Anyone purchase a smaller Solar Generator?

[Shadowfax]

Not looking to power a whole house but rather an Emergency Unit for the Fridge and a few other things. Looks like what I need runs between $1500 and $2500.

Any suggestions, comments, recommendations welcome

[HifiHandyman]

I thought for sure you were going to say just for the stereo system!

[BlueFox]

Not looking to power a whole house but rather an Emergency Unit for the Fridge and a few other things. Looks like what I need runs between $1500 and $2500.

Remember it will only power the fridge during the day.

[Shadowfax]

I thought for sure you were going to say just for the stereo system!

LOL

[Projectman]

You can’t run a device off of solar only. You will need batteries and a good solar controller to get the most amount of solar energy into the batteries. Certainly look at LiFePO (lithium iron phosphate) batteries, but you will need a lot of them to powe a residential refrigerator.

I’m curious what you found for between $1500-$2500.00 to power a refrigerator and a few other things since the batteries will need to provide power for at night (10-14 hours depending on the time of year). One other thing are the batteries going to be in an environment where the temperature doesn’t drop below freezing?

[Kingrex]

Are you looking for a stand alone unit that requires moving plugs when the power goes out. Those can be had for a reasonable price
And easier method is to move branches you want on emergency backup and put them in a UPS. This is only a short term fix. As in extended power outage will eat up the battery.

If you have extended blackouts and want solar that is in parallel with the grid,, you have a couple choices. All are around $15k. Maybe a little less. The lithium battery is about $3k, grid/solar controller and inverter $2.5 to $5k, panels $3k, labor and othet misc part such as rack, pipe, wire $5k. .

[W9TR]

Not looking to power a whole house but rather an Emergency Unit for the Fridge and a few other things. Looks like what I need runs between $1500 and $2500.

Any suggestions, comments, recommendations welcome

I think you are looking for something like a Jackery.
Solar Generator, Power Outdoors - Jackery
Lots of them out there.
I use a Honda EU-1000 generator for emergency power needs. If I didn’t already have it I’d consider a portable solar unit.

[Kingrex]

I have been trying to find a way to charge a car without solar and be offgrid. Its been hard finding a voltage regulator that xan sense the panel as well as car and modulate the voltage. Most all solar is designed around putting power into the grid.

[Shadowfax]

I have been trying to find a way to charge a car without solar and be offgrid. Its been hard finding a voltage regulator that xan sense the panel as well as car and modulate the voltage. Most all solar is designed around putting power into the grid.

Years ago in my last career, we made some machines for Solar Panel Car Battery Chargers. Maybe they never made it to market since the program was sponsored by an Oil Company claiming to do research into solar.

[Shadowfax]

I think you are looking for something like a Jackery.
Solar Generator, Power Outdoors - Jackery
Lots of them out there.
I use a Honda EU-1000 generator for emergency power needs. If I didn’t already have it I’d consider a portable solar unit.

Yes, similar to that. I was looking at these Nature products

Here

[W9TR]

Yes, similar to that. I was looking at these Nature products

Here

That one uses a flooded lead-acid battery so it would be a no-go for me.

Here is what I’d look for in a solar unit:
LiPO4 Lithium Battery
MPPT solar controller
Monocrystalline solar panels

These are current state of the art without going to more exotic battery chemistries and solar panel designs.

[Big B]

+1

[Projectman]

Good site to estimate the amount of battery AH (Amp/hours) you would need to run different refrigerator types -

How Many Batteries To Run A Refrigerator? A Quick But Thorough Guide | RenewableWise