If you think you can just slap solar panels on a roof in a single weekend, stop right now.
I installed an 11.7kW solar array coupled with the EG4 GridBoss and FlexBoss21, and EG4 battery backup system at my home in rural Oregon. The brochures will tell you it is “easy.” The reality is that it is “doable”—but only if you respect the process.
Here are the three biggest lessons I learned from being my own installer:
1. The “Paperwork” is Harder Than the Wiring (Until You Get to the Wiring)
Before I turned a single screw, I spent weeks on planning. You need to understand your loads. Here in Eastern Oregon, we have real winters and real heat—not the humid Southeast or the Arizona desert, but a climate that demands respect.
I analyzed my bills for two years to identify exactly how much electricity I use in a day. Reality Check: My EG4 battery won’t cover my entire load in the dead of winter. That is just the physics of it. That is where my Chevy Silverado EV will come in soon to bridge the gap. If you want full backup, don’t buy a battery until you have done the math on your critical loads.
2. This Gear is Heavy
YouTube videos make mounting inverters and batteries look effortless. They aren’t. An EG4 battery stack is dense. If you are doing a DIY install, have a plan for how you are going to physically move 300+ lbs of equipment into your garage or utility room. (I hurt my back moving the battery from the pallet to my garage.) Save your back—get a hand truck and a friend.
3. The GridBoss is a Game Changer (But Watch Your Electrician)
The reason I went with the EG4 GridBoss is the integration. It manages the handoff between solar, battery, and the grid seamlessly. This installation was the one part I hired an electrician for— It required having the utility disconnect the power to the meter and pulling the meter to connecting the main lines.
Lesson: Even professionals can miss the details. The EG4 manual explicitly calls for Copper Wire, but my electrician (who drove over an hour to get here) brought Aluminum. Even after I gave them the manuals to study for weeks, I still had to catch the mistake. We had to send a runner to buy 6ft of copper wire just to finish the job.
My Advice?
Read the manuals. Then read them again. Even if you hire a pro, you need to be the expert on your own equipment.