Best solar generators for off grid living

Off-grid living can be a major stress reliever. A night camping away in the woods can be an experience of a life time. Some see it as a way of shedding away the stress built up from years of hard work. Although we being the social animals , can not go totally off the grid. However Solar generators can provide a backup solution for all your power requirements.

We still need access to electricity to operate appliances such as mobile phones, laptops and refrigerators. Without communicating we can never survive out in the boonies. So for the same reason we do need a sustainable source of power for our electric stoves and refrigerators.

I’ve personally used solar generators like the Bluetti AC300 and a few others while camping away. A solar generator has never failed me, as long as there is the sun you will keep on charging. The article compares the different characteristics essential to consider in a solar generator when you decide to buy one. Fair warning: although solar generators can be quite expensive the ROI(Return on investment) is massive. 

Let’s dive in and find all the answers you want and choose the best solar generator for your off-grid endeavors. 

What is a Solar Generator

A solar generator essentially is a power station that utilizes energy from the sun to make up electricity similar to what a gas powered engine does. Solar panels are in fact responsible for making up the electricity. The PV cells in the solar panel produce the DC current. 

The DC current from these solar panels are then transmitted at a controlled pace to the solar batteries. Solar batteries are the components that make the concept of Off-grid living a reality. 

Energy is produced at a gradual rate within the Silicon PV cells underneath the glass surface of a solar panel. Unlike a gas powered generator, which rapidly burns up fuel to make the energy readily available. A solar generator however can power instantaneously for small devices with a very low power input. However you can store large amounts of energy in a battery to use later for heavy power usages.

Although nearly all electric appliances depend on an AC source to power the motors that operate on Alternating currents. The DC power produced needs to be converted to AC before making it available for your appliances.

That’s where the inverters kick in. Inverters are interfaced with the batteries and convert the energy flowing from the solar panels into AC before storing it within the Lithium-ion or lead acid batteries.

Why to use off-grid solar Generators

Back in the days, electricity could never have been thought of being produced on a road tour or in the middle of a forest. Soon came the fuel generators that would use up hundreds of liters of fuel to power your appliances, accompanied with a deafening noise in the background. With toxic smoke which made it hard to sit close to it.

Solar generators have enabled us to reimagine the way we perceive the concept of power production. It is an excellent way of staying off-grid and totally independent of the government controlled grid stations. Avoid the ever increasing costs of electricity from the grid stations and cut down hundreds of dollars of bills each month. 

You don’t need to drive back to the nearest town, in search of costly fuels. When you can use a free and reliable source of power readily available with a bit of sunlight around.

Environmental benefits of using a solar powered generator

These generators are extremely noise free unless you are using large appliances with high wattages. In case of high consumption the fans can turn on dissipating excess heat to save the batteries from any damage. Even this noise is nowhere close to that produced by the gas or fuel generators.

Summing it all up, there is always a responsibility on us when using natural resources in the context of not exploiting them. Global warming from the greenhouse gasses produced as a by-product from burning fuels is depleting the ozone layer. Which in turn is increasing global warming at the cost of animal species losing their habitats, wildfires and floods claiming thousands of lives every year. 

Solar energy has the potential to replace fuel consumption. While at the same time never disrupting any of the daily activities essential in a human society. Keeping this in mind, going off the grid using a solar generator can limit our carbon footprint which is a great leap in moving towards a better and greener future for humanity. 

What is the optimal size solar generators for you

The size and capacity of the solar generator completely depends on your personal requirements. If you are a big family having a lot of devices that need charging every day, you might consider measuring your daily power consumption before buying.

Typical sizes range from 160Wh to 2000Wh and more for heavy duty purposes. For small devices such as smartphones, a generator with a capacity of 160-500Wh would be more than enough.

You can measure power consumption by evaluating the time you run an appliance keeping in view the power rating of the device. If you use appliances such as refrigerators, electric stoves, toaster and laptops you might need something between 1000-1500 Watts.

3 Best Solar Generators for off-Grid living

1.Growatt INFINITY 1500 Portable Power Station

A relatively cheap while at the same time packed with the most advanced technology available in solar generators. The solar generator comes with an amazing 2-years warranty and one of the fastest charge rates. The company has launched a very convenient installment plan on the product and amazingly with no interest or markup. Let us look in-depth at the features of this solar generator.

Features

• 2-years warranty-really is a selling point for the company, you can be safe and in secure hands with an assurance of the quality of the product at hand.
• 1512Wh Capacity & 2000W Output-With an output of 2000Watt you can almost charge up every device that you might have been using in your household starting from laptops, mobiles and small refrigerators.
• Solar charge in 2.5hrs-Ultra-Fast charging which supports upto 800Watt solar input, hang on the wall, put on the roof or in the backyard and you’ll be all set for your road trip in a couple of hours.
• 12 multiple ports – Including AC, DC and USB A-type and C-type ports for an array of devices that can easily be charged/operated simultaneously.
• Wall Charge in 2 Hours – Wall charge from 0-100% in 2 hours.
• Uninterrupted power supply-Allows you to completely go off the grid and in your cozy camping spots near the fire, or away on a road trip.
• Smart APP Control– The app control is really agreeable and another selling point of the product which is also very unique among solar generators. Screen monitor, control and a 24/7 customer support.

2.Mango Power E-Home Backup and Portable Power Station

Features

• A complete power solution– 99% of your portable and house-hold backup needs for not just your road trips or camping tours but you can even use it at your home and really go off-the grid.
• 240 Volt Split-phase output port- Power any device and sizeable machine from full size refrigerators, Air conditioners to even medical machines such as a Ventilators.
• 3.5KWH battery and a 3KW output– Power most of your appliances or go the extra mile and expand up to 14 kWH battery and 6kW output.
• Fast charging-Charge upto 80% within an hour with an ultra fast charging.
• Ultra durable Lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells– Charge swiftly while at the same time storing energy for extended periods.
• 5-years unbelievable Warranty-Even after 5 years of charging and discharging, same as new condition of Mango power E cells.

3.Runhood Rallye

Features

• The Runhood solar generators is one of its kind with a swappable battery option. You don’t need to wait for charging up a battery before using it, you can have more than 2 charged at a time.
• Innovative design with multiple arrangements possible for interfacing with each other to make the complete solution for your backup power solution.
• Charging and discharging independently- charge and use 2 batteries at the same time without having to worry about discharging or using up the power too quickly.
• LCD interface, 2xAC output with pure sine wave 110V 60Hz, 1xUSB-C Port 100 bi-directional port, 1x USB-C Port 100 output port, 2xUSB-A QC 3.0 28W ports, 1 Car Port bi-directional 100W, and 2xDC 60W ports.