- 1 x Lockable all Metal System enclosure 540mmWx375Dx360H (mm), with suitable carry handles, and lockable wheels.

- 1 x 216ah/12V/2764wH Lithium Battery

- 1 x Victron 12/30 Smart Lithium Battery charger (that you can leave plugged into mains) during grid up time to ensure your battery is well maintained and fully charged at all times.

- 1 x Victron 100A Smart Battery Protect, this device will cut the battery off when the state of charge becomes too low (when the battery is virtually empty) and will protect the battery from damage.

- 1 x Victron 500A Smart Shunt, whilst this is technically optional, it's incredibly useful with its Bluetooth functionality to help you better understand what energy you are taking from the battery, and how long in minutes and hours you have left of power. It’s a configurable smart piece of equipment.

- 1 x Victron 1200W VE Direct Phoenix AC Inverter. This takes energy from the battery and supplies it at 230V. Peak Power is 2200W

- 1 x Victron DC rotary isolator, to allow you to safely isolate the system.

- 1 x 125A changeover switch, this is required to be installed by a certified electrician, to provide a means for you to ‘island’ or disconnect your property from the grid and run off your backup solution, if this is your intended requirements. Please note, ‘tails’ are not supplied with the switch other than the 3 pin plug to connect to the backup system.

- 1 x Earth Fixing Point. (Current regulations state you should not ‘rely’ on the existing earth at a location, in-case of grid failure’. It is advisable when installing to consider the possibility of installing an external earthing rod, but this can be discussed with your installation electrician, and based on site feasibility.

- 1 x 2 Gang IP65 Waterproof AC socket with built in RCD protection Type A. When supplied, you have everything you need for portable power. If you wish to power your home consumer unit, you will need someone to install the supplied change over switch.

*Not included – 100A AC cable, from your DNO supply to the changeover switch, and from the changeover switch to your consumer board. Your electrician will be able to use part of the existing cable for this.

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CA25FTP2.html

Please do not try to install this product into your home circuit system unless you are a trained and certified electrician and permitted to do so under current UK wiring regulations.

Regulation 551.4.3.2.1 of BS 7671 states that, in TN systems, generators operating as a switched alternative to the public supply cannot continue to rely on the distributor’s means of earthing.

At times of grid failure, with the flick of a change over switch located at the point your electricity supply comes into your property, you will be able to keep your essential loads running. Most central heating systems require a very small amount of power (50-80W), which means you’ll be able to keep your home energy system powered in a blackout for over 12 hours on our most basic system. Add further batteries to extend the longevity & off-grid capabilities of the system if needed.

Small loads such as lights, internet, TV’s, phones, and other health critical systems can be powered for a meaningful period of time. Cookers/Kettles and other high powered devices are not recommended for use from our entry level systems as they consume too much power and are considered non essential loads. Critically, being able to keep fridges, freezers and other devices on, can be very important depending on the circumstances.

At times of grid failure follow the following procedure to initiate the device

1. Turn off the battery charger
2. Activate the system using the DC isolator
3. Turn off all non essential loads on your consumer board
4. Initiate the change over switch.

Check your Victron Connect App to verify the system is powering your loads and consuming energy

Once the grid has returned

1. Initiate the change over switch back to grid/mains
2. Re-activate any of your non essential loads on your consumer board
3. Deactivate the system using the DC isolator
4. Re-activate the battery charger to re-energise the system for future outages.

Using the Victron Connect App verify your battery charger is in Bulk mode and recharging your batteries.

The system is adaptable should you wish to expand it in the future, and portable so you can move it around with you from properties or locations. At a fraction of the price of a full-blown backup solar battery system, it’s a good way of protecting yourself this winter. It allows for complete customisation and configuration, whereas an ‘all in 1’ battery system does not, or provide an easy way for maintenance, or upgrade.

Kettles, oven’s (+2000 watt) and other high consumption items will not run on the entry level systems, and should you require a higher wattage inverter, we can of course quote you for this by contacting us on hello@nextdaysolar.co.uk. The additional cost will be reflected in the higher capacity inverter, battery, and cabling to suit.

An electrician should charge for up to ½ a day, to install the changeover switch between £150-£250. It is not a complex installation, but will require your property to be without power during the connection for a very short period (15-20 mins).

We recommend finding a local electrician to keep your costs down and maintain flexibly, however if you’d like us to come and install the system and you are within 1h of London we will be pleased to do so for a similar fee.

You will need a footprint of 620mmWx510Dx360H to allow enough space for the system. It should be installed in a well-ventilated area, to ensure the inverter is able to operate effectively. The system should be installed in proximity to your consumer board. The change over switch must be installed at the same location of your consumer board, and you may use a long AC extension cable to locate the box elsewhere if necessary

If you are renting you may need to seek prior authorisation from your landlord/freeholder. If you own your property no additional permissions are required, so long as a qualified electrician installs the switch.

We highlight here a number of alternative approaches to our system, to allow you to make the right choice for your requirements. We want to supply products to an end user that feels comfortable. It's the right bit of kit for them.

(1) Solar PV & Battery System - The first is to install a Solar PV system with an AC inverter & battery storage system, that has a dedicated back up power point. This will activate at times of grid failure, and allow you to run extension leads from an inverter to power essential items around your home such as the fridge, kettle etc.

Fronius & Solis Hybrid inverters all have this technology built into them. It would be possible to rewire a home and place all the ‘critical’ loads such as heating systems on this dedicated power point, that remains active during grid failure, but this would be heavily invasive. A system such as this is likely to be more than +£10,000. Inverters are often located in the loft, and therefore it would require leads down from this location, or wherever the inverter is situated.

(2) Diesel Generator - A second and equally efficient yet dirty way of managing a grid failure, is to rent or purchase a generator and run this during periods of blackout. It would need to be situated outside a property, securely and comes with its own challenges of storage, fuel, and general maintenance, as well as size.

3) Off Grid Inverter - A third and equally complex (but excellent) solution is to install an off-Grid inverter (such as the Victron Multiplus 2). This inverter would need to be wired just after your incoming grid supply, and before your main consumer / circuit board. You’d then need to assess which of your loads were critical and move all these loads off your main circuit board onto a secondary circuit board. At times of grid failure, the system will only supply the ‘secondary’ circuit board being your critical loads. This system requires a battery, and is ‘involved’ both in design, configuration, and setup. Equally it's likely to be the sort of system you would put in when rewiring a home and requires a large amount of space in proximity to the grid supply to avoid lengthy runs of cable around the property. A system such as this is likely to cost more than +£15,000. You can watch us install this sort of system here : https://youtu.be/8hU4pVnLGS8

4) All in 1’s. Whilst these compact devices are excellent when it comes to portability, the battery size is often limited, and cannot be extended. Equally the inverters are relatively limited in performance, and due to their compact nature have limited abilities to shed heat during peak performance. Should you wish to upgrade the battery or inverter for greater performance in the future you would be unable. These devices are suitable for running single individual appliances, but are not protected or designed to run a home’s circuit boards as they have no provision for earthing, and therefore are unsafe to be used with more than 1 device.

This ultimately depends on the loads you are running, but based on our 2764wH system, the following will give you some help

Heating system (50-70W) = >48 hours

Basic Lights (50w) = > 48 hours

Internet (5w) = > 1 month.

If you are unsure how much energy a device consumes why not try our handy energy meter to find out or check the back of the appliance for rated details.

Can I use my home solar to charge the system ? Yes, you can plug this device into your normal home circuit at times of grid connection, and allow any home solar setup to charge. Equally, we can supply for a small fee a solar charge controller within the unit.