Just to clarify. Using an EV as a backup battery doesn’t mean it has to be tied up in that capacity. It can be used as a car to run errands and then returned to the backup function after that if still needed. A fridge can stay unplugged for a couple of hours without any issues.
2 Likes
IMO, for @HImom ‘s needs, a portable battery pack should be sufficient. Our kids have portable units by Enphase that they use for camping. They pull them out and preemptively charge them to run the fridge and TV during power outages.
2 Likes
Not a good idea unless power goes out often. We used to have one. $2,500
Honda. A gas powered generator is heavy, loud, stinky, and produces CO which can be deadly if the generator is run in the garage or too close to the house. One has to refill gas every few hours because it has a limited tank capacity. Also, it has to be run periodically like any other internal combustion engine to keep it in top shape.
2 Likes
Yes, as I noted above, H had a lot if experience with generators at his workplace and is STRONGLY opposed to them. We will likely get a portable backup that can run the fridge and be fueled with a few portable PV panels.
Right now, there’s not much inventory. H is waiting until batteries get better (within next 12 months) but El Niño is now and for the next 6 months. I’m a belt and suspenders gal and he feels we have a lot of options currently with folks who rarely lose power and those with backup batteries, including next door neighbor and my brother who lives <5 miles away.
2 Likes
Agree that it’s loud and needs maintenance. It’s always run outdoors and goes quite a while on one tank. Just saying that, depending on the circumstances, it can be a workable and flexible solution. Where we live (and we have regular outages, often for a few days), it is a much much much cheaper solution, and it is reliable. During longer outages, we have had neighbors whose homes couldn’t be accessed for propane deliveries because of downed trees. (No gas lines.)
Still, if cost were not an issue, I’d buy that Generac in a heartbeat and worry about keeping propane in it.
Actually, what would make me happy would be if our utility company invested in making the local system more durable. It’s probably telling that when I look at the outage map, which I do when the power is out, Google tells me “You visit this page often.”
The cabin’s Generac and its 500-gallon propane tank is DH’s baby. As I posted at the time it was installed, the purpose of these extremely expensive items is to power the cabin during the blizzard outage we’ll never be here for as we leave in October each year, and DH would never spend a winter in Maine. In the six seasons we’ve spent here, we’ve lost power in the summer exactly twice (and not since the Generac was installed), each time less than an hour and no need for electricity during those outages. But, hey, let’s be ready for The Apocalypse, right?
(I told the guys who installed the propane tank that I now know who to call when I need to bury a body. They laughed nervously.)
We have whole-house solar in AZ but are only there in the winter now and never have outages, so that Tesla PowerWall that DH keeps eyeing doesn’t make sense. Right, DH? 
4 Likes
For my peace of mind, I think I’d want backup panels along with a portable (under 50#) battery that is compatible with it, so we can recharge the battery via our sun (which we normally have pretty often around our home). If we didn’t have such frequent outages and our infrastructure weren’t aging, I wouldn’t be as worried. As it is, I AM concerned, but want to be sure that whatever we buy will help us be more independent of the “grid.” My H is pretty adamant NO gas/propane generator, so electric + solar it is. Price isn’t as important as having something that we will both be happy with.
5 Likes
In Hawaii, a portable backup battery with its own solar array makes a lot of sense.
3 Likes
I’d want to buy the entire setup as a system instead of trying to piece together panels and the portable battery. I’d want the company to include the cable and help assure that the battery and panel(s) work together. Our area of the state has a very high R rating (which means we get a lot of sun).
1 Like
In an extended outage with cloudy days (= less solar generation), it can also be driven to a charger elsewhere to bring some energy home.
1 Like
I’m in North Carolina where we do get hurricanes pretty often. NC is 4th in the nation with direct hurricane hits. Not like Florida, but pretty close behind Louisiana and Texas. What a weird weather year for Hawaii to get two! And we do get tornados, severe thunderstorms, and ice and snow that can knock out power. We use an inverter on our Chevy Bolt to keep the fridge running during power outages. Can also run a fan and other small appliances as needed like the electric kettle for hot tea (we don’t drink coffee, but it could do that too). We have done it several times since power outages are not that uncommon here – maybe once or twice every year or two. We had a gas generator and got rid of it. The Bolt is also a great place to warm up with heat or cool down with AC as needed.
2 Likes
Jackery products are available at Costco online.
Sadly, our local HI Costco only have Power Stations when the boat and shipment arrives. (The other day when a Jackery boat shipment arrrived at Costco, they were all sold out in an hour at both stores.) They do NOT mail to HI in the normal course when you order because these are Hazmat goods and need to go through extra procedures, etc, which additional costs are passed on to the buyers. There is a place locally, Battery Bill as well as RevoluSun that brings in some power stations, as well as the local Lowes and Home Depot. One has to figure out exactly what one wants and order and then be prepared to wait and wait until the units ordered & pre-paid for arrive.
The lines to be in to BatteryBill are very very long, as are wait times on the phone to speak with anyone. They hired a lot of young new staff to handle all the business and the new staff really aren’t very knowledgeable.
Several of our friends and acquaintances bought Anker Solix S2000. Two of them also bought the solar panel that goes with the power station. At 35# and with reviews that say it can power a fridge overnight, I think many felt that was sufficient for their needs. It was also more portable than many other power stations that delivered enough power to keep the fridge running tht long—very efficient!
I’d check if your utility offers virtual power plant type incentives for whole home batteries. I’m not familiar with Hawaii incentives but I’d be surprised if there isn’t some type of incentive for solar connected batteries supplying power to the grid at selected times. Sometimes those incentives make a whole home setup more cost effective than a patchwork of batteries serving individual appliances
Franklin, SigEnergy, and Enphase all make very good home batteries but I don’t know pricing in Hawaii. It’s possible you’ll have limited choice due to shipping costs.
1 Like
The whole home prices we were offered are all about $30k, even with the panels we already have and NO discounts or incentives for residences, only businesses.
I can buy one or more batteries and some PV panels for a few thousand and back up our fridge & my medical equipment and that will be sufficient. I believe people can generate as long as they don’t feed back to the grid so no workers will be harmed in an outage when power is being restored.
We have a net metering agreement to sell our extra energy back to the grid now. It’s better than the new agreements now available.
In that case I’d look at one of the refrigerator specific backup batteries. Bluetti makes one that’s pretty slim.
I’m not clear if your solar system is capable of islanding in a power outage. Many (not all) aren’t without a battery connected, so if power goes out so does solar.
2 Likes
Yes, I have been exploring that and and putting up panels just for the new battery/batteries. I’m attracted by the Anker S2000. It seems good with islanding.
We have natural gas coming to our house and installed a natural gas generator, which switches on after 30 seconds of outage, shortly after we moved in. ShawWife and I both work from home. When ShawD was little, someone asked her what her father did for work and she said, “He talks on the phone and types on the computer.” That hasn’t changed except that the calls are now Teams/Zoom. So, reliable backup was very important.
After waiting for Tesla to install solar panels for over a year, we switched to another provider and now have a 24.5 kW rooftop installation (25 kW would make it small business). The original plan with Tesla was to incorporate two PowerWalls but the cost seemed too high so we left a place for the batteries to be installed if costs came down. Tesla had left us a switch that would enable the generator and the batteries to work effectively in the case of a shutdown, but the local utility just could not figure it out and made us get a new switch that only worked with the generator. So, if batteries make sense, we will need to install a switch and get a new permit as well, I think.
We now have a Tesla car with a Level 2 charger. We could use that for our house (and the utility has a program to pay us for using the car as backup, but I’m uncomfortable with that. Not sure why).
Well, I did a deeper dive and realize that I am using 300-500 watts/hour for my stationary O2 concentrator every night, so need to add that into my calculations which pretty much tosses out the idea of using Power Banks (they don’t have enough power). Also, ever time, likely power needs will increase if I start needing to use continuous flow O2 more than 8 hours/night (some folks need it 24/7). By the time you get enough power in power stations and then get the solar panels to back things up, we might as well just get everything done correctly and put the panels on the roof and the battery outside, next to the split a/c compressor. It’s OK, we can afford a whole house system but that just pushes us in another direction and is likely a good thing because our statewide power system is getting pretty unreliable and fragile. Fingers crossed we are able to work with this company and get what we need.
I sent a bunch of questions to the salesman of the company we like best (who also happens to be a LOT cheaper than the other companies). Will see how he responds and if he’s able to address the issues we are concerned about.
H didn’t understand why I was so stressed and confused about all the info I had been collecting. I left him with the 3 proposals when I went from my mammogram & he had a better understanding of how confusing it all was by the time I got home. It’s a fruit salad, with none of the 3 companies using the same panels nor the same battery!
2 Likes