Let’s pretend you live in a location where blackouts or outages by storms seem to occur frequently. Whether because of hurricanes or failing infrastructure, the amount of times everything in your home dies has become unacceptable. You plan on getting a power station but your power needs are significant: you want days of power, not just an hour of power. 

To get that long last power, you have three routes:

• A gas generator coupled with a power station
  
• A power station and stack multiple battery expansions
  
• The solar generator route.

The correct route depends on your needs, budget, and other circumstances. The goal of this guide is to explain how each set up works, the pros and cons, and then give some product suggestions. This is not a sizing guide but for the sake of the blog post, here is what we are going to assume:

You want to power large appliances such as fridges, freezers, etc as well as charging your phones, keeping your lights on, and powering your wifi. 
You want to power it for at least 3-5 days.

With those assumptions, let’s explain your power station options and give you pros, cons, and some product suggestions.

Gas Generators + Power Stations

 It is a simple idea. The gas generator runs periodically to top off the power station which is actually powering your house. Some, but not all, smart generators and power stations actually communicate to each other and will power on automatically when the power station signals it needs more juice.

The pros of going the gas generator route are numerous:

• You have power as long as you have fuel.
  
• Gas generators provide a lot of power for your dollar.
  
• Gas generators recharge your power station quickly
  
• Gas generators have many uses other than just recharging your power station as it can power tools or other high draw appliances by itself.

However, before you click your heels together in joy and rush out to Harbor Freight, there are some serious cons to consider:

• Long term usage requires a lot of fuel: what is your plan for storing that gas?
  
• Generators CANNOT be used indoors due to the fumes they produce.
  
• A gas generator is very noise and, even with the power off, may bring out the HOA Karens if you are using it during the early morning or late evening.
  
• You must use an inverter generator to safely charge your power station. Many traditional gas generators produce “dirty” power. Inverter generators produce a clean, stable sine wave that is safe for sensitive electronics and compatible with most power stations.
  
• If you are short on fuel, you are short on power.

A gas generator with a power station pairing is a great option if you live in an area that doesn’t mind the noise and you have space for storing fuel. It kinda gives you that he-man feeling as your nose inhales the gas and you fire it up with the first pull of the cord. Or tap the on button on the app which is admittedly more convenient but less he-manish. 

This combo is flexible and can be easily thrown into the back of a pickup to go power grandma’s house if needed. And a generator is always useful for producing power on it’s own.

When looking at what to purchase, keep these tips in mind for your best experience:

• Your power station will need pass through charging. This means you can keep powering your appliances while the battery is being topped off.
  
• Your power station needs significant input AC input wattage. This means the generator can charge your power station quickly which saves time and the noise.
  
• High surge protection will protect your power station especially when you first fire up your generator.
  
• If you want to get real fancy pants, you can get a power station with parallel charging options. This means you can charge via your generator and solar which saves fuel and helps recharge quickly.
  
• Your power station should ideally be portable. To recharge it, you will either have to snake extension cords from the generator (outside, remember) to your power station or move the power station close enough to the generator. 
  
• Your power station should match your generators voltage and frequency.

If this options makes sense for you, check out our Ecoflow Smart Generator and our Ecoflow Delta Pro 3 Power Station. A perfect pairing like baseball and summer or bench pressing and protein, this combo is a no brainer. Powerful and made by the same company, you don’t have to worry about compatibility and it checks all of our boxes.

Power Stations and Battery Expansions

Power station’s capacity can be expanded with batteries. Depending on the type and model, you can “daisy-chain” or connect multiple batteries to your power station, creating a huge pool of energy your power station can draw from.

The pros of this set up are notable:

• It’s silent. No noisy generator to attract the wrath of a Karen.
  
• No emissions. Unlike your Uncle Frank, this set up has zero emission and can be safely used inside your house or garage. 
  
• With no engine to maintain, this option is very low maintenance besides occasional topping off.
  
• There is no fuel storage so you don’t have to worry about old fuel or how to safely store gallons of gas.
  
• Provides clean energy which is perfect for sensitive electronics. 

Sounds pretty good, right? Well, let’s consider the cons:

• When you run out of power in the batteries, you are out of power. 
  
• This set up usually requires a high initial investment.
  
• With all those batteries, the recharge time can be significant to completely get your system back to 100%
  
• Batteries can be bulky, take up space, and be an easy target for thieves.
  
• Expanding your batteries gives you diminishing returns compared to adding ways to recharge existing batteries.
  
• Pumps or central AC can quickly burn through your power with no way to recharge it.
  
• Some power stations, even with expanded batteries, might not have inverters powerful enough to handle high-draw appliances.

The power station plus expandable battery option can be great if you live in an apartment where noise, fuel storage, and don’t have access to a sunny spot. This is also a good option if you just don’t want any maintenance and don’t want to mess with fuel. 

Another setting is a great option is places where noise is a big deal. Think wedding venue in the woods; you need significant, long lasting power but you just can’t have a generator running for fear it would summon a bridezilla.

When considering this option, the most important thing is to make sure your power station can handle the amount of batteries you need to daisy chain together.

For a whole house solution, starting with our Ecoflow Delta Pro Ultra as your base. From there, you can add batteries as needed. 

Solar Generators

Solar Generators, a fancy way of saying you have a power station and that is being recharged by solar panels, provide an ever replenishing power source from the sun. This is a tried and true method of many off-grid or homesteaders. 

The pros are convincing:

• Safe to use inside as the panels are outside and your power station is inside.
  
• Solar panels don’t produce noise.
  
• Low maintenance means you aren’t fiddling with it.
  
• Once you get over the initial investment, its value city from there.
  
• Since you can always add more panels, it is a very scalable option.
  
• Solar generators are environmentally friendly.
  
• Once you are set up and enjoying sunny weather, you have unlimited power.

Like a dark cloud covering the sun, let’s cast some shade with the cons:

• Sunny weather is a must for recharging so solar is weather dependent.
  
• Solar recharging is slow. If you drain your power station with a big draw such as a power tool, it will take a long time to recharge.
  
• You have to do some handiwork to get the panels up where the sun hits them.
  
• The initial investment can feel steep.
  
• You have to be more power conscious. Because you can’t just fire up the generator and add power, you need to manage your power use more. 

So who could benefit the most from the solar generator set up? Well, its the people that came to mind when you started reading this: homesteaders who want cheap, long term power and space to put in lots of panels. But they are not the only ones.

Your cabin up in the woods could benefit from a solar set up. Solar is a great option for van-lifers as storing a generator plus fuel or large batteries is not an option. Solar is also a great choice for anyone who is eco-conscious. 

This set up provides always ready (assuming you live in a sunny climate), low maintenance, low long term cost solution to recharging your power station. The Anker SOLIX F3800 allows you to run both 120v and 240v at the same time (except during charging). It can hold a large initial power pool and can support substation solar input. 

Which is Right For You?

Your situation, budget, and values really determine which one is right for you. And don’t forget, the hybrid solution might be the best solution. Combining a generator with solar panels gives you a ton of flexibility and quick recharges while a mound of batteries with a generator nearly guarantees you will have power even during the longest outages.

Our best advice is to set a clear power goal, do your research, and ask lots of questions. Speaking of which, hit up our chat or email if you have any! We would love to help you out.