Most UK home EV chargers are 7 kW single-phase. That fills a 60 kWh EV battery in about 8 hours overnight — plenty for one car on Octopus Go's six-hour cheap window.
But 7 kW isn't enough for everyone. If you have two EVs sharing a single off-peak window, drive a Tesla Cybertruck (100+ kWh battery), regularly arrive home with the EV nearly empty and need 80% by morning, or have a Porsche Taycan / Range Rover Electric / Mercedes EQS — you need to think about three-phase 22 kW charging at home.
We're installing 22 kW three-phase home chargers across [Hale Barns](/locations/hale-barns/), [Alderley Edge](/locations/alderley-edge/), [Prestbury](/locations/prestbury/), and [Bowdon](/locations/bowdon/) regularly in 2026 — the demographic in these areas has multiple EVs and the demand has shifted decisively over the past 12 months.
Three-phase vs single-phase — the basics
Most UK domestic supplies are single-phase: 240V, typically 100A. Maximum continuous draw 23 kW theoretical, ~17 kW practical when you account for other household loads.
A 7 kW EV charger uses 30A of that 100A. That's why 7 kW is the standard — it's the most you can usefully draw on a single-phase domestic supply without running out of headroom for the rest of the house.
Three-phase supply gives you 400V across three phases. Domestic three-phase is typically 100A per phase (300A total notional). A 22 kW EV charger draws 32A across all three phases — leaving plenty for the house.
Some UK domestic properties already have three-phase, particularly:
- Older detached properties (pre-1960s) where the original supply was three-phase
- Properties with home commercial or workshop use (farms, businesses-from-home)
- New builds in areas where the DNO upgraded the local network
- Many large Cheshire and Trafford detached homes — we find three-phase already in place in ~40% of [Alderley Edge](/locations/alderley-edge/), [Prestbury](/locations/prestbury/), and [Hale Barns](/locations/hale-barns/) surveys
The other 60% can have three-phase upgraded by the DNO (Distribution Network Operator — Electricity North West locally) for typical cost £800–£3,500.
When does 22 kW make sense?
Use this framework:
Stay with 7 kW if: - Single EV, drives less than 100 miles/day on average - Can reliably charge across the 6-hour Octopus Go window - House has 4 kW solar + battery already absorbing daytime generation - Don't want to upgrade DNO supply
Move to 11 kW (also three-phase, but reduced): - Two EVs, both moderate users - Want to share charger between EVs without dual chargepoint cost - Three-phase already present at the property
Move to 22 kW: - Two or more EVs with regular high mileage - Single Porsche Taycan / Tesla Cybertruck / Audi e-tron GT (high-capacity batteries) - Solar PV system 10 kWp+ with battery — uses surplus solar at higher rate - Property already has three-phase
Move to multiple chargers (often 2× 7 kW or 22 kW + 7 kW): - 3+ EVs at the property - Multi-generational household - Footballer / executive household where multiple cars charge simultaneously
The best 22 kW chargers in 2026
We fit four main 22 kW models regularly. Compared:
### Zappi v2.1 22 kW - £1,450 fitted typically - Solar-aware charging (eco mode, eco+ mode for solar diversion) - Three-phase 22 kW or single-phase 7 kW configurable - Integrates with Octopus Go / Flux / Cosy via myenergi app - OZEV-approved
Best for: solar households wanting tariff + solar integration. Most installs across [Wilmslow](/locations/wilmslow/), [Alderley Edge](/locations/alderley-edge/) where solar + EV are bundled.
### Ohme Home Pro 22 kW - £1,295 fitted typically - Tariff-aware scheduling (works with 30+ UK tariffs) - Three-phase variant available - Best UK tariff integration in market
Best for: tariff-driven scheduling, especially Octopus Intelligent Go which only works fully via Ohme on some EV models. Strong in [Bramhall](/locations/bramhall/) and [Hale Barns](/locations/hale-barns/) where Octopus Intelligent Go is popular.
### Easee Charge Lite 22 kW - £1,150 fitted typically - Modular design — multiple chargers share single supply with load balancing - Norwegian-made; very robust - App-controlled via Easee app
Best for: multi-EV households needing 2+ chargers from one supply. We install Easee on most of our 3+ charger Cheshire installs.
### Tesla Wall Connector 22 kW (three-phase variant) - £600 unit + £400 install typically (so £1,000 total fitted) - Cheapest 22 kW option fitted - Tesla-app integration but no solar diversion - Universal Wall Connector handles non-Tesla EVs with adapter
Best for: Tesla owners, especially with multi-vehicle Tesla households. Standard install on most [Alderley Edge](/locations/alderley-edge/) / [Prestbury](/locations/prestbury/) Tesla Powerwall jobs.
DNO upgrade — what it actually costs
If you don't have three-phase and want it, you apply to your DNO (Electricity North West for most of our coverage). The process:
1. Application — usually free, sometimes £50 admin fee 2. Site survey — DNO engineer visits to assess existing supply and street network 3. Quotation — DNO returns a costed proposal
Typical 2026 costs we see:
- Service cable already three-phase, just upgrade meter: £500–£800
- Service cable upgrade (single-phase → three-phase, 5–20m run): £1,200–£2,500
- Street network needs reinforcement (you're the trigger): £3,500–£15,000+ (rare)
In the wealthy Cheshire / Trafford / Greater Manchester corridor, three-phase is already widely available. We see ~60% of surveys where the upgrade is £800–£2,000. The remaining 40% already have it.
Total project budget for a 22 kW home charger + DNO upgrade: typically £2,500–£4,000.
Combining 22 kW with solar PV
This is where it gets interesting. A 12 kWp solar PV system can output 12 kW. A 22 kW charger can absorb all of that plus 10 kW from the grid (off-peak) — meaning your EV gets a fast charge from a mix of free solar + cheap grid power.
Zappi specifically has an "Eco+" mode that only charges from solar surplus. On a sunny Cheshire summer day a 12 kWp system can drive 8–10 kW into the EV all day, fully charging a Taycan in about 11 hours of pure solar.
Combined with [Octopus Flux](/tariffs/octopus-flux/), a property in [Prestbury](/locations/prestbury/) or [Alderley Edge](/locations/alderley-edge/) can run:
- 6am–4pm: solar generation, EV charging, battery filling, surplus export at 24p
- 2am–5am: cheap grid import at 17p, top up battery
- 4pm–7pm peak: discharge battery, export at 24p
- 7pm onwards: import at standard rate (rare, usually battery covers)
Annual savings vs grid-only on a multi-EV Cheshire household: typically £2,200–£3,800 with the full bundle (12 kWp solar + 2× Powerwall + 22 kW charger).
Our typical 22 kW install
For a wealthy Cheshire / Trafford household in 2026:
- 12–15 kWp [in-roof solar](/blog/in-roof-vs-on-roof-solar-uk-guide-2026/) (often Viridian Clearline Fusion)
- [Tesla Powerwall 3](/blog/tesla-powerwall-multi-stack-installs-uk-2026/) (often stacked for 27 kWh)
- 22 kW Zappi or Tesla Wall Connector + optional 7 kW second charger
- DNO upgrade if needed (~£1,500 average)
- Total fitted: £24,000–£36,000
Get a 22 kW EV charger quote with solar / battery integration: [book a survey](/contact/). We cover Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire from our Salford depot.