WHAT IS A SOLAR GENERATOR ?
In a nutshell , solar generators are like a high-tech battery box . They are based on a high-capacity lithium battery with an inbuilt 240V inverter , AC and DC charging as well as an MPPT solar charge controller . Everything you need to power all your devices away from mains power in one easy-to-transport package .
They are available in a wide range of capacities and output capabilities . The EcoFlow Delta 2 I ’ ve been testing has a 1024Wh lithium iron phosphate ( LiFePO ) battery and a 1800W 240V inverter that can deliver up to 2200W in X-Boost mode and a staggering 2700W surge output .
Compare that to my Yamaha 1000iS , which has a nominal output of 900W , a peak output of 1000W and , with a full tank of fuel , can theoretically provide around 3500 to 4000Wh of continuous power .
COMPARING APPLES WITH BANANAS
I should point out that the reason I chose these two devices for this comparison was more by accident than good management .
My primary use for a generator is to recharge the 400Ah of lithium batteries we have in our caravan . While that may seem to be a fairly large battery bank , the reality is we use quite a bit of those batteries in our normal day-to-day living when off-grid . We have a large compressor fridge and a myriad of smart devices connected to the internet via a Starlink system . Our power use is quite high and even with excellent solar charging at our disposal , if we were to get three days in a row of bad weather , we could be struggling to recharge our batteries . The Yamaha 1000iS was the smallest and lightest generator available with sufficient capacity to power the 40A ( 700W ) battery charger in our caravan .
Portable lithium power station technology has developed to the point where they can be considered a viable alternative to a petrol-powered generator .
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