »

There's proposals for export metering and the ESB did a trial several years ago with a per kWh rate. They limited the maximum export to 6kW for single phase but it's much higher for three phase.

I reckon I can get between 9 and 12 kW peak of panels on the roof. Since no-one is home during the day, and batteries are still expensive, exporting excess power during the day seems to be the best idea.

Regarding the car chargers, the problem 7kW chargers is that as capacity grows, charging times get ridiculous. So I think 22kW chargers are what'll be standard in a few years time.

Also I'd be concerned about using a priority switch with EV chargers. As far as I know a priority switch depends on the master circuit being off to allow the slave to power on. Many EV chargers never really switch off, they're always communicating with the vehicle, so they might not allow the priority switch to operate.

22kW home chargers won't be standard. It's not required. There's more than enough time to charge to a sufficient level on 7kW chargers during the night. You'd need to be doing astronomic mileage to need to charge fully each night the newer capacity EVs coming soon, 64kWh.
Also anyone with an electric shower and an EV uses a priority switch currently. I haven't heard of any issues. They don't communicate constantly. The timer in the EV initiates the charge and tells it when to end, that's it really.

ted1

JayZeus wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

Why would you like to install a such a large system and donate lots to the grid ?

It’s not a donation.

You get a credit against the export meter reading, so it’s akin to selling your excess supply to your provider.

Since when ?

Sleeper12

JayZeus wrote:

You get a credit against the export meter reading, so it’s akin to selling your excess supply to your provider.

I thought they don't do this anymore? I've also been told that there is no plans for this in the near future.

You can export no problem but you don't get credit. Its a donation. Happy to be corrected but that is what the lads in the renewable energy forums tell me. It put me off installing pv panel for myself

Luckysasha

There is no payment on a domestic level for exporting electricity. The smallest load an IPP (independent power producer) can export for payment is 1 MW

antoinolachtnai

The lowest quote I have heard to upgrade to 3-phase is EUR 750. There is an 'official' price in the ESB tariff book in the range 2000-3000 as I recall.

It also depends if there is capacity on your substation.

If you are DG5 or DG6 (business distribution group) I understand you can sell back to the grid under current arrangements. You do however have to find a supplier who is willing to purchase your exports. This may prove to be difficult. No one is really interested in buying such small quantities of low-value intermittent electricity.

https://www.esbnetworks.ie/new-connections/generator-connections/connect-a-micro-generator