Watch the install process here!
https://fb.watch/KgXMzt2eO3/
What we took out
The original setup worked the way solar-plus-storage worked a few years ago: an inverter from one part of the catalog, a battery cabinet from another, and the hardware to make them talk to each other filling the gap.
Nothing was wrong with it. That was the state of the art when it went in, and plenty of them are still running fine today. But it was designed as separate pieces that got introduced to each other on the wall, and it looked like it.
Our crew removed the old inverter, the old battery, and the associated equipment, then reworked the connections for what was going in.
What went in
The SolarEdge Nexis system is built as a stack. The inverter sits at the top, and the battery blocks clip on underneath in a single vertical column.
The practical difference is that it’s designed as one product rather than assembled from several. The inverter and batteries are made to connect directly to each other, which eliminates a lot of the in-between hardware, the extra conduit, and the wall space all of that used to occupy.
What that gets you:
It takes one wall instead of a whole wall. Look at the floor space in the after photo. That matters more than it sounds like it should — garages around here are working rooms. Water heater, freezer, tools, sometimes a car. Getting most of a wall back is a real benefit, not a cosmetic one.
It’s modular. The batteries stack. More storage means adding blocks to the column, not hanging a second cabinet somewhere else and finding a way to tie it in. You can start with what you need now and expand later without redoing the installation.
Fewer connections means fewer things to go wrong. Every junction between separate pieces of equipment is a place where something can loosen, corrode, or lose communication. Integrated equipment has fewer of them by design. We’ve written before about a solar system that stopped producing because of one heat-damaged connection — that’s the failure mode this architecture reduces.
Installation is faster. Less field assembly means less time in your garage and lower labor cost on the install.
It looks like it belongs there. Hard to quantify, but customers notice. A clean white column reads as finished equipment. The old approach read as equipment that got installed.
The part worth saying plainly
An upgrade like this isn’t for everyone, and we’d rather tell you that up front.
If your current inverter and battery are working, producing well, and still under warranty, leave them alone. Storage equipment is a long-lived asset, and replacing working hardware for aesthetics is an expensive way to clean up a garage.
Where it makes sense: equipment at end of life, a battery out of warranty and degrading, needing more storage than your current setup can expand to, or consolidating a system that’s been added onto over the years. Then you’re not replacing something that works — you’re getting ahead of something that’s going to need attention anyway.
Questions we get a lot
Can I add a battery to the solar I already have?
Sometimes. It depends on your inverter and whether it’s storage-compatible. Some accept a battery with little change; others need the inverter replaced, which is what makes a stacked system worth considering.
Do I lose my solar panels in an upgrade like this?
No. The panels stay. This work happens at the inverter and battery on the wall, not on the roof.
How much storage do I need?
Depends what you want running and for how long. Overnight for a fridge, lights, and internet is very different from a well pump and central air through a multi-day outage. We size it off your actual usage, not a guess.
Does it keep the house running during an outage?
With the right configuration, yes. Which circuits stay on depends on how the system is set up and how much storage you have.
Is removing an old system a big job?
Usually a day. But it’s real electrical work: safely de-energizing and removing the old equipment, reworking the connections, mounting and commissioning the new system, and getting it inspected.
Have a system that’s showing its age?
Urban Design installs and upgrades solar storage throughout Butte County and the surrounding areas, including systems we didn’t originally install. We’ll tell you honestly whether an upgrade makes sense for you or whether you’re better off leaving things alone.
