Home Solar Systems What are the Pros and Cons of a Solar Generator vs. a Solar System

What are the Pros and Cons of a Solar Generator vs. a Solar System

by Know it All Solar Nerds

At some point, many householders have thought about what is the best way to produce their own clean electricity using solar energy. Some might have asked themselves whether it is better to buy a solar generator or to install a traditional solar system.

In this article, we will take a deep look into the pros and cons of solar generators and solar systems to find out which would be the best solution for you.

What Is The Difference Between Solar Generators And Solar Systems?

Solar generators are better known as portable power stations, which can store electricity and provide backup power when required. Solar generators are light and compact devices that are easily transported so that you can use them to plug in your appliances and charge them far away from wall sockets.

When discharged, solar generators can be recharged using portable solar panels, usually sold separately. They are great for traveling purposes where electricity is not available.

Solar generators are made up of a battery to store the energy, a charge controller to ensure an optimal output voltage for the battery, one or more solar panels to capture the photons from the sun, and an inverter to convert the DC current into AC current is what most common devices use.

Figure 1. Components of a solar generator. Source: The Tiny Life

On the other hand, the term solar systems refers to the conventional solar installations arranged on a particular building or structure, for example, typical rooftop solar panels. Also, solar systems are usually characterized by their connection to the grid. In this article, we consider those systems with a battery included (e.g., off-grid solar systems and grid-tied plus storage systems).

Figure 2. A typical rooftop solar system. Source: Waaree

Essentially, the components used in a solar system are the same as solar generators, but instead of being integrated into a single device, they are separated components. These components are permanently installed and thus, cannot be transported. They are ideal for long-term projects where the objective is to provide enough power to cover completely or partially the electrical demand of a residential, commercial, or industrial building.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Solar Generators?

  •       Pros

o   Easy transportation

o   No installation required

o   Great alternative to fuel-powered generators

o   Lower upfront costs

o   No noise made vs fuel-based generators

 

  •       Cons

o   Reduced power supply

o   Fixed battery storage capacity

o   Limited recharging capacity

o   No incentives available

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Solar Systems?

  •       Pros

o   Higher power supply

o   Expandable battery capacity

o   Full coverage of energy needs

o   Provides energy savings

o   Incentives available

  •       Cons

o   Not portable

o   More expensive

o   Needs to be installed on your roof and requires perforations

Solar Generators Vs Solar Systems – What Do I Need to Know?

What Application Do I Have in Mind for Solar?

Solar generators are generally all-in-one products that facilitate their transportation, resulting in an excellent source of electricity to power your devices when going off the grid. They are ideal for traveling, camping, RVing, boating, and other applications distant from power outlets.

Figure 3. Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable power station. Source: Jackery

They are also used at home for power backup when the grid goes down. However, due to their limited power supply, solar generators can run only a limited number of appliances for a few hours, depending on their capacity.

Nevertheless, solar generators are a great alternative to fuel-powered generators because you won’t need to refill them with gasoline or diesel to make them work. It is enough to place the portable panels on a sunny spot to start producing electricity immediately. Not to mention that they make significantly less noise when operating than gas-powered generators.

In contrast, solar systems are designed to be a fixed installation. In other words, its main application would be covering the electrical consumption of a house, office, commercial or industrial building, canopy, carport, or any other type of structure. Although, a disadvantage of solar systems is that they cannot be moved to another place once installed.

How Much Battery Capacity Do I Need?

The bigger a battery is, the higher its capacity will be. Solar generators have built-in small batteries which can handle limited energy storage.

Out in the market, we can find solar generators that can store anywhere from 2kWh to 6kWh. However, due to their compact and enclosed design, solar generators usually cannot expand their battery capacity in some cases, and the recharging cycle can take many hours to operate again fully.

On the other hand, solar systems can store higher amounts of energy as they are more complex and bigger. An average home solar battery capacity is around 10 kWh. Also, solar systems usually have an expandable battery capacity by either adding more battery packs of the same capacity or installing batteries with a higher capacity. With an expansion, the battery capacity can increase from 14kWh to 20kWh.

Power Performance

Solar generators can be set in optimum locations to harness more energy yields. However, since the battery capacity of a solar generator is limited, it won’t be able to power up many devices or appliances for long periods of time. Moreover, they are not intended to power large demand appliances like large motors, dryers, microwaves, or hair dryers.

When camping, for example, a fully charged solar generator can assist you in charging your phones, laptops, mini coolers, portable kitchen, and lights, but eventually, the sun goes down, and the generator starts to run out of storage with a limited time of operation.

In opposition to solar generators, solar systems have a wide range of power capacity depending on their size, efficiency, and weather conditions. Also, considering solar systems have expandable energy storage, they can eventually increase their capacity to meet an increased demand in the future.

Figure 4. Appliances and devices connected to a solar system. Source: Bioenergy Consult

 

Costs

When it comes to solar generators or solar systems, the initial investment to buy the equipment is a significant issue to consider.

Since solar systems are more complex installations that usually contain more components, they are more expensive than solar generators. For instance, California’s typical 5kW solar system has an average upfront cost of around $14,000, while a solar generator can cost about $2,000 and $6,000.

Moreover, having a solar system over a solar generator allows you to take advantage of solar investment tax credits that can help you pay 26% of your federal taxes. Solar generators have no rebates or financial incentives.

Installation

Getting solar generators installed does not require technical planning or civil engineering works. Simply set up your solar generator by placing portable panels towards the sun and start enjoying solar power.

On the other hand, to get solar systems installed, a comprehensive analysis must first be done by technicians and installers to determine what size, types of solar panels, and arrangements are best for your requirements and then proceed with the installation. The overall process takes time to finally start producing your own solar energy.

Unlike rooftop solar systems, solar generators don’t run the risk of damaging your roof. A wrong calculation in the design phase can end up with bad consequences.

Ease Of Use

An advantage of using solar systems is that they start operating immediately by consuming the energy stored in the batteries when a power outage occurs. Therefore, the user is not required to do anything since the process of switching to an off-grid system is completely automated.

Also, solar systems can be programmed to operate the battery in self-consumption mode but always maintain minimum energy levels so that emergency backup power is always available.

In contrast, every time you would like to operate your solar generator, whether it is because of a blackout or because you are far away from electrical sockets, you need to set it up. This means dealing with the wiring, plugging the appliances and devices, and finding a good spot without shading for panels.

Moreover, if the power goes off at home during the night and you forgot to charge the battery of your solar generator earlier, you won’t be able to recharge it as there will be no sunlight available.

Figure 5. Applications of a solar generator. Source: GoalZero

Solar Generators Or Solar Systems – Which One Is The Right Option For You?

 

Whether you like to spend lots of time on campsites or simply head out for extended stays in the woods, solar generators would be an ideal solution since you will be fully connected and powered even when you are distant from the traditional 120V power sockets.

Also, if you are into RVs, you might have wondered if installing a solar system on your RV is better than buying a solar generator. It depends on the appliances and devices you would like to power, the time you would like to be off the grid, and the ease of mobility you would like (RVs might not be able to go deep into the woods when no roads are available).

So, if you are a person that continuously travels around the country and spends much time in your RV, installing a solar system is the best solution for you. But, if you use your RV occasionally and only for camping purposes, a solar generator would be a better option.

However, you should generally go with solar systems if you aim to produce clean energy for your home, office, or other building and look forward to energy self-sufficiency in the long term. 

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