Single-phase or three-phase: what it means for charging

Go and look at your meter. Only the label: leave every cover shut.

If it says 220 or 230 V, you have one phase. If it says 3 x 230 V or 380/400 V, you have three. Both go-e's guide and the Dutch motoring club ANWB give this test, and ANWB adds a second one: your energy bill shows 1 x 25 A or 3 x 25 A.

The times below are maker ratings and the sums are mine. Nothing here was measured by me.

What a connection can deliver

ANWB's table for Dutch connections:

• 1 x 16 A: 3.7 kW
• 1 x 25 A: 5.8 kW
• 1 x 35 A: 6.9 kW
• 3 x 16 A: 11.0 kW
• 3 x 25 A: 17.2 kW
• 3 x 35 A: 24.2 kW

Those are ceilings. ANWB says a single circuit in the fuse box is nearly always 16 A, so most home points end up at about 3.7 kW on one phase or 11 kW on three. go-e puts the single-phase maximum at 7.4 kW, and lower in some countries.

The rest of the house shares that supply too. ANWB's example: a 1 x 25 A connection with 13 A already in use has no room for 16 A of charging, and the main fuse goes.

The sum that decides it

Take the Kia EV2 Light at the calculator's German average of 11,400 km a year. That's 31 km a day. Kia's WLTP 15.1 kWh/100 km plus the calculator's 25% is 18.9 kWh per 100 km, so a day's driving needs about 5.9 kWh.

At 3.7 kW, that's under two hours. Single phase covers it, with most of the night left over.

Now the bad day. Kia's German list gives 4 h 05 from 10 to 100% at 11 kW on three phases, and 17 h 40 from a 230 V, 12 A household socket. It doesn't list single-phase at 16 A. Ninety per cent of 42.2 kWh at 3.7 kW is about 10 hours, before losses. An empty-to-full top-up on one phase eats a whole night, and that's the real cost of having one phase.

Your own numbers go in the calculator.

The car has a vote

The weakest link sets the speed, as go-e puts it. ANWB says a car without three-phase charging takes at most a third of a three-phase post's power. A car with an 11 kW on-board charger stops at 11 kW however big the supply, and that's why a 22 kW box often buys nothing.

A box can bridge the gap. go-e's shop page says the Gemini 2.0 11 kW takes single-phase or three-phase supply and gives a one-phase car 1.4 to 3.7 kW. It costs €819 from go-e's German shop, shipping extra, checked 2 November 2026, and prices differ by country. The catch: go-e's shop says this model may not be used in the Netherlands, France or Italy, citing legal provisions it doesn't name.

Country by country

Each of these moves, so check the date.

• Germany. The Bundesnetzagentur (read November 2, 2026) says charging up to 11 kW often works on the existing house connection, and more power may need a reinforced one, paid for by you. I found no reliable share of three-phase homes.
• France. Selectra (May 28, 2026) puts about 94% of homes on single phase, at 3 to 12 kVA, and says an 11 kW box requires three-phase. Switching goes through Enedis or the local grid company, plus an electrician for the board. Selectra is an energy comparison site.
• Netherlands. ANWB says older houses often have one phase and newer ones three, and many can be upgraded through the grid operator. Rijksoverheid (read November 2, 2026) adds a snag: since July 1, 2026, operators rank requests, and a hospital goes ahead of someone wanting a charge point. It tells you to have an installer check first whether you need the upgrade at all.
• Italy. Tohmo, which sells chargers (updated September 26, 2026), says most homes have 3 kW on one phase, and that 11 or 22 kW needs a three-phase meter. Its alternatives are a lower charger setting or dynamic load balancing. ARERA's trial allows up to 6.05 kW at night and on holidays, says Tohmo. HDmotori reported in February 2025 that it applies to supplies of 2 to 4.5 kW, that new joiners could sign up until June 30, 2026, and that it runs to June 30, 2027. That sign-up date has passed. I couldn't confirm any extension.

Elsewhere, ask your grid operator. The 11 kW or 22 kW table has notes on Spain and Norway, from weaker sources.

What I'd do

I'd stay on one phase if the car sleeps at home and you drive near that 31 km a day. A 3.7 kW circuit is enough, and any upgrade money goes further elsewhere.

I'd go three-phase if you already have it, because there's nothing to upgrade, or if you regularly come home empty and leave again by morning. Either way, the job itself belongs to an electrician, with the paperwork your country asks for.