When I had my EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 3 installed in North Charleston, it turned out to be one of the first — maybe even the first — the local inspectors had ever seen. I knew the equipment was sound. What I didn't expect was how much a brand-new piece of gear could complicate an inspection, and how much the right installer would matter when it did.
The snag
On the day of the inspection — Wednesday, April 8, 2026 — the inspector arrived and hadn't come across a panel like it. He called in a second, more senior electrician for another opinion. Their hesitation came down to one thing: it was a panel they hadn't seen before and weren't sure was approved equipment. Rather than check the listing, they decided they weren't comfortable signing off until they'd done more research.
The catch: the new panel was already in and the old one removed, so my power was already off for the swap — normal for a job like this, and only meant to be brief. A passing inspection was the green light to turn it back on. Because they wouldn't sign off, that green light vanished — and a quick swap turned into being without power from around 9 that morning until 2 a.m.
The stopgap
Getting power back that night wasn't the crew's call to make — the inspectors dictated the arrangement. The old panel went back on temporarily, mounted in front of the new one, on temporary circuits. It was rough, the kind of setup you don't want in your house, and it took hours to rig, but it was what they were told to put in. Even with it wired and ready, actually getting the power switched back on dragged on and on — I ended up calling Dominion myself. The lights didn't come back until 2 a.m.
The proof was on the door
The frustrating part is that the listing was on the panel the entire time, printed on the inside of the door.
It is worth reading closely, because this is where the confusion starts. The mark is ETL, from Intertek — not UL. People look for a "UL" stamp, don't find one, and conclude the equipment isn't listed. It is. ETL is a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory exactly as UL is, and the label spells out which UL standards the panel was tested against: UL 67 (panelboards), UL 869A (service equipment), UL 916 (energy management equipment) and UL 1741 (equipment for distributed energy resources). Listed to UL standards by a different NRTL is the same thing as far as the code is concerned.
The line that mattered most for my install is four words near the bottom: "Suitable for use as service equipment." That is what lets this panel replace a main service panel instead of sitting downstream of one.
I pulled together everything I could find on the Smart Home Panel 3 so the crew could walk the county's lead electrician through it. After a lot of back-and-forth, they agreed to re-inspect that Friday.
Ashley River Wired went to bat
This is where they earned my recommendation. The owner, Joseph Fili, went to the county office in person and made the case. His crew put in long days getting it buttoned up and done right. They lost time and money on a job that should've been routine — and never once made it my problem. They fought for me.
How it ended
Friday, April 10, the re-inspection was quick, and it passed. The crew worked late into the evening to finish and tidy everything up.
The finished panel is on my setup page, along with the rest of the system and every Dominion bill since — the install this story is about is the one those numbers come from.
What I took from it
With brand-new equipment, you can hit inspection friction that has nothing to do with whether the system is safe or legitimate — sometimes it's just the first time someone's seen it. When that happens, what carries you through is an installer who knows the product, has the paperwork, and will go to bat for you. That's exactly what Ashley River Wired did — and it's why they're who I recommend to Charleston homeowners putting in a battery.
Thinking about a battery for your own home? Run your Dominion bill through the analyzer to see what one would do for you — then you'll want an installer who'll stand in your corner like this one did.
How to reach Ashley River Wired
- Phone: (843) 287-9545
- Email: info@arwired.com
- Website: arwired.com
- Address: 1821 Manigault Pl, Charleston, SC 29407
When you call or write, mention NRG Sense so they know where you heard about them.
This is my own experience with my own install, and Ashley River Wired is the local installer I recommend from it.