JustHank
New Member
It's said that golf is a game where one tries to hit a ball into a distant hole while using tools completely unsuited to the purpose.
I don't golf, but in that spirit, I want to use my existing motley collection of mostly Ecoflow stuff to make a very limited home backup system. This is intended to cover limited needs during SCE power outages. We just had a two-plus day public service shutdown due to the Palisades fire.
The attached diagram shows my plan, and I am hoping for suggestions on the "TBD" parts, assuming it's possible at all. I see some similar threads, but I don't think this is a complete duplicate of other posts.
I live in a 900 square foot condo with my wife, semi-retired, just the two of us and one bemused cat. We have limited electrical needs by comparison to many of the whole-house configurations discussed on this forum. Water heater, clothes dryer, stove/oven, and furnace are all natural gas. The only 230 volt appliance is air conditioning, which we will forgo during outages. Average SCE bill is $243, and our average monthly kWh is 682, although that includes summer A/C and regular Keurig coffee maker use...it doesn't seem like the ROI for full solar is there.
Refrigerator is a two-year-old single door, top freezer Frigidaire. I measured usage with an older Kill-A-Watt and used 12.78 kWh over 341 hours.
Coffee will be a stove-heated water pourover during SCE outages.
Microwave is a 2020 GE over-stove unit, nameplate rating 1550 watts. We will get a smaller dorm microwave if needed, or just forego microwaving during outages.
I still have to measure the washer, dryer, and furnace fan requirements, if the system I am imagining can even handle those.
For air conditioning, if we determine we need it, we will restrict it to one bedroom. I will either get the Ecoflow Wave or use some portable A/C. At one point in the past, I have used a window air conditioner in a sliding glass door as a backup to a failing HVAC unit, although that's not my preference. And...We have a generally cooperative HOA, but mini-split is not an option. Repeat, mini-split is not an option.
The general concept is to use my existing couple of panels on my patio to start. The HOA has allowed roof solar, and we probably have a dozen units with it. If the plan works out, I will then progress to getting permission to mount four to six panels on my carport, which has been allowed by the HOA. But for now, I will be sticking with what I can mount in private.
So, with two 100W panels, a Delta 2 with spare battery, and a circa 1975 100A Murray panel, I think I need:
1. MPPT (probably Victron, buy once, cry once). But which one? And what battery sense option?
2. Battery (100AH? 230AH LiTime? Costco AGM car battery? To Be Determined...) I really, really prefer 12V, so I can use what automotive knowledge I have, but I guess 24V is something I'd consider. I really, really, really don't want 48V, and I think that is overkill for this small system anyway.
3. Transfer switch so there is absolutely no issue with backfeed. This will be done by an electrical contractor, with all permits, UL listed, NEC compliance, and SCE approval required. But manual or automatic? Automatic sounds more appealing - the dear wife won't have to go outside and play with switches. And can I feed a 230 VAC home panel with 120 VAC generator power?
4. Various cables (have XT60i, but MPPT and battery cabling TBD). Probably a bus bar in the future if I expand and add more batteries. Probably Blue Sea - buy once, cry once.
5. Fuses or circuit breakers - where do I need these? It looks like the Victron MPPTs have a fuse, but I assume I should have more protection.
6. Battery box. This will all be outside the unit, under an eave so it's not terribly exposed to the elements.
I also have a couple of River 3 units which I will use in the bedroom for TV and lights.
This is a condominium, not a 5000 square foot house, no pool, sump pump, well, shop, or other large demands. EV probably not in our future. If this small start works, I will probably expand it, and eventually replace the Delta 2. I hope to keep the added purchases under $1000 USD, of course excluding the transfer switch installation. I realize that the conditions I've listed may be considered unreasonable constraints by many readers. But what do you think?
I don't golf, but in that spirit, I want to use my existing motley collection of mostly Ecoflow stuff to make a very limited home backup system. This is intended to cover limited needs during SCE power outages. We just had a two-plus day public service shutdown due to the Palisades fire.
The attached diagram shows my plan, and I am hoping for suggestions on the "TBD" parts, assuming it's possible at all. I see some similar threads, but I don't think this is a complete duplicate of other posts.
I live in a 900 square foot condo with my wife, semi-retired, just the two of us and one bemused cat. We have limited electrical needs by comparison to many of the whole-house configurations discussed on this forum. Water heater, clothes dryer, stove/oven, and furnace are all natural gas. The only 230 volt appliance is air conditioning, which we will forgo during outages. Average SCE bill is $243, and our average monthly kWh is 682, although that includes summer A/C and regular Keurig coffee maker use...it doesn't seem like the ROI for full solar is there.
Refrigerator is a two-year-old single door, top freezer Frigidaire. I measured usage with an older Kill-A-Watt and used 12.78 kWh over 341 hours.
Coffee will be a stove-heated water pourover during SCE outages.
Microwave is a 2020 GE over-stove unit, nameplate rating 1550 watts. We will get a smaller dorm microwave if needed, or just forego microwaving during outages.
I still have to measure the washer, dryer, and furnace fan requirements, if the system I am imagining can even handle those.
For air conditioning, if we determine we need it, we will restrict it to one bedroom. I will either get the Ecoflow Wave or use some portable A/C. At one point in the past, I have used a window air conditioner in a sliding glass door as a backup to a failing HVAC unit, although that's not my preference. And...We have a generally cooperative HOA, but mini-split is not an option. Repeat, mini-split is not an option.
The general concept is to use my existing couple of panels on my patio to start. The HOA has allowed roof solar, and we probably have a dozen units with it. If the plan works out, I will then progress to getting permission to mount four to six panels on my carport, which has been allowed by the HOA. But for now, I will be sticking with what I can mount in private.
So, with two 100W panels, a Delta 2 with spare battery, and a circa 1975 100A Murray panel, I think I need:
1. MPPT (probably Victron, buy once, cry once). But which one? And what battery sense option?
2. Battery (100AH? 230AH LiTime? Costco AGM car battery? To Be Determined...) I really, really prefer 12V, so I can use what automotive knowledge I have, but I guess 24V is something I'd consider. I really, really, really don't want 48V, and I think that is overkill for this small system anyway.
3. Transfer switch so there is absolutely no issue with backfeed. This will be done by an electrical contractor, with all permits, UL listed, NEC compliance, and SCE approval required. But manual or automatic? Automatic sounds more appealing - the dear wife won't have to go outside and play with switches. And can I feed a 230 VAC home panel with 120 VAC generator power?
4. Various cables (have XT60i, but MPPT and battery cabling TBD). Probably a bus bar in the future if I expand and add more batteries. Probably Blue Sea - buy once, cry once.
5. Fuses or circuit breakers - where do I need these? It looks like the Victron MPPTs have a fuse, but I assume I should have more protection.
6. Battery box. This will all be outside the unit, under an eave so it's not terribly exposed to the elements.
I also have a couple of River 3 units which I will use in the bedroom for TV and lights.
This is a condominium, not a 5000 square foot house, no pool, sump pump, well, shop, or other large demands. EV probably not in our future. If this small start works, I will probably expand it, and eventually replace the Delta 2. I hope to keep the added purchases under $1000 USD, of course excluding the transfer switch installation. I realize that the conditions I've listed may be considered unreasonable constraints by many readers. But what do you think?
