I'm looking to set up the EG4 Flexboss and Gridboss for a UPS system since power outages happen quite often around here—about 2 out of 5 times due to wind or lightning, lasting for a few hours. I live in a semi-rural area, and the power company installed fuses instead of reclosers, which complicates things.
To give you some background, I need to mount the Gridboss, but I ran into an unexpected meter change because of county code requirements, making the installation tricky. Does NEC code allow me to splice an extension onto a 200A cable? This check is crucial in case the Gridboss needs to be mounted at a specific height for code compliance instead of just 2 feet off the ground.
Also, I'm trying to understand if the Gridboss supports island-mode during power outages. When the grid relay opens automatically, does the Flexboss keep providing power to my house? My short-term goal is to have UPS functionality to keep the fridge and other essentials running automatically, without needing to hook up an inverter to my car. Ultimately, I aim for energy independence using solar and batteries to power my home year-round.
1 Answer
For what you're trying to achieve short-term, the Gridboss might be overkill. You could consider using an xp6000 as a simpler alternative between your main panel and a subpanel. If the AC power goes down, the batteries will automatically take over the output. These inverters are like giant UPS systems for subpanels, making things much less complicated. You could always add solar later for partial solar use, but it might be best to do everything at once to save on labor costs.
Also, I removed the Flexboss from my suggestion while figuring out if it functions the same way on its own as the xp6000 would. But it should work similarly as a standalone unit.
That sounds great, but starting with the 6k and subpanel is going to be tricky with my home's layout. The utility room is in a tough spot, making installations noisy and complicated. I really need everything to be outdoor-rated and expandable, which is why I'm leaning towards the Gridboss and Flexboss combo.
I'm okay with investing in the Gridboss setup to meet code requirements now. I can always add inverters, panels, and batteries later. What's vital for me is being able to isolate in island and off-grid mode automatically when I start this installation.