Best Solar Generators

• Versatile design for wiring with 12, 24, 36 or 48-volt battery systems
• Pre-installed diodes in the junction box for smooth power delivery and safety
• MC4 connectors and 31-inch cables for quick connection
• Tough design to endure up to 5400Pa of snow and up to 2400Pa of wind
• Resistant aluminum frame for long life

• 6 watts solar panel for harnessing sunlight
• Small design and lightweight for easy carrying
• 9000mAh rechargeable battery provides decent power for small devices
• 2 USB,5V DC Output for laptop, iPhone, tablets, iPad, TV, fans and more.

• Film for protecting the LED screen
• Battery Management System (BMS) for better use of the battery
• Built-in protector for preventing over-current, over-temperature, over-voltage and extending battery life
• High capacity 40800mAh (150Wh) Grade A lipo battery for maximum efficiency
• 1.5Kg weight for easy carrying

• 110V AC, 12V DC, and USB Outputs for powering different things
• 396Wh rechargeable lead-acid battery for effective power storage
• Versatile design to run as many as seven devices simultaneously
• Continuous 300W, 600W pure sine wave inverter for smooth and clean power
• 2.1A USB ports for charging phones, tablets, cameras, laptops, and other small devices

• 110V AC, 12V DC, and 5V USB for powering a range of devices including laptops, tablets, iPhone, fans, iPad, and TV
• Modified sine wave for better power delivery
• Versatile design for recharging via solar, mains, or car
• High capacity 150WH lithium batteries for good power delivery
• 3.3lb weight for easy transportation
• Advanced Battery Management System (BMS) for the best voltage and, temperature control

• 6.7 lb weight for better handling and carrying
• 10.9(L) x5.2 (W) x4.3 (H) inches for placing in small spaces
• Pure sine wave to suit sensitive devices and electronics like tablets, notebooks, cameras, and laptops
• Four USB (5V), four 12V DC and Two 10V AC Outlets for supporting different devices

• Large capacity of 288WH rechargeable lithium battery for quality power
• LED light for use as a torch
• Surge protection for workstations, desktop computers, home entertainment systems, and networking devices.
• Compact design and lightweight for improved handling
• Pure Sine Wave for powering sensitive items like laptop, desktop PC, cameras, and tablet

• Two 100 Watt solar panels for more power
• 100 ampere-hour battery for providing power
• Versatile nature for use at home, emergencies, camping, backup power, and tailgating
• USB and 12V/24V socket for charging /powering devices
• Voltmeter for checking testing different parameters
• Battery Maintenance System for efficient performance

• 1500-watt incremental energy center for running freezers, refrigerators, television, pumps and more
• Two 120-Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panels for harnessing maximum solar energy
• Folding design for easy storage and convenience
• Carrying cases for protecting the solar kit
• Two 88-LED Lamps for illumination
• Universal Inverter comprises of two 120-volt AC, two 5V USB, two AC adapter barrel plugs

Buyer’s Guide to Portable Solar Generators

When the lights go out, a portable generator can meet critical household energy needs. A gas-powered model is an option, but it’s loud, dirty and when you run out of gas, you’re out of luck.

Solar generators harness energy from the sun to make electricity. They’re clean, easy to use and require no dependence on fossil fuel. If you’re considering one as a backup power supply, but find the technology intimidating, keep reading to learn more about how they work and how to choose the best portable solar generator for you and your family.

How do solar generators work?

Solar generator technology isn’t new, but the idea of putting compact components in a portable unit is. These models are similar in construction to large systems but are small enough to take on the road or to just have on hand for emergencies when an expensive backup power supply isn’t an option.

Every solar generator has these basic components:

• Solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity
• A battery to store power
• A charge controller to control the flow of current to the battery
• An inverter that converts power from the battery into the kind of current needed to power household appliances.

How to choose the Best Solar Generator for your home or RV

It takes more than a price comparison and reading solar generator reviews to make the best choice. Since everyone’s needs are different, it’s like comparing apples to oranges. The first step to choosing the best portable solar generator is to determine how much power you need to run the devices that are important to you in an outage.

The average American home uses about 25,000 watts of energy daily or 1000 watts each hour. Most solar generators can produce 900 to 5,000 watts of electricity per hour, making them appear capable of running everything from your freezer to your pool, but unlike gas-powered generators that produce a steady supply of electricity as long as the tank is full, solar generators can’t produce power that fast. They run on energy stored in batteries that must be recharged between uses.

The key to choosing the best generator is figuring out how much power you need, what you can afford and which features are the most important.

What to Look For in a Solar Generator

Whole-home solar systems with multiple roof-mounted panels and large battery banks can keep things running around the house without a hitch. The panels collect more energy to start with and as some of many batteries are drained, others are being charged, providing a consistent power supply that can run everything a household wants—at a price.

No portable generator can realistically store enough electricity to run every appliance in your home, but for on-the-go power or emergency use, portable solar generators are inexpensive, easy to store and can take care of at least your most basic needs.

What size solar generator do I need?

Solar generators have two critical watt ratings – continuous watts and surge watts. Continuous watts is the power the generator can consistently produce. To figure out how many watts of continuous power your generator needs to meet your needs, add the total number of watts per hour your essential devices use and multiply it by how many hours, or fractions of hours, you’ll need to use them daily. Using a chart of appliance power consumption averages, let’s look at a few examples.

A full-size refrigerator uses about 500 watts of power daily. If your generator produces 1000 watts daily, keeping things cold will cost you half your backup power supply in twenty-four hours. A coffee maker uses roughly 1500 watts of power daily, but to use for ten minutes (1/6th of an hour) each morning, will only use a measly 10 watts.

The surge watt rating, however, reflects how your generator can handle the high initial burst of power needed to start electric motors. The surge lasts less than a second, but if the same refrigerator that uses 500 watts of continuous power takes 2000 watts of power to start, you’ll need a solar generator with at least a 2000 watt surge rating just to restart it in an outage.

Realistically, most portable solar generators will struggle with high-draw appliances like air conditioners, well pumps, and clothes dryers, but by managing power needs and using compact, energy-efficient devices, they’re enough to power the basics without fuel.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Solar System

Solar Panels

Solar panel energy production is also measured in watts. The watt rating on the panel multiplied by the number of hours of sun exposure it gets daily gives you the total number of watts it can produce each day. For example, a 100-watt solar panel that receives 6 hours of the sun produces 600 watts of power for that day, but things are never simple with the sun. Day-to-day and seasonal sun exposure changes are significant and even the best solar panels make only limited power on cloudy days.

There are three types of common solar panels and their efficiency determines how many watts they make for their size.

• Monocrystalline panels – are the most common. Made from single-crystal silicon wafers, they’re somewhat more efficient than their polycrystalline counterparts, but a little more expensive.
• Polycrystalline solar cells – are made of melted fragments of silicon. Because electrons move less freely between fragments, these panels have a good, but slightly less efficient rating. For most systems, the difference between mono and polycrystalline panels is statistically insignificant.
• Thin film, or amorphous crystal panels – use relatively new technology. They’re light, slim, flexible, cheap and durable, but only half as efficient as monocrystalline panels and require twice the footprint to produce the same amount of power, making them less useful for small portable generators.

Battery Capacity and Power Rating

• Capacity  – is the total amount of electricity a solar battery can store, but it doesn’t reflect how much power it can provide at a given moment. For that, you’ll need to check the battery’s power rating. In general, a battery with a high capacity and a low power rating will deliver less electricity, but for longer periods and vice versa. Remember that solar generators run on stored energy. A system can have enough panels to make a thousand watts of energy, but if the battery stores only 500 watts, that’s the most power you’ll have without adding more capacity.
• It’s critical to note – that only the best portable solar generators have batteries that can be simultaneously charged while being used. This is called trickle charging and unless you have multiple batteries to cover your power needs over several days, this is an important feature. If your battery needs less than eight hours to recharge, an average portable generator with trickle charging capability should provide consistent power, replenishing itself on sun power alone. Without trickle charging capability, you’ll be out of power for as long as it takes to recharge the battery.

Battery Type

Batteries come in different styles, but the two most common are lead-acid and lithium-ion.

• Lead-acid batteries – like those used in cars, are the most common and the least expensive. They have a shorter life span but are a cost-effective choice for home use. Some styles use a special gel to improve their lifespan and safety, but the power performance is similar. Deep-cycle batteries that can handle repeated heavy discharges last longer and under most conditions are worth the extra cost.
• Lithium-ion batteries – the type that powers most cordless tools, are lightweight, compact, and have a longer lifespan than lead-acid batteries. They are increasingly popular in portable solar generators because of their size and weight despite their higher prices.

Power Inverter Rating

Power inverters convert the direct electrical current (DC) that comes out of your solar panels to the alternating current (AC) that your appliances need. This is the same type of electricity that comes from a wall outlet.

Inverters carry a watt rating to show the maximum power they can handle and it should always be at least the maximum amount of power the system can generate.
Pure sine wave inverters are costly, but more efficient and cause less wear on select devices including microwaves, televisions and CPAP machines, but at double, the cost of modified sine wave inverters, may not be cost-effective for occasional use.

Charge Controllers

A charge controller regulates the current from the solar panels to keep batteries from overcharging.

The simplest controllers just cut the connection between the battery and the panel when maximum voltage is reached. They’re reliable, but not particularly efficient. Models that use 3-stage or maximum power point tracking (MPPT) handle current flow more effectively and can squeeze more power out of your system.

For optimal performance, look for controllers that are waterproof and have an LED display that gives basic information about the efficiency of your system. As you learn more about solar power, it will help you get the most out of your generator.

Weight

The weight of a portable solar generator ranges from as little as 20 to as many as 200 hundred pounds and comes primarily from the panels and the battery. Panel weight is hard to change significantly without opting for lightweight frames and other components that compromise durability and lithium-ion batteries are much lighter than lead-acid but are costly. The key to portability more often lies in the way the weight is distributed rather than the individual components. Parts layered in a sturdy, wheeled box are easier to manage than separate pieces. Solar panels that fold like suitcases decrease bulk, making them easier to handle at the same weight.

Size

Next, you’ll want to think about the size of the device you’re working with. Are you investing in a device that is easy to move and isn’t too bulky? Even if you’re not looking for a portable generator, you’ll want to make sure that you’re able to fit the device into your home layout without too much difficulty. If you are looking for a portable device that can easily be adjusted to capture more sunlight, you’ll want to make sure that it has a design that is easy to work with. Even if the device is light in weight, you’ll need to make sure that its design isn’t too bulky or awkward to work with.

Weight

You’ll need to take weight into consideration so you know you can handle the device properly. You don’t want to choose something that is somewhat manageable – make sure you invest in a device that you know you can easily move from place to place if you plan on getting a portable solar generator, as mentioned in the study here. If you don’t need a portable device, you’ll have a few more options to work with. However, you’ll want to make sure that you plan everything in advance and have enough tools and equipment to put the device together on your own, or have spoken in detail with the contractor you plan to hire to get the job done.

Dimensions

What is the surface area of the device you’re working with? How much space is it going to take up? And will you have enough room in your yard or on your roof to maximize your sun exposure potential? You’ll need to take all of these questions into consideration when looking at the dimensions of the panel in question. You want to make sure that you’re able to get the maximum surface area so you can get the best possible surface area dimensions and maximum sun exposure for your money.

Watts

Last but not least, you’ll want to make sure you have enough watts to cover your highest daily maximum power consumption rate. You’ll need to be able to produce more than this to be on the safe side and to ensure that you’ll be able to meet your daily maximum even on cloudy days when the ability to harvest photon energy isn’t the best. If for any reason this doesn’t seem to be possible, look into the hybrid model possibilities and see if you can find a supplemental power source to guarantee that you will always have enough power to work with.

Convenience Features

The last thing anything generator should be is hard or time consuming to use. For a true plug-and-play solar generator, consider these top convenience features:

• Multiple AC outlets
• Integrated USB ports and a 12V output
• Energy-efficient accessories that maximize power savings
• System expandability and adapters that make connecting multiple panels and batteries easier
• Replaceable batteries
• Back-lit LED panels that let you monitor your system’s function in the dark
• Panels with handles and frames to facilitate repositioning

Things to Avoid When Choosing a Solar-powered Generator

Early portable solar generators were made mostly with proprietary components that didn’t allow the system to be expanded or upgraded with off-the-shelf components. Even today, some systems are made with batteries that aren’t replaceable and if a part gets damaged, you’ll need to buy a replacement directly from the manufacturer — not exactly what most people want in emergency equipment. Proprietary systems can be a great option, but their risk versus benefits should always be clearly weighed.

Avoid these things when purchasing a portable solar generator

• Incomplete kits that require purchasing costly additional components
• Proprietary systems for which replacement parts are no longer being made
• Electronic components that are not completely waterproof
• Generators with minimal warranties or made by companies without a solid industry presence

What are the disadvantages of most portable solar generators?

The three key disadvantages of solar generators are typical

• They are very slow to charge the battery storage capacity that they do have; They can only store a very small amount of electricity in their battery. This disadvantage comes from the use of lead-acid batteries and the energy storage device in the generator and the fact that lead-acid batteries are very heavy. Storing large amounts of energy using lead-acid batteries would make the solar generators difficult to transport.
• They can only release energy in the form of ac output at a defined rate. The rate at which the battery in a unit can be charged and the rate at which it can be discharged is controlled by the battery charger and the inverter and are usually only enough to service the type of electrical load associated with a light and a camp fridge. It is probably not possible to use electrical appliances that have large start uploads like air-conditioners using a solar generator.
• They are expensive relative to a fuel-powered generator with the same power output and even compared to a fuel-powered generator with 10 times more electricity production capacity.
• They offer a limited amount of battery backup with a maximum draw of 1500 watts (1.5 kw) being common