Renewables are trendy and accessible to pretty much everyone; solar power is the best of them all. Solar panels coupled with ever-improving batteries and inverter systems are now counted as the cheapest and most efficient clean and green energy resource of the 21st century. With a growing market and more people joining the green energy movement, solar backup generator technology has been put at the forefront to meet global energy demands free from soot-emitting fossil fuels.
What’s in it for a residential consumer? Well, the advantages of having a solar rooftop or ground-mounted system are abounding. The United States is championing the solar revolution with generous VAT and sales tax exemptions for both the sellers and end-users. For industries, governments worldwide are pulling off huge tax burdens with lucrative tax breaks, subsidies, and investment returns for the most efficient solar energy producers. In the past two decades, solar energy has touched 25% efficiency in power generation compared with 10 – 20% at most for fossil fuels i.e., oil, natural gas, or coal. More innovations are yet to be tested commercially. Of all, solar generators are the most recent portable solutions to power up almost anything with exceptional compactness and reliability.
What are Solar Generators
Solar generators are quiet and sophisticated when compared with their fossil-powered counterparts. Solar backup generators do not require alternators or a hefty combustion engine. Instead, they utilize solar power via removable panels, batteries, DC-AC inverters, charge controllers, and voltage regulators to deliver adequate energy to get going. Solar generators, as did gas generators deliver backup power when it’s needed most. The output power is measured in kilowatt-hours (or KWh), with specialized sockets and an output voltage that facilitates running necessary electrical appliances from light bulbs to laptops for hours.
Solar backup generators are extremely lightweight with a compact all-in-one design. Carry it anywhere, on a trip to the wilderness, when camping on the lake, or whenever you are out of conventional power. The benefits outcast whopping upfront costs, which are a couple of thousand dollars at least for a 1KWh backup generator (with or without solar panels sometimes). The battery selection is crucial when picking a solar backup generator. Here’s what you need to know before picking the best solar backup generator.
How Do Solar Backup Generators Work?
Solar generators work differently than traditional generators that run on gas or other biofuels. The following steps complete the process from trapping solar rays to converting them into workable AC power.
- Solar energy is harnessed by silicone crystalline panels which cause those particles to charge electrostatically.
- These charged particles pass through charge controllers to regulate incoming voltage and then store this controlled charge into batteries as DC voltage.
- The DC voltage is then sent to the inverter which converts 12V DC to AC voltage and steps up converted AC voltage via integrated step-up transformers inside the inverter casing.
- On the output end, the AC energy is utilized via power cords and AC outlets for multipurpose consumption.
How to Pick the Best Solar Backup Generator?
A solar generator is a soundless powerhouse comprising multiple parts in it. All these parts are compactly stored in a single housing to enable hassle-free transferability. For their small size and non-movable parts, solar generators do not require maintenance or parts replacements for years.
If you are a hop-around traveler, a small-sized small solar generator with a storage capacity of 1000 Wh is quite convenient to light up a good bulb for a few days. A 1000 Wh solar generator effortlessly charges multiple gadgets, such as smartphones, media players, flashlights, and laptops for an entire weekend.
For slightly heavyweight usage, medium-sized solar generators are the best replacements. They are a bit heftier than weekend-purpose small-sized solar backup generators. Weighing between 10kg to 40kg, the power storage capacity of their integrated batteries ranges from 1KWh to 2.5KWh. These generators work great for outdoor as well as indoor usage. A good mid-sized generator will luminate 3- 5 light bulbs or an entire RV equipment for a night. With larger panels together with swift charging capacity, a 2000Wh solar generator takes 7 – 9 hours to charge fully during the daytime.