Encharge 13 Solar Battery Backup case study with the Miller family.

When a storm knocked out power in Belchertown for three days last Spring, the Miller family was ready.

After owning solar for three years, Ryan and Liz Miller decided to take the next step in energy security with a Encharge 13 Battery Backup system.

Ryan said, “The time was right and we had experienced a few outages in the past. We decided to call Northeast Solar because they installed our solar array and we were happy with that.”

Northeast Solar installed an 31 panel LG solar array with Enphase IQ7 microinverters just a few years ago. The battery technology was a seamless addition. The Millers used about 100kWh of energy per year. That didn’t change with solar, but the amount they paid for electricity dropped significantly.

Liz said, “Solar was saving us a lot of money, so we decided to roll some of those savings over into batteries and we are really glad we did.”

The Encharge system is made to accompany solar easily and seamlessly. The installation took two days and was just like any other electrical work; mounting equipment and wiring components.

Solar charges the batteries in just a few hours and the stored energy can keep the Miller household running without major interruptions. The Encharge system works automatically, even if you are away from home.  

The damage to the grid in Belchertown last Spring took utility crews a few days to repair, but the Millers had power through it all.

Liz said, “When we lost power last Spring, it took less than 30 seconds for the batteries to kick in. The refrigerator was running, the lights came back on, and everything else just worked. It was very reassuring.”

Ryan and Liz monitored the battery system with the Enphase App. They could see the remaining power and see how quickly their solar panels were recharging them everyday.

“We are working from home, and there are a lot of other things to worry about,” Ryan said, “it was nice to know that our home was resilient when we needed it most.”