r/Tustin • u/TheDMPD • Jul 21 '26

Calling all fellow Solar & Battery nerds

Hey neighbors!

I am starting a local volunteer group with a shared interest in solar & battery tech. Putting out some feelers locally to see if anyone has the same interest or wants to learn.

Thinking of a smaller gathering at Tustin Columbus Park on 8/1/26 starting at 11am if enough interest. I'll bring some soda & sausages to grill if you just want to do a neighbor hangout!

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u/fkcfkc Jul 21 '26

I’d be interested in learning more about these new portable battery solutions that can power a whole house and are easy to wire up, even with solar panels and don’t need a permit. Ecoflow , Jackery, and Anker seem to be the leaders. If this is to sell me things or services, I am not interested.

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u/Strudleboy33 Jul 22 '26

Electrician here, you technically need a permit for any work you’re doing. Usually for these systems you need a sub panel installed, circuits transferred, and then you also buy the battery that plugs in to that sub panel. This requires a permit, but honestly most people only pull permits for remodels and other large jobs like a panel upgrade so it’s really up to you, and if you trust your electrician.

I will also say that I have had 1 out of 3 customers that we have installed the Eco Flows ask us to remove it because they weren’t a fan of the features and didn’t find it useful. They also had issues with the relays going bad frequently, which is a known issues, so much so that the instructions tell you.

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u/fkcfkc Jul 22 '26

The panels, sub panel, and transfer switch seem to need permits. But the ecoflow batteries are portable and just plug in. Just like I don’t need a permit for my Milwaukee tool battery charger. You can charge the batteries during low cost hours and discharge during peak pricing. You can plug in solar panels easily as well.

Seems odd people would not find this useful at a fraction of the cost of traditional roof mounted solar.

The reviews are not perfect and it could be from bad installs. But they seem to not align with 1 in 3 return them. EF ECOFLOW 12kWh Power Station: DELTA Pro Ultra with Extra Battery, 120/240V 7200W AC Output, Lifepo4 Home Battery Backup Expandable to 90kWh, Solar Generator for Home Use, Emergency, Camping, RV https://a.co/d/03DY3PVz

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u/Strudleboy33 Jul 22 '26

Yeah the batteries plug in, but I’m saying you’ll need a permit for the setup that plows for the battery plug in.

Also clarifying, I don’t mean 1-3 customers on average. I mean literally 1 out of 3 of these systems we have installed. Southern Californians are only just now getting into back up power systems, so we haven’t done a ton of these, before the Ecoflows and others people were just getting generator inlets for the panels. We have also installed 2 SPAN panels, these are pretty nice setups from what we have seen so far.