arnprasad
Well-Known Member
Hi..Hopefully after a wait of 14 months, my solar should go live in a fortnight or two. earlier I had applied for 5KW but now my vendor is saying that since we have waited this long, why dont we go for 6KW instead and I agreed. In Karnataka once we cross 5KW we have to apply for three phase connection and have done so and have installed three phase meter this week. Once it gets reflected in BESCOM website, my vendor will replace the existing 5KW DCDB and Inverter and all that with 6KW compatible ones.
Now my electrician has given load as one phase for ground floor and one phase for first floor with the third phase being unused.
The plan is to have ground floor UPS to one phase...first floor UPS to one phase and all non UPS connections on both floors to third phase. Since this requires some work....currently we are using only two phases as described above.
Now my electrician is saying that the way the three phase meters work is that we should load balance between three phases and that will ensure that we use the meter optimally and hence get the minimum bill based on actual usage. He is saying that since we are using only two of the three phases, the meter may measure the usage in a different way resulting in increased bill for same usage.
Hence he wanted to check with my local distribution company which I am sure wont give a good answer and hence asking here.
So the question is...if one has a three phase connection with a three phase meter....would it matter how many phases we use in terms of generation of bill or it doesnt matter.....does the meter keep running based on actual usage...or the meter would mind whether we are using one, two or three phases?
Commonsensically the bill should be generated on the number of units we consume irrespective of how many phases we are actually using. But my electrician is a very smart person and since he has asked this question..there might be some meaning behind this ( the doubt/question that using all three phases will generate a lower bill compared to using two or one phase only for same electricity usage)
Hope my question is not confusing.
As always thanks in advance for all your help!!
After I typed the question...I googled and seems there is some merit in what he is saying..Although the bill may be the same irrespective of how many phases we use...but from the distribution company perspective..there seems some voltage loss and all...difficult for my brain to comprehend since I am an accountant
www.quora.com
Now my electrician has given load as one phase for ground floor and one phase for first floor with the third phase being unused.
The plan is to have ground floor UPS to one phase...first floor UPS to one phase and all non UPS connections on both floors to third phase. Since this requires some work....currently we are using only two phases as described above.
Now my electrician is saying that the way the three phase meters work is that we should load balance between three phases and that will ensure that we use the meter optimally and hence get the minimum bill based on actual usage. He is saying that since we are using only two of the three phases, the meter may measure the usage in a different way resulting in increased bill for same usage.
Hence he wanted to check with my local distribution company which I am sure wont give a good answer and hence asking here.
So the question is...if one has a three phase connection with a three phase meter....would it matter how many phases we use in terms of generation of bill or it doesnt matter.....does the meter keep running based on actual usage...or the meter would mind whether we are using one, two or three phases?
Commonsensically the bill should be generated on the number of units we consume irrespective of how many phases we are actually using. But my electrician is a very smart person and since he has asked this question..there might be some meaning behind this ( the doubt/question that using all three phases will generate a lower bill compared to using two or one phase only for same electricity usage)
Hope my question is not confusing.
As always thanks in advance for all your help!!
After I typed the question...I googled and seems there is some merit in what he is saying..Although the bill may be the same irrespective of how many phases we use...but from the distribution company perspective..there seems some voltage loss and all...difficult for my brain to comprehend since I am an accountant
Does using only one phase in a 3-phase electrical connection increase power losses and electricity bill?
Answer (1 of 2): No.. it does not result in INCREASED POWER LOSSES NOR DOES IT RESULT IN AN INCREASED BILL… ( from the point of view of the consumer) However, from the electrical utility's point of view, it is undesirable since it causes an UNBALANCE in the electrical distribution system and the...
