Which is really expensive.
If i have solar panels do i need a generator.
This is only possible with a solar system with battery backup.
The generator is a relatively simple install by comparison.
I have 600 amps but only 300 usable amps.
You have solar panels.
The solar panels require a substantial investment in other equipment to be able to use them.
Solar power plus battery backup system.
Note that 2 wire start is different than electric start.
It completely depends on your system.
Powered by the sun a solar charging system can recharge your batteries indefinitely.
It is feasible to run your ac off batteries but it really requires lithium batteries and at least 960 watts of solar.
Since i can gauge the generator s size by the watts produced most rv generators run from 1 000 to 3 000 my choice is made a little easier if i know roughly the wattage used in my rv s appliances.
Unfortunately that isn t quite the way it works.
Solar is nice to have but you do need a generator for those cloudy days.
If i want a generator for days of bad weather when the solar panels can t work at their peak i need a smaller generator.
There are of course a variety of ways to maintain your lights on status when the rest of the neighborhood is in the dark.
Even if it is generating solar power it may not be generating enough to power the electrical devices that you want to use.
Been using solar for 10 years.
Unfortunately solar requires an investment on your part as most rvs do not come with solar panels installed.
When the power goes out solar panels may or may not work.
Off grid generators paired with solar power systems need 2 wire start capability to allow the automatic generator start ags function to work.
Ergo you should have electricity.
What does an inverter do in making a solar generator work.
When your batteries drop below a certain voltage the ags kicks in to turn on the generator and recharge your battery bank.
A solar power inverter.
It would take roughly 20 000 worth of solar panels and associated equipment to match the capabilities of even a small standby generator that costs less than 2 000.
The electricity that is produced by the solar panels and stored in the battery is produced and stored as dc direct current electricity.
As you can see from the table above the one big disadvantage to using a generator as backup with a solar power system is that you can not take advantage of the energy generated by your solar panels.
7 panels and 4 300 amp agm batteries.
But that doesn t mean that it isn t possible.