1-Phase vs 3-Phase Charging: Main Differences

Single-phase and three-phase charging are often mentioned together with the charging power. But where is exactly the connection? And why knowing the charging rate of your car and wallbox isn't enough? We’ll explain it in this blog post.

1-Phase vs 3-Phase Charging Process 

What’s happening during charging? Electricity flows from the power grid through the charger and into your electric car. And here, we come to the main distinction between the phases.

• 1-phase charging: Power flows through a single conductor (wire). Max charging power - 7.4 kW (In some countries, single-phase charging is only permitted or possible at lower charging power.
• 3-phase charging: Power flows through three conductors (wires). Max charging power - 11 or 22 kW. 

As you see, speed is the main difference. When it comes to maximum charging power, three-phase chargers are a top choice. They can potentially charge your electric vehicle several  times faster than one-phase chargers, making them ideal for those who need to get back on the road as quickly as possible. 

Electric Vehicles with a Single-Phase vs Three-Phase On-Board Charger

Every electric vehicle has a predefined number of phases for charging, and so does every AC charging station. 

Examples of electric cars with a single-phase on-board charger: Opel Corsa-e*, Mazda MX-30

* Opel Corsa-e in the basic configuration

Examples of electric cars with a three-phase on-board charger: Audi e-tron, Renault Zoe, Tesla Model X, BMW i3. 

Ideally, you should use a charging station with the same number of phases as your vehicle has. But it’s not always the case. So what happens if you’ve got one of the following combinations? 

• 1-phase wallbox - 3-phase electric car
• 3-phase wallbox - 1-phase electric car 

Your car will charge with one phase in any of these cases. The weakest link of the charging chain defines the max speed.

Here, for example, you can see how it works with our go-e Chargers:

What Role Does Your Power Grid Play? 

You’ve got a powerful three-phase wallbox, and your vehicle can charge with three phases. The perfect combo. Wait, one more thing can be a limiting factor - power grid capacity. When you are at home, you only have a limited amount of energy that you can call on once at a time. If the limit is exceeded, the whole house may black out. 

The electricity meter in your house will allow you to find out how many phases are available for charging. 

• If the meter says 220 / 230V, this means you can have only a single-phase connection. 
• If you see 3×220 / 230V, 380 / 400V, or 380V, you can use all three phases.

The Charging Cable for Single vs Three-Phase Charging

The cable you use for charging can limit your charging power as well. If you’ve read our cable buyer’s guide, you know that there are several types of them. 

Type 1 charging cables are suitable for single-phase charging only. 

Meanwhile, you need to watch out when choosing a type 2 cable. You can either read how many phases it supports in its instructions or take a look at its plug (the end that goes into the car socket). If it supports three phases, all of its 7 pin holes have the same filling. If only one phase is available, two lower pins look like they are empty.