Pre-Florida Hurricane Install

I am currently in the process of installing an EG4 6000XP, Conduit box, and a wall mounted 14.3kWh outdoor battery in a storage cabinet on my deck here in Central Florida. It will have ventilation ducts from my HVAC system into/out of the cabinet.

I have already had an "Real Time" test of the system in a pre-wired emergency mode. Hurricane "Milton" forced me to set the system up in an emergency operating mode prior to the permanent install. I ran a temporary 50 amp cable from my RV pedestal's 50 amp circuit, next to the house to to the "Grid" connection on the EG4. I ran a heavy duty extension cord into the house and plugged the Fridge and Network into it (EG4 Load). Don't laugh, I disconnected the clothes dryer hose and used the dryer vent to get the extension cord into the house from the deck... I duct taped the opening to keep the critters out. So the fridge, security and the network were connected to the EG4 for battery backup. We left on Monday (for the Panhandle) and all went well, until I believe it was Friday when the 14.3kWh battery dropped to 15% and shut-down. Our grid power and Internet service went down on Wednesday.

We arrived back home on Saturday and the yard was a mess with Oak tree branches all over the place and of course no grid power, but the meat and everything in the Freezer was still frozen solid. That would have been a big $$$ loss had it thawed. The first thing that I did was plug in the generator and charge EG4 battery and supply the house with power. Instead of running the generator constantly, I decided to just power the fridge, house lights and security while sending most of the power to the RV where we spent the next few days living out of. It uses a lot less power, especially the AC unit. The grid power was reinstated on Monday afternoon and everything is getting back to normal, for us. I am a few hundred yards from the Gulf of Mexico and about 18 feet above sea level, which saved us. The families that are between us and the Gulf are discarding all their belongings. I have been here 26 years and this is the first major hurricane that we encountered. There were others that came close... well there is no comparison.

Lesson Learned:
- I need one more 14.3kWh battery
- Wire in a new service Sub-panel (EG4 Load) with essential devices only (fridge, Security, network, lights...)
- Wire in my 9500 running watts generator to be controlled by the EG4 system
- Large LP tank for the generator
- Make sure that I test the system in advance of each hurricane season

I would personally like to thank "SIGNATURE SOLAR" for their fantastic service. I ordered the EG4 6000XP, 14.3kWh battery and Conduit box and they had it delivered in what I would consider record time. It arrived WELL BEFORE my anticipated date, which gave me plenty of time to set it up before any hurricanes were to arrive. They have FANTASTIC support! If you have not ordered your system yet, give them a call. Their staff is GREAT!

Maybe they can send me that extra 14.3kWh wall mounted outdoor battery that they do not know what to do with. LOL

Pictures to follow