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“This year has been brutal with the amount of high winds and tornados for the Chicago area.”
Photo Credit: iStock
A homeowner in the Chicago suburbs with an Enphase solar setup noticed the area’s extreme weather and raised a question that many grid-tied solar owners eventually face. They wondered what would keep the lights on when the grid goes down.
In a Reddit thread, the homeowner asked whether a sunlight-only backup option or a meter-mounted generator connection such as GenerLink could provide emergency power.
“This year has been brutal with the amount of high winds and tornados for the Chicago area and am starting to worry about potential future outages,” they added as context.
Replies were especially critical of sunlight-only backup. 
One commenter who said they had installed one before warned: “Don’t do sunlight backup. That’s a fairy tale idea.” They said it only works in daytime conditions and that production can fall off sharply when clouds move over the panels.
Much of the discussion turned instead to batteries, especially the FranklinWH aPower 2 and Tesla Powerwall 3. Battery storage was presented as the better way to keep solar useful during a blackout. One battery owner shared that their setup works for “both whole home backup” and lets them “arbitrage my kWh cost.” 
Homeowners comparing prices and installation options can start with EnergySage, which has teamed up with electrification brand Qmerit to help homeowners get the best price on home battery storage solutions.
The overall takeaway from commenters was that dependable backup is available, but it comes at a cost. One FranklinWH owner noted their system uses an automatic transfer switch “to isolate the house,” offers “a lot of options,” and is “not cheap by any means.”
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Some commenters said certain Enphase owners would first need an IQ System Controller before adding backup capability. They described it as the equipment that separates the home from the grid so a generator or battery can supply power, and one estimated the hardware alone at “over a grand,” with installation adding more.
The replies also included a range of cost examples. One commenter said FranklinWH’s 15-kilowatt-hour aPower 2 batteries run about $7,400 each in material costs. Others asserted that the Tesla Powerwall 3 can also pair with Enphase solar and keep rooftop panels producing during an outage, while a generator is usually cheaper but “will not allow your panels to produce when the power is out.”
For someone retrofitting backup into an existing Enphase system, commenters suggested asking installers about battery storage, system controllers, and whether an array using IQ7 or IQ8 microinverters can support backup operation. That approach is closer to whole-home coverage than sunlight-only backup.
FranklinWH was also described as one of the more complete setups because its aGate can coordinate the grid, solar, batteries, and a generator. 
Not every option discussed was a whole-home solution. For lighter backup needs, commenters mentioned a generator connected to a critical-loads panel, a small generator paired with portable battery storage for essentials such as a fridge, TV, and internet, or even an EV inverter that could keep refrigerators and a sump pump running for a few days.
For people who don’t need whole-home coverage, Pila offers another battery option, and its plug-and-play batteries are priced at a fraction of what a whole-home backup system would cost.
Questions about blackout protection for grid-tied solar usually come down to the same questions surrounding batteries, generators, and what actually works when the grid goes down.
• Reddit users said they don’t even notice outages after adding whole-home battery backup.
• More homeowners are ditching their aging backup generators for solar paired with batteries.
• Installers said families are opting for these next-gen models instead of old generators.
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

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