A homeowner who thought they were paying for a cleaner, smarter backup-power setup ended up with something far more troubling: a new smart panel with two breakers connected to nothing and a generator interlock that reportedly would not move.
Here's what to know
The homeowner took to Reddit's r/EcoFlow_Community to ask whether the electrician's work was acceptable. The responses were brutal.
What the homeowner expected was straightforward. They wanted to move circuits from an older electrical panel into a new EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2 and install a 50-amp generator inlet.
But, as explained in the Reddit thread, the original poster later found that "the two breakers wired to the SHP are not connected to anything… My installer says the job is complete, but I don't think he grasps that this is not a normal subpanel."
The OP also questioned whether the interlock kit could function at all, saying the way the "Grid 100 amp and GEN 50 amp are sticking out of the panel" seemed to stop the interlock from sliding the way it should.
When installed correctly, a smart home panel can help a homeowner back up essential circuits, monitor energy use through an app, and potentially avoid spending extra money to power loads they do not actually need during an outage. But that clearly wasn't the case here.
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One commenter summed up the issue bluntly, writing, "The wiring will need to be corrected. Your electrician will need to read the product manual."
Another added, "What I'm seeing would cause me to fire the electrician, short pay, or not pay him, and perhaps sue for what the new installer has to do to correct things."
More background
Products marketed as smart-home upgrades can turn into expensive mistakes if the installer treats them like a standard subpanel. A poor installation can lead to repeat labor costs, delayed backup protection, and, in the worst cases, a full do-over.
Several commenters suggested the EcoFlow panel was installed the wrong way. One commenter explained, "SHP2 is not a transfer switch, so all the circuits/load that you want backed up will need to be on the panel's branch breakers, especially if you want any usage insights through the app. Currently, you have nothing that will be backed up by the inverter's battery, with the two 20A breakers not actually connected to any load."
If the correct circuits are not moved over, homeowners may end up paying for smart-energy features and battery backup capacity they cannot fully use.
Commenters also pointed to other possible technical concerns besides the disconnected breakers, including whether the breakers were compatible, whether the wire sizing was correct, and whether a locknut was missing between the panels.
Where can I learn more?
The problem described above points to a bigger issue with smart panel projects: homeowners need a clear picture of what the equipment is designed to do and how it should be installed. The articles below look at smart panels, panel upgrades, and battery backup so it's easier to understand where the benefits come from and where problems can start.
• Homeowners are turning to smart electrical panels to track circuits and manage backup power.
• In Australia, one household found a brilliant system could trim monthly bills with battery storage.
• Federal incentives could cut costs when a brand-new breaker box is needed for upgrades.
These stories all come back to the same point raised in the EcoFlow thread: smart electrical gear is only as useful as the plan and workmanship behind it.
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