I've been researching and reading about solar/battery solutions for a few months and haven't quite figured out the best approach to meeting my requirements. I'm hoping someone here has gone through the same process and can offer some advice for my current situation.
I'm trying to prepare for a prolonged grid down scenario, but I want to keep costs to a reasonable level since I'm not planning on a full solar install to be used daily. Whatever system I come up with won't be paying for itself by replacing grid costs with solar on a regular basis. The reason for this is I may be moving in the next couple of years and don't want to invest in a whole house system install. I live in a heavily treed area and my roof orientation isn't ideal, not to mention any installer would recommend a new roof prior to any rooftop panel installation. I have a spot in the backyard near a small garden that I can use to setup a few panels if needed...figure a 1.2-1.5kW array.
If we lose power, I have a Honda EU7000is generator that has been converted to tri-fuel. I have a natural gas hookup that originally used to feed a gas fireplace insert (since removed) and the line now serves as the generator fuel supply. Whenever we lose power, I take the generator out of the garage, roll it to the backyard, hook up the gas line, hook up the 30A 240V cord to an inlet box which feeds a 30A breaker via an interlock kit installed in the main load center. I built a dual panel meter box so I can monitor each leg of the 240V generator output as I switch on the circuits I need and it's located near the load center. It also has an L14-30R receptacle connecting to the same breaker. This system works great, but if something happens to the fuel supply (gasoline or natural gas), then I have no other way to provide power to the house. I realize that losing both the ability to get gasoline and natural gas would be an extremely rare event, but it doesn't hurt to be too prepared. The Honda is the only generator I have, and while they are super high quality machines...they can fail.
I've been looking at a secondary way to provide power and have been focusing on the Ecoflow Delta Pro units connected via their double voltage hub, which would provide up to 7200W continuous output power. While these units are expensive, they seem to fit the bill for an easy and portable way to provide secondary backup power in the event my Honda generator isn't running (either due to lack of fuel or requires repairs or maintenance). What I like about the Delta Pro units is that when the generator isn't being used, I could simply make a suicide cord and plug it into the extra power meter receptacle, replacing the generator output directly via the existing breaker and interlock setup. No need to run a cable outside to the input box. The downside to the Ecoflow units is cost and battery storage capacity. Yes, I could spend $18k to get the full system with 4 extra batteries, but there is no way I could justify the cost since I wouldn't be using them on a daily basis. I also don't have any solar panels yet. I was thinking I could get a few panels and run some wires to the backyard to setup a temporary ground system if the grid was down for a few weeks. I could either recharge with solar and/or use the Honda for recharging, running the Delta Pros at night. The Honda is very quiet, but the Ecoflows would be practically silent since they'd be in the basement.
My question for you all....if you were me and didn't want to go with the Ecoflow setup, which cost effective 240V inverter and battery solution would you want to install, assuming that it would only be used for backup power? Is there a specific 240V hybrid inverter that is more cost effective for this kind of use? I'm thinking a pure sine wave low frequency inverter would be best. It would be great to have an inverter that can provide twice its rated continuous power for peak surges of a second or two. The Sol-Ark 12k seems like a nice unit, but way over budget. Which batteries would you recommend? I like the idea of the rack mount 48V units. I'd need enough batteries to meet a peak DC current demand of about 300A for a second or two with a storage capacity of about 20kwh. If I'm not running large appliances, my house power draw is about 1-2 kw per hour.
I don't want to spend more than $10k for the whole setup, including a few panels. Is this even possible? Thoughts?
I'm trying to prepare for a prolonged grid down scenario, but I want to keep costs to a reasonable level since I'm not planning on a full solar install to be used daily. Whatever system I come up with won't be paying for itself by replacing grid costs with solar on a regular basis. The reason for this is I may be moving in the next couple of years and don't want to invest in a whole house system install. I live in a heavily treed area and my roof orientation isn't ideal, not to mention any installer would recommend a new roof prior to any rooftop panel installation. I have a spot in the backyard near a small garden that I can use to setup a few panels if needed...figure a 1.2-1.5kW array.
If we lose power, I have a Honda EU7000is generator that has been converted to tri-fuel. I have a natural gas hookup that originally used to feed a gas fireplace insert (since removed) and the line now serves as the generator fuel supply. Whenever we lose power, I take the generator out of the garage, roll it to the backyard, hook up the gas line, hook up the 30A 240V cord to an inlet box which feeds a 30A breaker via an interlock kit installed in the main load center. I built a dual panel meter box so I can monitor each leg of the 240V generator output as I switch on the circuits I need and it's located near the load center. It also has an L14-30R receptacle connecting to the same breaker. This system works great, but if something happens to the fuel supply (gasoline or natural gas), then I have no other way to provide power to the house. I realize that losing both the ability to get gasoline and natural gas would be an extremely rare event, but it doesn't hurt to be too prepared. The Honda is the only generator I have, and while they are super high quality machines...they can fail.
I've been looking at a secondary way to provide power and have been focusing on the Ecoflow Delta Pro units connected via their double voltage hub, which would provide up to 7200W continuous output power. While these units are expensive, they seem to fit the bill for an easy and portable way to provide secondary backup power in the event my Honda generator isn't running (either due to lack of fuel or requires repairs or maintenance). What I like about the Delta Pro units is that when the generator isn't being used, I could simply make a suicide cord and plug it into the extra power meter receptacle, replacing the generator output directly via the existing breaker and interlock setup. No need to run a cable outside to the input box. The downside to the Ecoflow units is cost and battery storage capacity. Yes, I could spend $18k to get the full system with 4 extra batteries, but there is no way I could justify the cost since I wouldn't be using them on a daily basis. I also don't have any solar panels yet. I was thinking I could get a few panels and run some wires to the backyard to setup a temporary ground system if the grid was down for a few weeks. I could either recharge with solar and/or use the Honda for recharging, running the Delta Pros at night. The Honda is very quiet, but the Ecoflows would be practically silent since they'd be in the basement.
My question for you all....if you were me and didn't want to go with the Ecoflow setup, which cost effective 240V inverter and battery solution would you want to install, assuming that it would only be used for backup power? Is there a specific 240V hybrid inverter that is more cost effective for this kind of use? I'm thinking a pure sine wave low frequency inverter would be best. It would be great to have an inverter that can provide twice its rated continuous power for peak surges of a second or two. The Sol-Ark 12k seems like a nice unit, but way over budget. Which batteries would you recommend? I like the idea of the rack mount 48V units. I'd need enough batteries to meet a peak DC current demand of about 300A for a second or two with a storage capacity of about 20kwh. If I'm not running large appliances, my house power draw is about 1-2 kw per hour.
I don't want to spend more than $10k for the whole setup, including a few panels. Is this even possible? Thoughts?
Last edited: