Whole-Home Backup + Extended Outage Preparedness | Salt Lake City, UT
How a meticulous homeowner built a three-tier energy resilience system in a 105-year-old historic home, using Fortress Power to prepare for the next 100 years.
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah — Yalecrest Historic Neighborhood
Clients: Lee Shuster and family
Installer Partner: Atkinson Electrical Services | John Atkinson
System Size: 21.6 kWh primary storage + 16 kWh dedicated backup storage
System Components: Fortress Power Envy 12K Inverter | 4x eFlex Batteries | Solo 6.5K Inverter | eBoost 16 kWh Battery
The Need
Lee Shuster’s home has stood for 105 years. It sits within the Yalecrest Historic District in Salt Lake City, a neighborhood that carries the character and craftsmanship of a different era. For Lee, that history is not a constraint. It is a responsibility.
“Prepare the house for the second century,” as Lee describes it. “Make it modern in its infrastructure, but without destroying the historic fabric.”
That philosophy drove an energy project unlike most. Lee was not simply looking for backup power or a way to reduce his electricity bill. He was thinking about legacy. He wanted an energy system that would serve the next generation as well as it serves his family today, one built to handle whatever the grid delivers over the decades ahead, from everyday outages to extended disruptions that might last a week or more.
Lee already had a strong foundation in place. A Fortress Power Envy 12K inverter and four eFlex batteries provided 21.6 kWh of primary energy storage, handling day-to-day solar management and whole-home backup for typical outages. The existing rooftop solar array operates under a 1:1 net metering arrangement through 2032, delivering strong ongoing value under current utility tariffs. But Lee wanted to go further. He began planning a third tier: a dedicated, independent backup system capable of sustaining essential home services for one to two weeks with minimal homeowner activity, using a Fortress Power Solo 6.5K and a separate 16 kWh eBoost battery.
The Solution
Lee approached the project with the same care he applies to the home itself. He was actively involved at every stage of planning, developing a three-tier resilience framework that defines exactly how the home operates under any grid condition.
Tier 1: Normal Grid-Tied Operation
Under normal conditions, the home operates grid-connected, with the primary battery automatically managed through a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program. The system optimizes for household economics, carbon reduction, and community grid support, all without any intervention from Lee.
Tier 2: Automatic Whole-Home Backup
When the grid goes down, the Envy 12K and 21.6 kWh eFlex battery system automatically transitions to backup mode, islanding the entire home in approximately one second. The system supports whole-home loads for approximately one to two days depending on solar availability and household consumption. In a real-world test on August 26, 2026, a planned six-hour utility interruption validated Tier 2 completely. The home transferred in about one second and continued operating normally throughout the outage, with battery state of charge remaining at or above 92 percent.
Tier 3: 7 to 14-Day Essential-Load Backup
For outages that extend beyond three days, Lee designed an entirely separate backup layer. The Fortress Power Solo 6.5K inverter and dedicated 16 kWh eBoost battery power selected essential circuits through a dedicated load panel, independent of the main system.
For auxiliary generation, Lee upgraded from two Honda 2000-series gasoline inverter generators to a WEN DF680iX dual-fuel inverter generator as the primary Tier 3 generation source. The WEN provides periodic recharging of the eBoost when needed, with the battery carrying loads between sessions and overnight. The goal is a simple, predictable homeowner routine: brief status checks, occasional generator starts, and the confidence that the home’s essential services are covered for up to two weeks.
The current Solo and eBoost installation also establishes the foundation for possible future dedicated Tier 3 solar charging, which would reduce dependence on the generator for extended outage scenarios. No dedicated Tier 3 solar array is included in the initial installation, leaving the door open for expansion as Lee continues to evolve the system.
Gregorio Rojas, a Fortress Power engineer who was on site during the installation, noted the elegance of the configuration: “That configuration is very interesting and provides a solution when we want to backup specific loads of the house.”
John Atkinson of Atkinson Electrical Services handled the electrical installation, bringing the full system to life across a home that presented the unique challenges of century-old infrastructure.
Results
The three-tier system delivers exactly what Lee designed it for. Tier 2 has already proven itself in a live outage scenario, transferring seamlessly and carrying the home without interruption. Tier 3 provides the extended endurance layer that most residential energy systems simply cannot offer, giving Lee’s family confidence that even a prolonged grid event will not disrupt essential services.
For a homeowner as engaged and knowledgeable as Lee, the relationship with Fortress Power was just as important as the hardware. “They’re such an impressive company when it comes to customer service. Both in field, on the phone. They’re always there when you need them and they’ve never let me down.”
Built for the Next Century
This is not a typical home energy installation. It is a carefully engineered, deliberately layered system built by a homeowner who thought hard about what resilience really means over a 20 or 30-year horizon, and who had the vision and follow-through to build it into a 105-year-old home without compromising a single detail of its historic character.
Lee Shuster’s home was built to last. With a Fortress Power system at its core, it is ready for whatever the next hundred years brings.
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