Whether you are living in an area with sudden and frequent electricity cutoffs or are an outdoorsy person who likes to go camping or tenting, finding a small solar generator is the key.
Yes, a solar generator is something that can bring your camping experience to the next level because it doesn’t require any additional resource or investment except for its basis structure. A solar generator works on solar energy- unlike a conventional one that utilizes fossil fuels or natural gas- to produce electricity. It only needs help from solar panels to handle half of the job i.e. collect, and convert solar energy from the sun.
As mentioned above solar generators don’t need additional power resource to work on, the question arises: how is it possible to save money considering the extensive procedure involved?
Introduction to Solar Generators
As the name suggests, a solar generator is responsible to convert sunlight into electric energy for different appliances. Unlike traditional power sources, it requires sunlight for photovoltaic panels to harness the solar energy for future electricity needs.
Talking about the structure, solar powered generators are made up of solar panels/photovoltaic panels, an inverter, a charge controller and a battery- each of which has a unique purpose and reason of existence. A solar panel has to collect sunlight from the sun and convert int DC or direct current so that the battery can store it for later use. When needed, the inverter comes to action and converts DC to AC or alternative current so that it can be transferred to different appliances. The charge controller has to ensure smooth flow of energy with no battery damage or overcharging.
Financial Benefits of Solar Generators
Even though a small solar generator requires a high initial investment, it knows how to pay off in the long run. Apart from offering enough off-grid power, below are the worthwhile financial savings you can do:
- Lesser Fuel Expenses: Conventional generators utilize chemical energy to form electricity. Their engines use energy from fuel combustion to move the armature that generates electricity. The bigger the generator, the more it will consume the energy. A 5KW small solar generator requires 0.75-gallon fuel to generate energy for equipment like lightbulbs, fans etc. On the other hand, solar generators take solar energy from the sun and convert into usable power to run multiple devices, especially in off-grid cabins, RVs or during camping. The money so spent on the entire procedure is extremely affordable as opposed to that was spent on the conventional generators.
- Least to No Maintenance: Solar generators pride themselves for not having as many moving parts as available in traditional generators. Their structures are quite simple and can work for a comparatively longer time period without asking for major repair and maintenance expenditure.
- Low Replacement Expense: Generators, powered by diesel, gas or even solar, have a limited useful lifespan. You have to replace some of the parts as their time period ends so that they can work the same way as they have been doing in the past. Solar generators have much greater useful life i.e. 25 years during which, they can help you to save a significant amount of money. In fact, after this time span, solar panels can still work properly because they are designed to last even longer. Though, don’t expect to have the same efficiency as you found during the day 1.
Final Thoughts
It can be said that using a gas or fuel generator is quite expensive because they will need maintenance and other work every now and then. While when it comes to a small solar generator, it doesn’t cause that much problems in the long run.
