Whether you're looking into solar panels, charging stations, heat pumps or a home battery, you'll find out sooner or later that there are two types of grid connections. 1 phase and 3 phase.

Many people have no idea which one they have. Until an installer says something "can't be done on 1-phase." Below we explain it clearly, including what you'll notice practically in your home.

What's the difference?

Very simply explained: it's about how many "power paths" enter your home.

1-phase connection
One power line enters your home. All appliances in your home must share that one power line.

3-phase connection
There are three power lines entering your home. So your home can distribute power to three channels. This allows you to use a lot more at the same time.

In the Netherlands, the most common connections are:

Important to understand:
A 3-phase connection is not "3x as much power bill." You pay primarily for capacity, not consumption.

How do you recognize what you have?

You don't have to be an electrician. You can usually see it right away on your smart meter.

On the front is a symbol:

Often it also literally says 3x25A on the meter or in the meter box at the main switch.

Another clue:

Do you have a large main switch with 4 levers next to each other? Then it is almost certainly 3-phase.

Power. Here's where you really notice the difference

This is where it gets practical.

Connection Maximum continuous power:
1×35A | ± 7.4 kW
3×25A | ± 17.2 kW

You can think of it as a highway.

1-phase = one lane
3-phase = three lanes

As long as you only use lights, TV and a refrigerator you won't notice anything. But modern homes are becoming more electric.

Electric charging (EV)

This is usually the first time people find out.

In practice that means:

For those who use an electric car on a daily basis, 3-phase is almost always nicer, but with 1-phase it is also quite manageable.

Heat pump, induction and other heavy appliances

More and more appliances are demanding power:

On 1-phase it can often be done, but you're quickly at your limit. Then this is what happens:

When there are several large consumers simultaneously, 3-phase is simply more stable.

Net operators apply an important rule.

You may feed back about 5 kW of inverter power per phase.

That means:

1-phase
≈ maximum 5 kW inverter
≈ approximately 10-12 solar panels (modern panels of ± 430-460 Wp)

3-phase
≈ 15 kW inverter possible
≈ 30+ solar panels without problems

This is why you often see that larger roofs automatically require 3-phase.

Home batteries

Here the difference becomes even more important.

A battery works best when it can charge and discharge quickly.
On 1-phase you are stuck with ± 3.6-5 kW of practical power.

On 3-phase you can:

A battery on 1-phase is fine. But with larger systems or energy management, 3-phase really becomes an advantage.

Yes, in most cases you can. 

You apply for it through www.mijnaansluiting.nl.
The grid operator will then come and convert the connection.

Turnaround time
Mostly 2 to 8 weeks. Sometimes longer if the grid is full.