A solar powered generator?

[sixdogs]

Does anyone know anything about solar powered generators? Do these work? I don't know how to even begin to ask questions but the concept is intriguing in that I could run one right in the house. No gas or oil. Heck, I could put a big one in the garage and run the whole house. That's after they work the bugs out and assuming they actually work. I've searched and not sure what to make of things. Some are out there and in the 2K ( mostly) to 5K range.

?

 

[newbury]

Give some links.
The ones I know of are basically solar panels hooked to batteries.
You can DIY. Big problem is the battery.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have customers that use them, cant possibly run whole house. These are mostly to run cpap machines thru night, so they dont need to run whole house units. Good to run a freezer, etc, no way whole house.

 

[Locoweed]

Somebody doesn't know the definition of a generator.

 

[ponytug]

@sixdogs, figure out what you want to run with solar, in terms of how many hours per day, and how many kWh (that is KiloWatt hours, aka 1,000 watts for one hour)

If you want to charge two cell phones, and your laptop for eight hours, this sort of gizmo would probably do it;
https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Generator-Explorer-SolarSaga-Emergency/dp/B08P2Q83BY note the price.

If you want to run a refrigerator and freezer, you are loooking at home solar with batteries, like Tesla solar with their Powerwall batteries. Enphase, and Generac also sell battery systems, or DIY it like @jk96, A newbies DIY solar install

All the best,

Peter

 

[Rebeldad1]

have a small one with builtin battery. we use it for power outages. when the power goes out it automatically changes to battery mode. runs our tv...directv... couple lights.

Larger units will do the same. Allows for separate battery supply. Depending on what you use it for battery size is endless. Can run anything the unit will handle.

They are considered a generator. What else would you call it? It can run off solar input. What do you call something that runs off gas that converts it to 110/220v?

We have solar power growing at rate the world has never seen. The USA is behind but catching up quickly.

There will be a noticeable push soon on full solar for those who wish to do so. Federal incentives to install most systems will be available.

Solar panels are smaller and put out more than ever before. Batteries are getting smaller and storing more.

Your perfect house is coming. Solar panels that provide all the power you can use during the day. excess will be directed to the grid and you will be credited for the excess. Install the bigger whole house batteries and stay completely off grid if you wish.

Charge your EV vehicle for free at home. or... your vehicle may be providing power to your house at night or during power outages.
The Ford Lightning EV pickup now comes with a builtin plug to power your house.

I read with interest from a lot of you who are non believers. The world is going solar. Its not a fad.

 

[sixdogs]

Newbury--all I did was search the internet and there were many choices. My interest came from a pop-up I got that vanished before I could click on it so I know nothing about them.

ponytug--I don't want to do anything just yet but would like to learn more. I know about generators and know this is some sort of a storage arrangement but I sure would like to get rid of gasoline and what goes with it. I think the public would love some easier way for backup power for storm use and other short term use.

Whole house power would be a dream and I can see the day when it would work. The demand is there.

 

[Root Cause]

I've been looking at Generac. Supposedly, they are to offer and combo at any time where you use solar power as primary and a smaller generator will charge the panels if there isn't enough sunlight to do it as preferred. Ad says it can fully charge within an hour but no other details that I have seen yet.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Does anyone know anything about solar powered generators? Do these work? I don't know how to even begin to ask questions but the concept is intriguing in that I could run one right in the house. No gas or oil. Heck, I could put a big one in the garage and run the whole house. That's after they work the bugs out and assuming they actually work. I've searched and not sure what to make of things. Some are out there and in the 2K ( mostly) to 5K range.

?

You might be better off with a Tesla Powerwall, which is just a big battery that charges off of the normal electric service and provides power during outages. If you live where electricity is cheaper at night you can program the Tesla Powerwall to charge at night and draw power from it during the day.

 

[MossRoad]

To me, all a solar generator is, is a battery backup that's charged with solar panels.

It's limited by the size of the batteries. And it's recharge time, should it be called upon, is limited by the size and number of solar panels you have installed to recharge it.

You could accomplish the same thing with a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) and charge the UPS batteries with line power, and save on the cost of the solar panels.

 

[Diggin It]

Regardless of what anybody else thinks or any official definitions, my personal definition of a generator means there is a rotating coil 'generating' power. How it rotates doesn't matter; motor, wind, hydro, steam all count. Solar does not. It converts energy from the Sun to store in a battery for later use ... all electronic, no rotating coil. Solar systems do not generate power, they store it.

That said, I'd love to have solar with wind back up. But at present costs, that ain't happening.

 

[LittleBill21]

solar generators are nothing more then a battery in a box, with some variant of 12v and 120v via a inverter, they can be charged via solar, ac power or even dc automotive power.

you need to determine your load and for how long for anyone to remotely help you.

 

[Root Cause]

solar panels convert sunlight into energy.
Batteries store energy.

What is unique about Generac's approach is to use solar panels or sunlight as the primary source of energizing the batteries and your electricity is free so long as you have enough light/panels. The generator backs the up and charges the batteries when there isn't enough light.

Tesla does not have this set up but it sounds pretty slick and we will benefit from all these innovations.

 

[Torvy]

Sunlight is already energy. At least it was when I was in school. So many things have changed, maybe that is not it anymore.

 

[grsthegreat]

have a small one with builtin battery. we use it for power outages. when the power goes out it automatically changes to battery mode. runs our tv...directv... couple lights.

Larger units will do the same. Allows for separate battery supply. Depending on what you use it for battery size is endless. Can run anything the unit will handle.

They are considered a generator. What else would you call it? It can run off solar input. What do you call something that runs off gas that converts it to 110/220v?

We have solar power growing at rate the world has never seen. The USA is behind but catching up quickly.

There will be a noticeable push soon on full solar for those who wish to do so. Federal incentives to install most systems will be available.

Solar panels are smaller and put out more than ever before. Batteries are getting smaller and storing more.

Your perfect house is coming. Solar panels that provide all the power you can use during the day. excess will be directed to the grid and you will be credited for the excess. Install the bigger whole house batteries and stay completely off grid if you wish.

Charge your EV vehicle for free at home. or... your vehicle may be providing power to your house at night or during power outages.
The Ford Lightning EV pickup now comes with a builtin plug to power your house.

I read with interest from a lot of you who are non believers. The world is going solar. Its not a fad.

I love the statements… charge your car for free. How does a 40-50 grand investment, plus required occasional battery bank swaps make it free power. And if you power your house during a power outage from your truck….what do you drive to work the next day.

 

[mikester]

You might be better off with a Tesla Powerwall, which is just a big battery that charges off of the normal electric service and provides power during outages. If you live where electricity is cheaper at night you can program the Tesla Powerwall to charge at night and draw power from it during the day.

I hope you have a good, steady internet connection. For your convenience Powerwalls don't work without an internet connection to "monitor" how you use your power.

 

[RalphVa]

Most of them that I've seen information on are good for about 4 hours. Would not make it through the night.

I've a 12.5 kw diesel generator from Central Maine Diesel. It runs the whole house except for swimming pool, carriage house and big heat pump.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I hope you have a good, steady internet connection. For your convenience Powerwalls don't work without an internet connection to "monitor" how you use your power.

Gigabit fiber. The rural broadband initiative has been good to us. But, no Tesla Powerwall, yet.

 

[mx1alex]

They're pretty nifty little units that come in all different capacities. So you can get a small one to just run or charge a few small things or a big one that will run your house during an outage. All that said they're ridiculously expensive. You can easily build your own setup for a fraction of the cost.

 

[JM7500]

You can buy or assemble a system. It depends on you requirements. The main components are batteries, inverter, charge controller and photovoltaic panels. Goal Zero, Titan and Jackery (120 volt) are a few companies that combine the batteries, inverters and charge controllers into one unit that is portable. Engineer775 on youtube has several videos on the Titan and larger systems for a house, like the Solark (120/240 volt). I'm planning to install a system large enough for my CPAP, refrigerator, freezer and well pump. I do have a gas powered generator. My concern is a utility power outage lasting more than 2 or 3 days. It happened in 2011 when the tornados hit here. If you plan to power 12 volt devices with a portable unit, make sure the 12 volt output is regulated. Some devices will shut off below 12 volts. A regulated 12 volt output will maintain the proper voltage until the batteries can no longer support the load. Determining what you want to power is the first step. If electrical resiliency is your goal, I suggest all 3: utility, engine-powered generator and PV system.