Solar power stations/generators.

[Adjee]

I have been doing some research into these Solar Power Stations as I am considering purchasing one to use as an alternative option alongside our gas/petrol generator.

In the meantime I thought I would try it in another location which has the solar power setup. If nothing else it has demonstrated that the solar does not have enough oomph to run at 600W for even one hour. At 300W it is fine but only in sunlight (400W solar panels). So I can dry my herbs but nothing else.

(I think half the problem is the AGM battery is shot. Time to look for a replacement)

One of the tasks I want it to do is (obviously) be charged by solar panels and have enough oomph/power to then run some of our dehydrators and also our water irrigation pump.

I was considering the brands: Ecoflow, All Power and Bluetti as these can be purchased in or be shipped to Bulgaria unlike many other makes.

After reading the above post I wonder if these solar power stations/set ups are actually up to the tasks I have been considering them for.

Any thoughts or comments?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Firstly solar in the uk can be hap hazard due to the weather but we have a company called city plumbing I found some matching panels in terms of voc and wattage for £60 each (425w) and made a lead up to suit although I now charge via the power stream unit with the bigger heavier duty plug

I've a older delta max 1600 and I'm happy with it it'll run my domestic fridge freezer for 2 days without any input

It'll run the washing machine and lawnmower with no issue

[jennyjj01]

I have been doing some research into these Solar Power Stations as I am considering purchasing one to use as an alternative option alongside our gas/petrol generator.

One of the tasks I want it to do is (obviously) be charged by solar panels and have enough oomph/power to then run some of our dehydrators and also our water irrigation pump.

...

After reading the above post I wonder if these solar power stations/set ups are actually up to the tasks I have been considering them for.

Any thoughts or comments?

I'll confess to not owning one of those, though I do have a home made setup of about 500W solar and 1200Whr storage. In the UK the actual average panel yield is very much less than nominal because of our weather.

Running any heating device, such as dehydrators is a big ask, but something like a small irrigation system sounds very reasonable.

In the end, it will need an estimation of your max and average load wattage, your average solar generation wattage and how much storage capacity in your storage battery to carry you through periods of darkness or low sunlight.

Let's do a typical estimation based on 600W constant load. Scale the calculations for your own needs. Your power station is a reservoir and only needs to have enough energy to make up generated shortfall.

I.e. Let's say you want to run a 600W device 24/7
With Zero solar energy coming in, you would need 24x600Whr= 14400Whr capacity to run it for a whole 24 hour cycle. That's max battery capacity worked out.*
If your solar panels were to need to keep it charged up, it would need to supply an average of 600W over a whole 24 hour day. So, consider it 0% generating for 8 hours of night, 50% generating for 8 hours of dull sunlight and 100% generating for 8 hours. I.e over 24 hours it's (0+0.5+1)/3=0.5 or 50% efficient. Therefore to get average 600W, you might need 1200W of panels. Bear in mind that solar efficiency is impacted by the compromise of a fixed mounting relative to the sun, and by cloud cover, seasonality and bad weather. Also, collecting efficiency tends towards 0 when your battery is fully charged if the load is disconnected.

Of course, if your load only needed to run for a few hours of an emergency scenario, you could get a powerstation easily up to the task. There's a big difference between using a 600W dehydrator 24/7 and a washing machine for an hour a day.

[Nurseandy]

I have a 100w ecopower solar panel charging a 100a/hr leisure battery which runs the 12v air compressor in our biodigester (septic tank with aerator). Runs the pump 24hr/day from late spring to early autumn, not enough in the battery to keep it running overnight early spring/late autumn and mid winter have to charge the battery from the mains. We're at 57.5° lat (~aberdeen, scotland ish).
Dunno if that helps?

[timmyt79]

I’ve been looking into solar power stations too, and from what I’ve seen, they’re great for small stuff like charging phones or running lights, but running things like dehydrators or pumps can be tricky unless you get a really powerful setup. The battery quality matters a lot—like you said, a worn-out AGM battery won’t hold much charge. Brands like Ecoflow and Bluetti get good reviews for portability and power, but still, if you want to run something heavy for hours, you might need more panels and bigger batteries than usual.

[jennyjj01]

...from what I’ve seen, they’re great for small stuff like charging phones or running lights, but running things like dehydrators or pumps can be tricky unless you get a really powerful setup.

This^^^^

In a nutshell, powerstations and solar great for powering lights and the odd motor, but not up to much for anything with a heating element..... Unless you invest in a big-un.

[Peter]

We have a small solar setup, two 120w panels feeding two leisure batteries, these are just to recharge AA,AAA’s USB lights, radios, power tools etc. This has been quite adequate over a winter trial for a no mains electricity event. This works for us.

However during December and January with any solar system you can expect just twenty percent of summer power due to the much shorter day, and lower level of light with the sun being so low in the sky and light having to pass through much more atmosphere.

But some solar power would be vital in a SHTF situation.

[pseudonym]

I have been doing some research into these Solar Power Stations as I am considering purchasing one to use as an alternative option alongside our gas/petrol generator.

I was considering the brands: Ecoflow, All Power and Bluetti as these can be purchased in or be shipped to Bulgaria unlike many other makes.

Any thoughts or comments?

Get one that doesn't require proprietary solar panels, as it can become quite expensive. Preferably one that is expandable.

As other have suggested, work out your usage throughout the day to get your Kwh.

It can be expensive and addictive:

[GillyBee]

Ours is a DIY arrangement using Renogy kit on our shed. We have 400W of panels feeding into a 100Ah leisure battery and a 1Kw invertor.
I can mow the lawn fine and would have no concerns about providing lighting or mobile phone charging.
I added a smart power meter to watch how much load the dehydrator adds. At fan only in takes 35W and can run indefinitley. at 40 degrees it will run during daylight but runs out of steam within an hour with no solar input. At 600W it throws a tantrum after 30 mins. So I presume the battery is unable to supply much stored power but the solar is fine.

[GeraldTheBonzai]

I have an emergency "shed". 175w (soon to be 350w) panel, Renogy CC, with a 2Kw inverter, fed from 2x12v 100ah (agm) in parallel. Plus an Ecoflow and similar chinese knockoff. Then a 2.2Kw champion generator.

I can do stuff in the shed, like run drill, sander etc and when it's sunny the batteries are just acting as reservoir whilst I run kit.

In the event of a power cut (which we've just had, just 30 mins ago..) I can use it to keep the freezer going, recharge stuff and provide a bit of light / power. So not offgrid, in the sense that we are autonomous for power, but more of a stop gap.