What is An Off-Grid Solar Generator?
An off-grid solar generator is an electric power system that uses solar panels to convert sunlight to generate electricity, usually it contains an internal battery storage unit and a built-in inverter.
The components of an off-grid solar generator typically include: solar panels, a charge controller, an internal battery bank, and a built-in inverter.
Off-grid solar generators are typically used in remote areas where access to the utility grid is limited or impractical, such as cabins, RVs, boats, and off-grid homes. Since they allow you to generate electricity without relying on traditional power sources and are a renewable energy source, they are usually used as an eco-friendly solution for powering appliances.
There are many brands of solar generators for off grid living on the market today, all with their own characteristics. But in this article, I will introduce you to the brand new portable solar generator brand - Growatt. Growatt has developed a solar generator - Infinity 1500 - for off grid living, after doing rigorous market research and user's demand for electricity.
The best solar generator for off grid living
The best off-grid solar generator is Growatt Infinity 1500. As an extension of Growatt's product line, Growatt has accumulated many years of experience in the field of photovoltaics, and there is no doubt about Growatt's technology in creating portable power supplies. Now let's have a view on why this new solar generator can be your best solar generator for off-grid living:
- Capacity: Infinity 1500 portable power station has a battery capacity of 1,512Wh and an AC output of 2,000W, with 12 outlets (include 4 AC outlets) to meet your various power needs.
- Charging: In terms of charging efficiency, it has a surprisingly fast AC charging speed (both wall and solar charging), with wall charging taking only 2 hours to fully charge, which is almost an industry leader in portable power station. As a solar generator, it has an 800W solar input and an outstanding MPPT efficiency of up to 99%.
- Performance: Growatt Infinity 1500 portable power station features Growatt's leading battery management system (BMS) technology to ensure user safety. It also supports emergency power supply (EPS), multi-unit expansion, and App remote control to meet further needs of expansion scenarios. It basically has all the battery backup needs for home and outdoor use.
When do you need Solar Generators for Off-Grid Living?
Long-term travel with an RV
Nowadays many people like to plan long-term road trips where RV living will be a daily routine and a portable power station is the best companion. Equipped with convenient solar panels, or solar panels attached to the roof of your RV, you can continuously charge your solar generator so that you can use various small appliances in your RV, such as your small refrigerator, small stereo, etc.
Camping
When you are camping in the wilderness or in the countryside, the most important thing you want is to be able to use electricity to solve the problem of getting power for some small appliances. Sleeping in a tent is better than spending the night in your car, and in summer you need to use a small air conditioner or fan, in winter, you need to keep warm in your tent. These best solar generators can enrich your exciting life on the camping trip, such as tent lights at night, barbecue on the grill, hot coffee, laptop battery life, and special people who need to power CPAP machines when camping, etc.
Off-grid life
An off-grid home or cabin will need power to make life more comfortable. Under normal circumstances, people usually use a medium-sized solar system. Usually, the grid solar power systems are used at home, using monocrystalline panels and inverters as the core components, and more advanced is to use solar battery packs to store part of the electricity and continue to supply power to the house when there is no sun or at night, but this kind of The system cost is quite high.
However, if the power demand is not much, then a convenient solar generator will basically meet the demand. You will need to list your power needs, do detailed calculations and find out how much power you need so that you can determine the correct size of solar generator and number of solar panels. By doing this you will secure your battery storage for living off grid so that the electricity can be supplied normally.
Benefits of Investing in An Off-grid Solar Generator?
From the above 3 uses, you basically know the best application of solar generator, but why this kind of machine in the off-grid life is becoming more and more popular? There are 4 benefits why you should buy an solar generator for off grid living:
- Easy to use, you just need to turn on the power button and start connecting the device to use.
- Easy to carry, now many products are made very beautiful and lightweight, the designing team of Growatt Infinity 1500 portable power station also puts a lot of effort to study the ergonomics, such as the shell with two hands to carry. The design, especially considering the use of girls, is suitable for two people to work together to carry, ideal for camping and hiking, it will be your best off grid generator. If you use a diesel generators, problems of carrying may be your nightmare.
- Continuous free energy, support the use of solar charging, no need to buy fuel, do not have to worry about replacing any parts.
- Reduce pollution and contribute to society and humanity. Solar generator produces clean energy, with no noise or any carbon emissions, friendly to society and the environment, responding to the call of scientists.
What to Consider When Selecting the Best Solar Generator for Your Off Grid Living Needs?
What's your budget?
The price of solar generators ranges from over $100 to several thousand dollars, depending on the size and capacity of the generator, with low capacity solar generators ranging from $100 to $500 and high power solar generators ranging from $1500 to $4000. So before you buy, you need to determine your acceptable budget range.
What types of appliances will you need to power?
One of the prerequisites to determine which solar generator is right for you is that you must know your main use, what scenario you will use to and what appliances you will use, it could be a refrigerator, rice cooker, laptop, or power light, small fan, etc. I suggest you can make a list of how much power for each appliance.
Battery Capacity
Firstly, power capacity is what you need to consider, knowing the Capacity (Wh) of the solar generator will help you make sure it can power your device for as long as you need it, i.e. knowing how long it will last. Just like when you use a rechargeable battery to charge your phone, with a fully charged battery, you will know approximately how many times it can charge your phone. Then again, a 2000 watt-hour solar generator can power a 200W refrigerator for about 10 hours. These are only estimates and you generally cannot use the full capacity because the temperature and humidity of the surrounding environment can affect the battery.
Running Watts
Knowing the running wattage will let you know if it supports the device you want to use. The output power of the solar generator must be greater than the power of your device to ensure that the solar generator can supply your device.
Recharge Time
This should be one of the biggest concerns for most users, and its standard answer is the faster the better! Charging speed is affected by several factors: the input power of the solar generator (which determines how many solar panels can be used for charging), the output power and number of solar panels and charging efficiency, the weather (e.g. whether there is enough sunlight or not, whether the sun is in direct sunlight), etc., all affect the charging speed.
Number of Plugin Ports
If you want to run multiple devices, you need multiple power ports available for use. You definitely don't want to bring an extra drain plug to expand your power ports when you're camping, so this is one of the features many users will consider. With a lithium battery inside, the Infinity 1500 has 12 outlets (include a wireless charging pad) to meet the needs of multiple devices, which is very convenient.
How long will solar panels take to recharge your solar generator?
Normally, most solar generators take 3-6 hours to charge via solar power, depending not only on the capacity of your solar generator, but also on how many solar panels you use for charging, but it should be added that it is not the case that the more solar panels you use for charging, the faster it is. The maximum number of solar panels is determined by the maximum input power of the solar generator. So keep in mind that it depends not only on your battery capacity, but also on how much input power your machine accepts.
Infinity 1500 portable power station has the fastest charging speed on the market today, able to complete wall charging in 2 hours fully charged, if you use solar panels for charging, it will only take 2.5 hours to fully charge at the fastest, isn't it surprising? Many solar generator on the market through the solar panel charging takes 5-6 hours to be full.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can you live off a solar generator?
Of course you can. As long as you have a solar generator, you can use it to supply electricity for your off-grid life as long as the sun rises as usual, and it is available on a sustainable basis. It can be used not only for off-grid living, but also in emergency situations.
- What solar generator can power a refrigerator?
The solar generator can only power your refrigerator if the solar generator power output is greater than the power of your refrigerator! That is, it depends on the power rating of your refrigerator and the output power of the solar generator. For example, a solar generator with an output power of 100W cannot power a refrigerator larger than 200W, but a 2000W solar generator can power most household appliances.
- What size generator do I need for off-grid?
First you need to calculate how many appliances you have to use, what is the total power of these appliances and how long you need to use them every day. Then decide how much capacity and output power you need to buy a generator.
