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Situation: I recently bought a vacation beach home in SC that does not have any back-up system. I considered a standby generator, but the installed cost with propane tanks, elevation stand x2, generator, and installation comes to $20,000 USD. The key point is that I will not stay at home during a hurricane, so I only really need backup power if the power goes out for an odd reason (e.g., a car accident hits a pole, etc.) or a wind storm. If a big storm is coming, I will evacuate to my primary home 4-hours inland, which has a Generac installed.
Current Equipment: Honda EU2000i, Bluetti EB55, electric camping fridge/freezer and butane/propane stove.
Estimated Power Needs: Power the fridge, WIFI, laptops, phones, fans (if summer) and lamps for 48hrs max. If it goes longer, we will pack-up and head inland.
Questions:
Would the AC300 & B300 combo be overkill since I can power the basics from the Honda EU2000i and only use the battery at night?
Should I invest in a sub-panel and transfer switch tied to the battery system, and then recharge that via the Honda EU2000i?
Or should I go simple and run properly rated drop cords as needed to the Honda EU2000i and/or Bluetti system?
I doubt the Wh of the Eb55 are enough to run your total load for the time stated. I’ve noted this in another thread, my household fridge will run for 25 hours (540lt) from an AC200P, or around 12 hours from an AC180. It’s also about process…
Your battery needs are generally whilst asleep as the genny is noisy. So, my advice is, once awake in the morning top up the power bank with the EU2000i. Then again before going to bed.
To size your battery needs, plug in what you might run as a maximum load and check the Watts used, the multiply by the hours asleep to give the Wh needed. Given the items noted, my guess is 2,000Wh or less, if nearer 1,000Wh or less then the AC180 would be my choice.
Hello and welcome to the forum, rahester:
My power requirements are very similar to yours.
I run my large family fridge the 60" TV my laptop/modem, a couple LED lights, my washing machine and if needed my furnace.
I have a setup consisting of the AC200L plus 2 x B300 Expansion Batteries and 3 PV350 solar panels.
I find I can keep my appliances plugged into the AC200L all the time due to the advanced features on this new unit.
Some of the new features that are included can make for a pretty much hands-free setup.
Then your HondaEU2000i could be used to compliment a system like this.
I did a small review of this new unit just the other day on the Forum
Thanks for the replies. What is the general consensus on max running rating versus max load. I read on some forums and YouTube that one should not load the system to more than 50% of its running max. So if one subscribes to that, and my calculated running load is 2000 watts, then I would need 4000 watts running capacity, yes? That capacity seems excessive given this is for occasional use, but I am new to this gig, so here to learn.
So from there you can determine the amount of watts that will be used by a simple formula
In my case this unit says it uses 6.0 amps multiply that by the voltage in your area ( North America) 120v that gives you the total watts 6.0 Amps x 120 Volts = 720 Watts.
Further to determine kW hours
6.0 amp x 120v =720 watts, divide this by 1000 to obtain the watts in kWh.
So 720w / 1000 is equal to 0.72kWh, if the motor runs for 6 hours you will have consumed 4.32kWh. This can help in determining the maximum power you will need, but fridges and washers don’t run continuously while they are running the power fluctuates.
I will say that all the appliances I have used have not reached (but could) in this example 720 Watts. The max I have seen for this unit is about 360 watts for its maximum. But I run a few things, so on occasion I will exceed 1kilowatt for a short time.
The AC200L can easily run all my equipment, no problem.
Oh, and one thing you were thinking about was what to do with connections. I just have the battery hooked up to each unit separately, with cords hidden mostly out of site. Not connected to the hydro panel.
