Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 15, 2013 10:09 pm Hey. I've been reading about three phase power, and I'm a bit confused. Many people seem to think this is very useful, while many don't care. It seems like single phase should provide enough power, but couldn't hurt. In our current unit, the light flickers every time the aircon powers up for example, very annoying. Probably wouldn't happen in a new house (and we'll try to put aircon on a separate circuit), but better safe than sorry. More importantly, I haven't heard ANY drawbacks. Is there any reason we should NOT try to get three phase power if the price is reasonable? Seems like it would be worth asking builder about it for future proofing at least. If it is too expensive I can skip it, but after googling it seems to cost anywhere from $50 to $5000 (but usually under $1000), so might not be a significant cost if we are lucky. Not sure if we strictly need it though. We are building a small two story house and we will not have ducted aircon. We will have 3 normal aircon units though etc, but not sure if they would draw enough power. But as I said, couldn't hurt right? At which price point would it be worth it for someone like us whom probably don't strictly need it (right now)? Re: Three phase power - any drawbacks? Worth the premium? 2Jan 16, 2013 12:26 am I'm keen to hear about this too Re: Three phase power - any drawbacks? Worth the premium? 3Jan 16, 2013 5:10 am One advantage is that you can get large flow rate instantaneous hot water heaters for 3 phase supply, if you don't have gas. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Three phase power - any drawbacks? Worth the premium? 4Jan 16, 2013 7:55 am For our new house we have been quoted by our sparky something around $1200 to get it to the fuse box then another $1000 at least to get it to my proposed office/storage/workshop. The power pole is twenty metres from our front boundary - standard suburban block of land. This price is on top of the other normal 240v single phase circuits we want as part of a standard connection. Unless you are going to be running big equipment like lathes or huge aircon units then it is probably not worth it. You need to make a decision on what gear you are going to hook up to your power supply and go from there. A dedicated 15 or 20 amp circuit for most aircon units will most likely suffice. Some councils will also not allow 3 phase to be connected to residential addresses as well. Stewie Re: Three phase power - any drawbacks? Worth the premium? 5Jan 16, 2013 8:23 am We're building at the moment and had 3 phase included due to the air cond unit requiring 3 phase. Cost was $912. Always wanted 3 phase in the 'man cave' as any decent machine (welders, lathes, milling machine et al) runs on 3 phase. Aaaaaah, I will now be complete. Re: Three phase power - any drawbacks? Worth the premium? 6Jan 16, 2013 8:57 am I've always liked it for various reasons - ie aircon etc is one. But - if you have a blackout not all circuits go. $1200 sounds a bit. I'd have thought about half/quarter of that. Re: Three phase power - any drawbacks? Worth the premium? 7Jan 16, 2013 12:16 pm When my electrician explained my three phase he said that it's for better load balancing and future proofing if your requirements change. I bought it, there you have it. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Three phase power - any drawbacks? Worth the premium? 8Jan 16, 2013 2:35 pm Hi guys, I am in the process of applying for underground power pit through United Energy, however I am having some trouble filling up the application form. The form is: http://www.unitedenergy.com.au/media/15 ... to_pit.pdf On the form, it says, I need to choose the type of underground service, Pit or Pillar? which one do I choose, what is the difference?? It also ask for number of pits? do i just put 1? And there another questions asking whether supply is greater than 100amps? I am not sure what this is.. please help... 1 2621 1 62023 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 19 73469 |