Making my studio off-grid (without reading the instructions)

About This Video

Van installs an EcoFlow backup power system in his Topanga studio without reading the instructions. The refusal to consult the manual is positioned not as machismo but as epistemology: you learn more about a system by failing to install it correctly and troubleshooting your way through than you do by following a predetermined path. The instructions tell you what to do. The mistakes tell you how the thing actually works.

Making the studio off-grid is practically useful. Topanga Canyon's power infrastructure is unreliable, and a filmmaker needs electricity. But the symbolic weight outpaces the practical value. Off-grid isn't just an energy strategy; it's a posture toward self-sufficiency that runs through everything Van makes. Seven minutes of a man wiring batteries and inverters. Also a seven-minute argument for learning by doing.

Transcript

my sponsor ecoflow just sent me a power kit for my studio and i'm going to try

to install it without reading the instructions [Music] this power kit is called the eco flow 10 kilowatt hour independence kit

it's designed for tiny houses like my studio but you can get a portable version for your van or whatever and the

portable version is almost identical to this tiny house version the idea with this 10 kilowatt hour

independence kit is that it will be back up for my studio in case the power company shuts off the electricity during

high winds or wildfires or if there's a coronal mass ejection that wipes out the power grid or if there's a cyber attack

that wipes out the power grid [Music] so this power hub is connected to the grid and these two batteries when the grid is up

uh it runs into the power hub the power hub charges both of these batteries and the grid

through the power hub gives power to the studio when the grid goes down when they shut

off the power this automatically and instantly switches to the battery power and then

my studio is run on battery power this has an inverter that converts the battery the dc battery

to ac power and with solar panels through the power unit i can charge these batteries and i'll install the

solar panels later [Music] always read the instructions but i'm not gonna i'm gonna see if i can get this thing up

and running without going to the pdfs on the ecoflow website

now the reason i think i can install this power kit without reading the instructions is because all the gear

is perfectly labeled in little bags and when i installed the ecoflow delta max power station and solar panels to

air condition my son's playhouse it was uh super intuitive and i didn't read the instructions for that either

but there's one part of the independence kit that i'm a little bit nervous about and that's connecting it to the grid

power [Music] as i imagine the installation was pretty basic all the mounts are obvious uh all the power cords are obvious and labeled

i did have to move the batteries power unit and control panel because my air conditioner was in the way of my original placement but you know that was

straightforward and easy the ecoflow website says it's plug and play and it actually really is

[Music] i felt a little out of my league when it came time to wire the independence kit to the grid and then

wire the independence kit to my studio so it goes grid power kit studio but you know i gave it a shot anyway of course i

shut down the studio's breaker at the main panel between our house and the grid then i figured out which wires went to

and from what drew a little wiring diagram for myself but then i chickened out and called the electrician which is

not technically reading the instructions alvaro came by checked my wiring said i

was good to go and it only cost me 185 bucks for a service visit for peace of mind oh and i

called ecoflow tech support to help me set up the console but that doesn't count as reading the directions either the console is kind of like the

instrument cluster on your car it tells me what power is going in and what power is going out etc

okay this is the final exam that's the studio lights right there and i'm gonna see if the studio power

still works when i flip off the grid power the ac power from the panel all right so

let's see it's it's this one okay let's go it works it works okay bring on the solar flares bring on the cyber attacks bring on the forest fires well don't bring that one on

you know what don't bring any of them on but it works i just shut the power off and it just instantly switches to

the backup power from the batteries let's see what this says

and so this says ac out which this these are the batteries let me see

how much power we got in there it says it can run for two days and seven hours on these batteries

that's enough time to finish editing and back up ecoflow says these things should be

installed inside your tiny house or your rv or van so i'll build a little enclosure to keep the power kit dry

but this is los angeles so i can procrastinate for probably like three months before i build the thing oh and i'll install solar panels too to

charge this whole system and that's it off-grid studio without reading the instructions

the links to these kits are in the description to this video and if you want to read the instructions

they're on the ecoflow website as well this week on the patreon archival videos with directors

commentary on my patreon right there the link is right there

Products & Tools Mentioned

• EcoFlow 10 kWh Independence Kit essential — solar power system for off-grid studio, sponsor/featured product