How to power your Whole House with a battery generator - Ecoflow Delta pro

How I installed DIY battery technology to power my house for shorter outages without noise or maintenance & how I plan to charge them for longer ones. 240V can run well pumps, heat, dryer & other heavy duty appliances. Using the Ecoflow Delta pro, 240v adapter and batteries along with how I installed two generator inlet outlets.

Products:

The items above are what I used. Electric work is not for everyone carries risk or fire or death. Consult with a licensed electrician or the product manufacturer to ensure any work you do complies with safety regulations and your local building codes.

Ecoflow gave me the Delta pro and accessories last year at no charge. There were no requirements for a follow up video. The opinions shown in the video are my own.

Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, I cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. Silver Cymbal assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. Silver Cymbal recommends safe practices when working on machines and or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Silver Cymbal.

#EcoFlow #PowerYourFamily #DeltaPro #WholeHomePowerSolution #notagenerator

[paulchristiansen]

Another great thing about this setup is that you could plug a small generator like a Honda 2000 into the delta pro to help extend the run time of the ecoflow especially when it’s cloudy and solar wouldn’t work well. The Honda couldn’t run your whole house, but could certainly add to the usefulness of your backup system. Especially for people that don’t have large generators. Even better use a small propane generator.

[ModsandHacks]

Man I can tell you've heavily invested in your house to make it exactly the way you want. I absolutely love all the tasteful things you've done to it. The solar, the battery backup, the lawn, the networking (my favorite) and everything else. I love watching your videos man keep up the good work!

[rik]

My ideal system would be to use the generator during the day & battery power at night. I love the idea of a system like this, as one of my concerns is that generators have been known to disappear during the night.
At the moment, we don’t have enough outages in our area to justify the cost of a battery backup system such as the one in the video. It’s nice to think about though. 😀

[davidcox]

Looks like a well-engineered system. Speaking of wells, many city folk don't realize that when you're on a well, no electric = no water. If your system can handle the pump's load, you're in good shape.

[rab]

THANK YOU. This is exactly what I'm looking to do. By the way, an alternative to getting your battery generators recharge would be to run your gas generator---and have that charge your battery generator while using it for your house. This way, your system can back up each other. I would think you'd need a sine inverter and whole house surge protector though but not sure. If you do end up needing to put one, you should update your video to include it in the system. 😉 THIS WAS AN AWESOME VIDEO BY THE WAY!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING.

[arminius]

An often overlooked issue with gas generators is that they typically cannot produce a pure sine wave, but rather a modified sine wave. There are many electronics such as PC's, tv's etc. that can malfunction or potentially experience damage while running on modified sine wave. One of the advantages of a battery inverter such as the Ecoflows or many other available split phase inverters available is that they produce a pure sine wave which eliminates the worry about your household equipment (unless you accidentally buy a cheaper modified sine wave inverter due to lack of experience). I've run my gas generator with a transfer switch during several power outages and I'm pretty much done with how much of a pain in the ass it is to set up. I'll save up enough money to build my own solar split phase battery generator, stick it in a large theft-proof and waterproof box, and kiss the gasoline purchases goodbye! Thanks for making this excellently presented video!

[willboudreau]

As a followup comment to my earlier comment, another idea that would make a REALLY interesting video, is for you to do a "trial run" and actually run your whole house on the battery backup, document how many minutes/watts each of your household appliances is consuming. And by the way, I'd love to see a video devoted to your search for your tractor.

[emiebex]

Never having to worry about a Power Outage. That's incredible.

[josebetancourt]

This was exactly what I was looking for and it couldn't have come at a more timely fashion. We already had the external connection but were thinking that we may have to give it up when switching to something like the EcoFlow. Great presentation. Succint and to the point.

[rw]

That's a good system. Pricey with that amount of gear. I just had an electrician install a sub panel for generator input next to my main panel. He wired a 15' heavy duty cable I can plug in to a generator. It is expandable to 8 circuits. I only have 3 going in to it. Furnace, fridge and chest freezer. I'm in Alberta so heat is important for my anticipated winter rolling blackouts. They warned us last winter but with so much new housing and no new power plants this year, I'm preparing. I've got a Delta 2 Max. Before winter I'll have 2 extra batteries to give me the 6 kwh. I can plug the AC in so when the power comes on it will charge and still power the sub panel without me needing to switch it back to the main panel normal operation. I may get a smaller unit for upstairs to power the wifi, computer and TV later. Essentials first.
The good part of the sub panel only housing critical circuits is that I can leave a light switch on. When the power is back on, the light will turn on and I'll know when power is restored.

[coriding]

Awesome summary, thanks! Quick tip... the green screw on the 3 pole switch box should be connected to ground. In the event that any live wire touches the box, or if the switch malfunctions, it'll throw the breaker / fuse, and prevent you from getting shocked.

[skunkjobb]

It makes perfect sense to use batteries and charge them with a gasoline or diesel generator if needed. I measured the power and fuel consumption for a small 650 W gasoline generator. At 50 W el load, the efficiency was disastrous, only 2 %. At close to full load it was 9 %. A larger generator will have better efficiency at full load but if your average power need is small, it's a crazy waste of fuel to run a generator a long period of time.

[KuryakinIllya]

Thanks for the video. This is exactly the set-up I plan to have one day. For shorter outages, up to 12 hours, I wouldn't have to do all the work setting up my portable generator. Just do the interlock switch (already installed), throw the triple throw switch, power up the batteries and we're in business - without ever having to step outside into bad weather.

[robwinkler]

Thank you for making short videos like this. In this case it's a huge help for someone just wanting to know what a double voltage hub does and how it works. I really like the safety feature the 3 pole double throw switch provides by enabling only one outlet at a time.

[natehowe]

Love the video and agree with the approach. My system is coming along. Rather than a panel interlock method, I am using two Reliance 10-circuit transfer switches. These are wired in parallel with the L14-30P inlet, so one leg powers all the A side circuits in and the other leg powers the B side circuits. I decided to protect all critical loads but also all comfort loads throughout the house, which had 20 circuits all doing 120Volt loads. My plan started with grid down backup, but evolved into a system I can use year round to offset my electric bill and exercise my gear. I have two Delta Pro units and the smart hub, so I connect right into the inlet and power all 20 home circuits. None of my loads are 240Volt so I could actually use just one Delta Pro with a 3-prong to 4-prong adapter. Because I can toggle each circuit individually, I can continue to use utility power for high loads - in particular I left central AC, dryer, and oven out of the transfer switch setup. If I lose utility, I can live without those 240Volt loads. The Delta Pro units have the expansion batteries for 21KW total storage available. My hope is to add two strings of solar probably using 400Watt panels, probably 3 panels per string for a total of 6. I don’t want to run the risk of harming the Delta Pro solar controllers that are limited to 150Volts solar input. I also have a pair of EU2200 units with tri-fuel conversion from Grenergy US, so I can run those to refill the Delta Pro units. This will be nice because they don’t need to run full time, just intervals. With natural gas, my run time could be indefinite. If NG fails, I can use propane supplies I keep onsite (grill tanks). All together, I have 5 sources between solar, utility, natural gas, propane, and gasoline. The Honda’s can work in parallel to output 3600Watts and I can go into the same inlet and take the Delta Pros out of service if they are failing. I have a long, quality extension cord to reach from outside to the inlet inside. I think the use of the transfer switch is the main difference and it allows me to run a portion of the home, such as refrigerator and Internet, on solar generation while still using utility for heavy loads. I have a window AC to replace central AC in the main bedroom during a grid outage. Now, I would also challenge everyone to seek to reduce their needs so they use less power to begin with. A clothes line can replace the dryer. You can cook on a propane grill or with a toaster oven, instead of a big kitchen oven. A Mr. Heater Buddy can product heat for a bedroom directly from propane with no generator. You can use candles instead of house lighting and you can switch to LED bulbs. You would be amazed how much is sucking power and when you are trying to get the most out of batteries, you will try to be frugal with your electric consumption. Please note, I didn’t want the Smart Panel from EcoFlow because I wanted a standard inlet that my generator could use directly. I also didn’t want the EcoFlow generators because the Hondas have a bullet proof reputation but it is nice that the EcoFlow generator can make a direct DC connection to the Delta Pro, using fuel more efficiently. Last point - I installed the MicroAir soft start on my 5 ton AC and experienced a drastic reduction in startup amps. Though I haven’t added central air to this backup power plan, the soft start will prolong the life of the equipment and help me if I decide to power it with a larger mechanical generator in the future.

[muletowndumpsters]

This is exactly my idea. I love that the batteries are quiet and no fuel expense and worry. The issue is like the gas generator, your juice eventually runs out. For this reason, My thoughts were to charge the backup lithium batteries as part of the initial load. So as you have two batteries there, my next step would be to get two more and be charging those on the current load. That may equate to 2 less hours of run time, but it keeps you going. 😊

[muletowndumpsters]

I'm thinking of using the gas generator long enough to charge the lithium batteries, then rotate back to lithium. That should preserve fuel in the event you're down for an extended amount of time.

[theclearsounds]

Just want to let you know how much I admire your setup, and how well you presented it! I just wish those units weren't so pricey!

[kevinlauzon]

Great video as always. I basically have the exact same set up except that I have 4 expansion batteries. I don't have an exterior Reliance Controls PB30 L14-30 outlet but I might look at that in case I want to use my Yamaha EF6300iSDE. If you encounter any issues with the the Delta Pro's getting out of balance (i.e) one DP getting depleted faster than the other) it typically because of which phase your loads are connected to. Although most of the time, both of my DP's + 2 EB's would stay relatively balanced with each other (within 10% to 15%), by adding the Victron autotransformer between the Double Voltage Hub and the PB30 L14-30 outlet, it just takes all the worry out of it.

An autotransformer can be used for step up, step down and split phase output balancing purposes.
While the step up and step down functions are fairly straightforward, split phase output balancing may require some more attention.
Consider for example a 30A 120/240V split phase supply.
The supply could be the grid, a generator or two stacked inverters.
Some of the loads connected are 240V, others are 120V. On each 120V leg the load should not exceed 30A. The problem is that as soon as 120V loads are connected, the two legs will show a different current. This is because the 120V loads on the two legs will never be balanced. A 120V 1200W hairdryer, for example, will draw 10A from one leg. A 120V washing machine could even draw in excess of 20A from one leg. Between the two legs the difference in current, or current unbalance, will therefore often be 20A or more. This means that the 30A supply will not be used up to its full potential. By the time one leg draws 30A, the other leg may be drawing no more than 10A, and increasing the 240V load, for example, will result in an overload of one leg while the other leg still has spare capacity.
Theoretically, the total power that can be drawn from a 30A 120/240V supply is 30 x 240 = 7, 2 kVA.
In case of 20A unbalance, the practical maximum will be 30 x 120 + 10 x120 = 4, 8kVA, or 67% of the theoretical maximum.
The solution is an Autotransformer.
By leaving the neutral of the split phase supply unused, and connecting an Autotransformer to create a new neutral, as shown in figure 1, any load unbalance is ‘absorbed’ by the Autotransformer.
In case of a 30A supply, the load can be increased to 7, 2kVA, and a 20A load unbalance will result in one leg supplying 40A, and the other leg 20A. The 20A difference will flow through the neutral and the windings of the Autotransformer. The current through both 120V wires of the split phase supply will be 30A.

Feel free to check out this post for more details

[bosco]

We literally just lost power today (in the US northeast), and I have a small Ecoflow River Pro that can power my propane fireplace, which can heat the entire house. But I want something more substantial, and of course Silver Cymbal has a great video on this. Thanks!