Best solar generators for home backup
A solar generator is a power station sold with solar panels. For most homes we'd pick the Jackery HomePower 3000 with two 200 W panels. The EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 kit suits long outages because it takes the most extra panels, and the BLUETTI AC180 kit is the cheapest way to start. To keep up with a fridge, a freezer and a CPAP running all day, even the 400 W kits would need 8.2 hours of full-rated sun every day, so plan on solar to slow the drain.
Published , by Alex Rowan
We haven't tested these units ourselves. The picks come from the makers' spec sheets and manuals, and every price shows the store and the day we checked it. Links to the makers' and other stores pay us nothing. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, so we may get a commission when you buy through an Amazon link. You pay the same price.How we work.
Our picks
Best for most homes
Jackery HomePower 3000 with 2 × 200 W panels
$1,799Jackery price, Oct 27, 2026
- Battery
- 3,072 Wh
- Panels in the box
- 2 × 200 W panels
- Full sun to refill
- 7.7 hours
- Solar input limit
- 1,000 W
- Runs the essentials
- About 19 hours
- Output
- 3,600 W
The 3 kWh battery runs a fridge, a freezer, the Wi-Fi and a CPAP for about 19 hours on its own, and the two panels add up to 400 W. At that full rating they'd need 7.7 hours of sun to refill an empty battery, so expect them to stretch an outage by a partial charge a day rather than keep up with the house.
The power station accepts up to 1,000 W of solar, so there's room to add panels later. Its outlets are 120 V only.
Best for long outages
EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 with a 400 W panel
$3,099EcoFlow price, Oct 27, 2026
- Battery
- 4,096 Wh
- Panels in the box
- One 400 W panel
- Full sun to refill
- 10.2 hours
- Solar input limit
- 2,600 W
- Runs the essentials
- About 25 hours
- Output
- 4,000 W
The panel in this kit is the smallest part of it. The DELTA Pro 3 takes up to 2,600 W of solar across two inputs (1,600 W high-voltage and 1,000 W low-voltage), the most here by far, so a larger array can do real work during a multi-day outage. It also has 240 V outlets and can be wired to the house through a transfer switch.
With only the 400 W panel from the box it needs 10.2 hours of full sun to refill, and the kit costs $1,300 more than the HomePower 3000 kit.
Best on a small budget
BLUETTI AC180 with a 200 W panel
$769BLUETTI price, Oct 27, 2026
- Battery
- 1,152 Wh
- Panels in the box
- One 200 W panel
- Full sun to refill
- 5.8 hours
- Solar input limit
- 500 W
- Runs the essentials
- About 7.2 hours
- Output
- 1,800 W
The cheapest kit pairs a 1.15 kWh battery with a 200 W panel. The battery runs the essentials list for about 7.2 hours, or a CPAP alone for about 2 nights, and the panel tops it up by day.
The power station takes 500 W of solar at most, so it can't grow much, and with 1,800 W of output it may not start a fridge while everything else is running.
Best small kit with room to grow
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus with a 220 W panel
$919EcoFlow price, Oct 27, 2026
- Battery
- 1,024 Wh
- Panels in the box
- One 220 W panel
- Full sun to refill
- 4.7 hours
- Solar input limit
- 1,000 W
- Runs the essentials
- About 6.4 hours
- Output
- 1,800 W
A 1 kWh battery that accepts 1,000 W of solar, about as much as its own capacity, through two 500 W inputs. With enough panels it could refill in about an hour of full sun, and EcoFlow's extra batteries take it to 5 kWh.
With the single 220 W panel in this kit it needs 4.7 hours of full sun to refill.
The four kits side by side
| Kit | Price | Battery | Panels | Full sun to refill | Solar input limit | Runs the essentials | 240 V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackery HomePower 3000 (opens in a new tab) | $1,799 Jackery price, Oct 27, 2026 | 3,072 Wh | 2 × 200 W panels | 7.7 hours | 1,000 W | 19 hours | No |
| EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 (opens in a new tab) | $3,099 EcoFlow price, Oct 27, 2026 | 4,096 Wh | One 400 W panel | 10.2 hours | 2,600 W | 25 hours | Yes |
| BLUETTI AC180 (opens in a new tab) | $769 BLUETTI price, Oct 27, 2026 | 1,152 Wh | One 200 W panel | 5.8 hours | 500 W | 7.2 hours | No |
| EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus (opens in a new tab) | $919 EcoFlow price, Oct 27, 2026 | 1,024 Wh | One 220 W panel | 4.7 hours | 1,000 W | 6.4 hours | No |
"Full sun to refill" is battery capacity divided by the panels' rated watts. Real panels rarely make their full rating, and charging losses aren't counted, so treat it as the best case. "Runs the essentials" uses the same list as the power station picks.
What solar can and can't do in an outage
The essentials list on this page (fridge, chest freezer, Wi-Fi, four LED bulbs, two phone chargers and a CPAP) uses about 3,284 Wh a day. To replace that from the sun, a 400 W array would need 8.2 hours at its full rating every day, and a 1,000 W array 3.3 hours. Panels are rated under lab test conditions, and on a lawn or a deck in winter they make less. So in practice solar slows the battery's drain. Running a fridge on panels alone takes a large array and a sunny season.
That's still worth having in an outage that lasts days, when there's no grid to recharge from and no gas station open. It's also why the solar input limit matters more than the panel in the box: it caps how far you can grow the setup.
Check the solar input before buying panels
Each power station lists a maximum solar input in watts and a voltage range. Panels wired in series add their voltage, so keep a string inside the range the manual gives. Panels from another brand usually work if the voltage, current and plug match, but the maker's own panels are the simplest choice.
Kits versus buying the parts
A kit is the same power station and panel sold as one listing. Check the price of the power station alone on our power station page: if you already own panels, or plan to mount larger ones, buying the station alone can make more sense.
When a generator is the better tool
For big loads like a space heater or a well pump, or outages that last a week in winter, a fuel generator does what panels can't. Many homes pair a power station for quiet nights with a generator for daytime charging. The power station vs generator guide walks through that choice, and the cost comparison prices both over ten years.