Hi All
I know that there are a number of threads about solar generators and don’t want to hijack those threads.
Hence a new thread.
Additionally I’m just getting into my due diligence but I have a couple of questions.
I’m looking to buy 2 2000 wh solar generators and 5 400 watt solar panels would I need inverters and would that setup run quite a few things.
I have a watt o meter that I’ll be using to see what appliances use energy wise.

@Mobilty6

Which solar generators are you looking to get and what solar panels?

Been thinking about acker for the generators. Because they have 2000 and 3000 wh generators. Not sure yet about the panels other than I would like 400 watters.
In doing some research it looks like I’m going to need an inverter/inverters

To give more info I have
3 fridge/freezers.
Portable a/c unit that I would need if my house a/c can’t get power especially in summer live in Las Vegas

Btw totally understand that my original post was way vague.
Had a 3rd of a bottle of jw blue so that didn’t help😁
I’ve been trying to find out the wattage of my house ac unit to include calling Lennox to no avail. Knowing that would help a lot with what I need. Of course I understand I would need a transfer switch for that

All of the domestic PhotoVoltaic  "Solar" installations that I have seen use Diesel, gasoline or propane fueled GENERATORS as back-up power for extended cloud cover periods, and  to  Equalize (maximum charge)  batteries in winter.

Your reference to "Solar Generator" does not make sense in this context.

Please clarify your meaning of "Solar Generator"

I have a 12,000 watt duel fuel generator for backup. If that’s what you’re asking.
My goal is to utilize solar because it’s quiet.

So, if you are buying a name brand solar generator (Bluetti, EcoFlow, etc), then it should include an inverter with the actual system.

In my testing, a deep freezer can use anywhere from 0.6 KWH per day up to 2.0 KWH per day.  It all depends on the temperature (the low amount was in the spring when it had highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s, the high amount was in the summer with highs in the 90s and lows in the 80s).  

Best thing to do is to buy a kill-a-watt meter and use it to determine what you power usage is for each appliance (in the worst conditions if possible, i.e. deep freezer in the garage).

Once you have you power usage, then you can start looking at generators to see which ones work the best.  There will be several things you will need to look at (input voltage limits, input amperage, input solar wattage max, etc) to determine if it will work for you.

Once you have decided on the generator, then you look at solar panels and figure out which ones fit the generator the best (voltage and amperage limits).


If you want to power a HVAC system, then you are looking at a big system and a lot of batteries on the backend to power it through the night/clouds.

Thanks Goose
Sounds like good advice.
I wasn’t aware that an inverter should come with the geni
The reason I would like to go to a solar generator is they are quiet until you use a fueled generator
Additionally Vegas gets about 300 plus days of sun so there’s that.
I checked the fridge/freezers are using about 100 watts running each and those are in the garage.
I think I’m going to talk to a master electrician to see what I can do to generate enough power to run my ac/heating system

The solar generators are expensive for the amount of power and storage you can get. If this is going to be used at your house I would look at putting together your own system.

An EG4 6000xp, two 5kwh EG4 batteries and some panels will cost pretty close to what two 2kw solar generators will cost, but have twice as much storage and 50% more power production capability.

Inverter/charge controller
https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-6000xp-off-grid-inverter-split-phase/
Batteries
https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-lifepower4-lithium-battery-48v-100ah/

If you want to keep it mobile, you can use those parts and mount them on a cart.

If it's only for your house, you could install them permanently and move your critical loads to a sub panel fed from the eg4 inverter. It would seemlessly supply those loads with solar power and pull from the grid anytime it's needed. This would also let you take advantage of the solar tax credit.  

Yes, an inverter is already built-in to these. It's part of the package -- you get 12 v out in the form of a cigarette lighter socket, USB ports for cell phone charging and one or two 120 volt outlets.  They are expensive though, but compact and fairly lightweight.   I have seen some that are expandable you can add additional battery storage.

I've been following RV build youtube videos because I want to have ham radio, laptop, ventilation, a small fridge and LED lighting and do it on the cheap. But an important difference is a truck camper is flea power compared to running an entire house.  Central A.C. especially is a power sucker. These RV setups are running small loads, occasional microwave use or a 5000 BTU air conditioner.  

Example power usage of central a.c. https://www.pickhvac.com/central-air-conditioner/running/electricity-usage/ middle of the list, a 2.5 ton a.c uses about 2 kilowatt-hours every hour it's running.

Just round numbers, say it runs 25% of the time, that's 12 kw-Hr a day.
Usable peak solar input is about 6 hours a day, so you'd need panels just to run it during sunny day plus extra panels to charge your batteries to run it at night.
see https://thegreenwatt.com/how-many-solar-panels-do-i-need-for-2000-kwh-per-month/

Big difference is if you are only needing heat, a gas furnace blower motor is maybe a modest 250 watts. 1 HP is 746 watts.

I want to encourage your project! Figure out what you plan to run first so you don't build too big, or worse, too small.

ETA: Another really useful tool in addition to a KillaWatt, is a clamp on amp meter, measures current without having to break a circuit,  to answer how much power a.c. uses. Also can grab peak current draw and store it. Motors, particularly compressors pull many times the running current to get going.  Pop panel cover off and clamp around one of the legs feeding the outdoor unit.  amps * volts = watts

Middle of the road Fluke about $100, and they had some off brands for less on Amazon
https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/78461/how-to-determine-not-estimate-starting-amperage-of-a-motor

What you're probably should be looking at is solar panels that feed into an inverter, which connects to a battery farm, that connects to a switch panel in the house. A/C is a huge energy hog. The average home uses something like 25-30kw/day, iirc, so you'd need a system capable of powering that. The solar generators aren't exactly built for that, unless you get the big $$$ systems/expansions.

The solar generators/batteries like Bluetti, Jackery, etc., are short term or specialty solutions, imo.

We have a couple different options, for camping and emergencies- Ecoflow Rivers and a Lion Energy. The Lion uses 24v instead of 12v (which almost everyone else uses) to charge, so guess what voltage my 600w solar panels are? lol

City Prepping has multiple YouTube videos on the subject including diving into a DIY vs going turnkey with a SolarGenerator.

LINK to Solar Generator buying guide spreadsheet of which you can move to your own Google Drive and/or download as Excel to manipulate.  Second tab you can plug in usage by device(s) including multiple refrigerators and see impact by Solar Generator.

I have an Eco Flow product now of which I am very happy and will likely upgrade to the Delta Pro 3 to run 240 for a well.





Whole home turnkey solution including panel…


I am likely going to get the Delta Pro 3…

@Jacufrost
So what would be better regarding the battery setup?
The 6 port or the 3 port batteries?
Thanks for the help

Paging @jaqufrost

Which batteries are you looking at?

Most of my experience is with 48v EG4 rack batteries.

Looking at the one you have a link to. The eg4’s looking to get 3

15kwh of storage is a good start on a whole home battery. With the rack batteries you can always go back and add more later.

They have an updated version with a longer warranty that just came out.
https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-lifepower4-v2-lithium-battery-48v-100ah-server-rack-battery-ul1973-ul9540a-10-year-warranty/

I think these are a much better option than an ecoflow.