Vintage Sounds

Does this exist anywhere? I have a friend who asked me about installing a 240v receptacle in his garage which he is turning into a wood shop to start a furniture-making business. I suggested a small sub-panel instead so he could power the rest of his equipment, and some fluorescent shop lighting too. I also told him he should plan ahead and look for gear with motors rated 208/230v, for when he moves to a real commercial space with 3-phase power.

It got me thinking though, have any of you guys ever brought a 3-phase service to a house? Do power companies allow this? Although it doesn't seem to exist in Canada I gathered from all the high-leg delta threads here that in some places in the US, houses did/do have 3-phase 240v. Seems useless for most things but a wood shop would be one exception I could think of. When a house with a 120/240v delta gets a service upgrade, do they retain 3-phase or get single phase? Do these houses have 3-phase air conditioners?

jwjrw

Sure you can get it "if it's available". Most resi areas do not have 3 phase. Here anyway. Ive seen condo buildings in resi areas with 3 phase but never a house. I know they exist thou in some areas.

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Podagrower

I've only seen it in older areas where the power lines were overhead and the POCO could make 240 delta out of 2 phases. Hate dealing with it.

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micromind

My house has a 120/208 3ø 4 wire wye.

A lot of my shop equipment is 3ø, both A/C units, and the well pump.

Rob

den

I live in a farming community and it is fairly common to see 3 phase for the grain drying bins. not to practical in my opinion to pay for 3 phase to be able to use it for maybe one mo or less a year

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Old retired lineman turned electrician!

mcclary's electrical

We did an 800 amp three phase service in a house that had 13 & 1/2 baths

frenchelectrican

In France we have no issue to get three phase service pretty easy.

I know the POCO in Wisconsin if you get over 600 amp service you have to get them in three phase service but to get larger single phase it need a POCO engineer approveal.

Merci,
Marc

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ampman

i have seen alot both overhead and underground but like podagrower said only in older houses

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Resi Sparky

In my neck of the woods, the only way to get 3-phase in residential is with a phase converter. That, or if your house is the size of the White House and you have very deep pockets.

jwjrw

My house is not that big..

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Resi Sparky

I guess you won't be getting 3-phase then.

ampman

you can get any voltage you want just depends on how much money you have here the poco call it" contribution in aid to construction"

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"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation ...one is by sword...the other is by debt" John Adams 1826

220/221

3 phase delta is common in older residential neighborhoods in Phoenix. I've always assumed it's because the first AC units available in the early 60's were 3 phase so they ran 3 phase service strictly for the new fangled Ac's.

etb

I've talked to folks around here that have encountered the high-leg delta in residential but never seen it myself (other than HOs who installed phase converters they bought or built). At the local electric co-op, if you've got 3ph lines right where your existing service is, you'll simply pay a reasonable fee for them to build you the service. Last one put in local was at guy's home woodshop used for production. If the 3ph lines aren't at your existing service, you pay the cost to bring the lines plus cost for them to build the service. In (very rural) areas with irrigation pivots poco puts in open-delta banks at farms so they can save that third wire.

nitro71

No way is your friend going to pay for a 3 phase service. You should look into a roto phase of some kind for whatever equipment he gets.

Jeff000

phase converting VFD.

I'd love 3 phase when I build so I can have 3 phase AC and other things.
But when I was pricing things in the last few months the POCO wanted something like $45,000, something about the 800 meters of extra wire they would need to run to get from where they had 3 phase to where I wanted to build. But it would only cost my neighbors 900 bucks if they wanted 3 phase after I paid 45k.

manchestersparky

I have a house that I have been inspecting that has a 1200 amp 3 phase 120/208 volt electrical service.Complete with 100% generator back up. The place is so large they had to install a fire pump and storage tanks. It has 2- 200 amp 3 phase panels on each of its 3 levels.
So far they have had 6 rough in inspections, a service inspection, and a trench inspection.

kub

i did the same as well house had 10&1/2 baths , but what happened with this house was the ho had to purchase his own pad mount trans. and pay to have primaries ran underground from a vault on the other side of the street which included a costly road opening permit because the street was recently repaved cost him a great deal of money

frenchelectrican

Jezz that is pretty big home allright and that is pretty odd to see a firepump in resdentail unless you are in stick of woods which I know from time to time it will have one there.

I am kinda guessing that place may worth little over 4 millon Euros.

Merci.
Marc

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tates1882

The pco here will let you but you have to have a justified reason and lots of money. I've never seen it here.
Even up in Sun Valley where I've done 20 and 30,000 sqft mansions and never seen it. The power co has 3 phase every where here do to all the irragation pumps and harvest equipment. Even multi unit apartments the pco will pull 3 phase then sectionalize it between a,b,c phase to make single phase services. If that makes any sense. I've never seen all three phase inside a single unit or dwelling.