[pbmonster]

> I was surprised to discover that even with a backup battery, a typical solar install is not designed to power your whole home in the event of a power loss.

Might even be illegal, depending on jurisdiction. For good reasons, you could kill electricians working on the local grid or firefighters working on your house if you're not careful with the install and adding local shut-offs.

My battery turns off when the grid goes down, but it has 3 outlets directly on the body of the battery, and those always work. I run extension cords from those when the power goes.

[Faaak]

Bullshit. All "hybrid" inverters nowadays (grid tied + battery backup), auto island themselves when the grid is out.

That misconception is now 15 years old

[pbmonster]

That system is 5 years old. It feeds electricity back to the grid.

For an "auto island" functionality, I would need relays controlled by the inverter on all 3 phases between the electricity mains and my main switch box, right? I don't have relays like that.