It’s the ability to generate power when no other power source is available. For people who need to use a great amount of electricity on the road (or on the water), solar energy is an absolutely essential commodity. It allows us to live the modern, power-consuming lives that we are accustomed to no matter where we go. A portable solar power generator can provide enough power for an entire household on the road, and is the most effective power source that can possibly be made portable.
When it comes to comparing a portable solar power generator to portable generator powered by gasoline, solar power usually has more advantages than disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage with any solar power is that it can only be maximized on sunny days. So if you need power at night, or even when it’s raining, a solar power generator won’t serve all of your needs. In this case, you’ll need a fuel powered generator anyways, and your best bet might be to skip a solar-powered generator system altogether.
However, if you use most of your appliances during the daytime, there are a number of reasons why solar power is superior to fuel. First, the sporadic nature of solar power will be much less of an issue. Even on cloudy days, a solar power generator will still retrieve much of its energy. And because fuel costs will be nonexistent, the extra cost won’t be as much of a burden in the long term. As a matter of fact, if you’re using the generator frequently and using a lot of power, you’ll actually save money by going solar. If you’re going into the woods or water, you’ll also eliminate any fuel baggage, which can be of huge importance to heavy travelers.
As to whether a solar powered generator is actually worth more than fuel powered model, that mostly depends on when and how frequently, as well as how much power you’ll be using. We’ve already covered solar power’s night problems, but solar systems are also much more expensive initially. Many solar powered generators, in order to compensate for the lack of nighttime solar power, will have some sort of battery, which means that a solar generator can cost as much as 10 times what an equivalent gas generator does.
With the durability of solar power systems and the lack of fuel prices, this difference can pay for itself in the long-term, but it might not matter if you’re on a short-term budget. A solar generator with enough power for an entire house might cost over $20,000, which probably won’t pay for itself for a very long time, if ever. On the other hand, smaller units that can power most outdoor applications usually cost between $1,000 and $2,000, which isn’t an obscene amount compared to most generators. It just depends on how often you’ll be using them.
Basically, if you just want a generator to help give your house power when it goes out, solar generators aren’t nearly worth it. Solar power generators are essentially a niche product at this point. But if you’re constantly outdoors, or if you live in a mobile home and want an alternate power source, this might be exactly what you need. Assuming you’d be spending about $40 a month on fuel for a normal generator, the cost difference will probably be made up for within a couple years. However, if you still absolutely need a power source at night time, it probably won’t be worth getting a solar power generator in addition to a fuel-powered unit. The fuel savings aren’t so much that they’ll pay for a solar power generator all by themselves.
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