[pfflier]

Your house only gets 2 phases from the power pole. If you look at your main breakers you should see 2 with the same rating side by side at the main feed.

Three phase is mostly for industrial use.

Some of your loads like an oven, electric dryer or AC may have two ganged breakers (two that switch together on one throw). Those are your 2 phase loads.

They would not be operable with a single phase generator.

[Magnum44]

Thanks, you made that explanation very simple. I need to double check my central heat and air to see if its two phase. If so then I would need a three-phase generator to keep A/C up and running. (I have not seen two phase as an option in generators). Otherwise a single phase probably works fine for refrigerators, freezers, lights, TV, wifi, and most all other essentials.

[Don W]

Your house gets SINGLE phase. It’s called “split phase” because it carries the alternating peaks of the single phase on two wires.

There is no such animal as “two phase” power in use anywhere.