> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learning.kent.co.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Backup Power: What Your Inverter Can and Cannot Run

> Honest backup capacity expectations per platform — current limits, motor-start constraints, and the heavy loads that must always stay grid-only.

Backup disappointment is almost always an expectations failure set at sale or at handover. This page is the honest version — use it to set the right picture before the first outage, not after. Tell it straight, leave the [Backup Can & Can't figure](#what-backup-can-carry) on the wall, and the phone stays quiet.

<Note>
  This page applies to both the Kent M1 Hybrid Inverter and the Kent G3 Hybrid Inverter. Read the correct platform section for the system you are handing over.
</Note>

## What backup does

In a power cut, the inverter carries the **essential circuits** from battery — plus PV if the sun is still up — sized so that lights, fans, router, TV, and phone charging ride through the evening. A well-configured system proves this with the black-start test at commissioning; that test result, not a quoted number, is the honest promise.

<Tip>
  Prove it with the black-start test before you promise anything. A passed test is worth more than any kWh figure.
</Tip>

## What backup can carry — per platform

### Kent M1 Hybrid Inverter

Size the essential panel to the model's **rated (running) power**. The table below shows the maximum apparent power and current the backup port can continuously supply per model.

| Model        | Backup max apparent power | Backup max current |
| ------------ | ------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Kent M1 3 kW | 3 300 VA                  | 15 A               |
| Kent M1 5 kW | 5 500 VA                  | 25 A               |
| Kent M1 6 kW | 6 600 VA                  | 30 A               |

<Warning>
  **No motor-start headroom is promised on the Kent M1.** \[KNB-VAL-02] The source manual publishes no surge or locked-rotor current figure for the backup port. Size Kent M1 backup to rated (running) power only — make no promises about compressor or pump starts until Kent publishes a validated figure.
</Warning>

<Warning>
  **Transfer-time figure under confirmation.** \[KNB-VAL-03] The Kent M1 transfer-time figure is under bench confirmation. Promise "essential loads ride through" — demonstrated by the black-start test — not milliseconds.
</Warning>

### Kent G3 Hybrid Inverter

The G3 backup port carries **rated power continuously**, with a manual-anchored overload capability of **2× rated power for 10 seconds**, and a transfer time under **10 ms**.

With unbalanced output enabled, each phase carries at most **50 % of the rated total** — a three-phase machine is not a single-phase machine in disguise. A 10 kW G3 with unbalanced output on delivers at most 5 kW per phase.

<Warning>
  **Per-phase figures need care.** \[KNB-VAL-06] Do not quote a per-phase figure beyond 100 % of the per-phase rating until Kent confirms the unbalanced-output limit for each model. On three-phase homes with lopsided wiring, one phase hits its ceiling first.
</Warning>

## What stays off backup

Keep the heavy list grid-side always — no exceptions at handover or in daily use:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Always grid-only">
    Air conditioners · Geysers and water heaters · Ovens and induction hobs · Washing machines and dryers
  </Card>

  <Card title="Also grid-only">
    Large motors and pumps beyond the design load · EV charging · Welding equipment · Any load not explicitly designed into the essential panel
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

The full sorting logic — which circuit goes where and why — is at [Essential Loads](/handover/essential-loads).

## Say it to the customer like this

* *"Backup runs the essentials — lights, fans, internet, TV — for hours. It is not the whole house."*
* *"If backup ever trips, something too big was switched on. Switch it off and backup returns."*
* *"Adding backup circuits later is a Kent job, not a local electrician's shortcut."*

## Common mistakes

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Selling whole-house backup">
    A system sized for essentials cannot run the whole house. Saying it can sets up the first outage as a complaint.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quoting milliseconds on the Kent M1">
    The transfer time is under confirmation. "Essentials ride through" — demonstrated by the black-start test — is the correct promise.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Demo AC on backup">
    Letting an AC onto backup "just once" during the handover demo teaches the customer a habit the system cannot sustain.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Ignoring per-phase on the G3">
    Three-phase homes with essentials all wired on one phase hit the per-phase ceiling at half the total promise.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## When to escalate

<Note>
  **Escalate to Kent New Energy service only** — through your registered Kent partner channel or the Kent service desk details on your work order. Do not contact any third-party or component-manufacturer support line for a Kent-branded system: tickets outside the Kent channel are not tracked, not covered, and can void warranty handling.
</Note>

## Related pages

* [Essential Loads](/handover/essential-loads)
* [Battery Expectations](/handover/battery-expectations)
* [Troubleshooting: Backup Not Working](/troubleshooting/backup-not-working)