Best Solar Generators for Home Backup: How to Size One
A solar generator is a battery power station, usually lithium iron phosphate, that you can recharge from a wall outlet or solar panels. To pick a best solar generator for home backup, list the loads you want to run, add up their watts, and match them to a unit's watt-hours and rated AC output. This page shows that math and the Jackery sizes read on 2026-11-02.
Links: links to company websites on this page go straight to each company’s own site, and this site is not paid when you click them. How we link.
What a solar generator is
A "solar generator" is a marketing name for a battery, an inverter that turns battery power into household AC, and charge controllers that accept a wall adapter, a car port or solar panels. The unit holds a fixed amount of energy, counted in watt-hours (Wh), and delivers power only up to its rated AC output, counted in watts (W).
Watt-hours tell you how long it can run a load. Watts tell you which loads it can run at all. A unit with plenty of Wh and a low W rating can run a router for days and still be unable to start a space heater.
This site has not tested any unit. Specs come from the maker's own pages, read on 2026-11-02, and prices are holiday-sale prices shown that day that may change. Run times are our arithmetic, built on a stated assumption.
Five checks behind any best solar generator list
These are the five criteria this guide applies to every model, each readable from the maker's page.
- Watt-hours per dollar. Price shown divided by capacity. It is a way to compare sizes, not a quality score. It uses the price as read, which may be a sale price.
- AC output against the loads you named. The rated AC watts must be higher than the total of what you plan to run at once. If a load is above the rating, the unit cannot run it.
- Recharge time as stated. How long Jackery says a wall recharge takes, with any condition on the figure. Solar recharge times are given by Jackery without test conditions, so we treat them as unverified.
- Weight. A 40 lb unit is a one-room appliance, not a bag you carry. Weights are as listed on the page.
- Warranty as stated. The product pages and Jackery's service page do not always agree. We report both.
The one calculation: watt-hours and usable share
Run time in hours is capacity in watt-hours, times a usable share, divided by the load in watts. A unit never delivers its full label capacity to an AC load, because the inverter and battery management take a share. Jackery does not publish a usable-share figure on the pages read, so we use 85% as our own planning assumption. Every run time on this site rests on that assumption and the load wattages named below. They are not maker figures and a real unit may differ.
The loads, with what each wattage is:
| Load | Watts used | What the figure is |
|---|---|---|
| LED bulb | 10 W | Top of the DOE range for an 800-lumen LED (5.9 to 10.5 W) |
| Wi-Fi router | 12 W | Netgear sheet for one model at idle; other routers differ |
| Phone charger | 20 W | Apple's recommended adapter rating, an upper bound, not a measured draw |
| Refrigerator | 76 W | An average: an ENERGY STAR listing of 665 kWh a year, divided out. Startup draws more; makers say two to three times |
| 55-inch TV | 103 W | ENERGY STAR on-mode listing for one OLED model |
| Space heater | 1,500 W | The common rating in a CPSC recall notice |
| Microwave oven | 1,583 W | DOE test-procedure data, average cooking power |
More loads, and the ones we found no usable figure for, are on what a solar generator can run.
Jackery models compared, with a read scorecard
Jackery is the one power-station maker this site links to. Figures come from jackery.com on 2026-11-02, during a holiday-sale banner. In the last column, STATED means Jackery's pages agree on that row, and DISAGREES means a figure conflicts between its pages.
| Model | Price read | $ per Wh | AC output | AC recharge as stated | Weight | Warranty as stated | Scorecard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explorer 300 | $289 | $0.99 | 300 W | 2.5 hours on the collection page, with conditions in the body | 7.5 lb (collection page 7.1 lb) | 5 years | DISAGREES |
| Explorer 1000 v2 | $559 | $0.52 | 1500 W | 1.58 hours in the spec table; a 50-minute "Emergency Super Charge" in the headline | 23.8 lb | 3+2 years | DISAGREES |
| Explorer 1000 Plus | $619 | $0.49 | 2000 W | 1.7 hours | 32 lb | 3+2 years | STATED |
| HomePower 1000 v2 | $549 | $0.54 | 1500 W | Not read | 23.4 lb | Not read | STATED (summary level) |
| HomePower 1000 Plus v2 | $749 | $0.73 | 1800 W (an FAQ line says 1,500 W) | 50 minutes in the text, 1.7 hours on the collection page | 23.8 lb (collection card 32.6 lb) | 3+2 years | DISAGREES |
| Explorer 2000 v2 | $999 | $0.49 | 2200 W | 1.75 hours in the spec table | 39.5 lb | 3+2 years | DISAGREES |
| HomePower 2000 Plus v2 | $1,199 | $0.59 | 2400 W | 98 minutes on the collection page | 41.45 lb | 3+2 years | STATED |
Price notes: the Explorer 1000 v2 shows $559 for black and $589 for Dune White, with no discount shown. The Explorer 1000 Plus shows $619 sale against $699 list, and the HomePower 1000 v2 $549 against $699 list. The HomePower 2000 Plus v2 price is the station alone from Jackery's product feed. Check the page before you decide.
The table leaves out capacity to stay readable; the figures behind the dollars-per-watt-hour column are 293 Wh (Explorer 300), 1070 Wh in the US spec table for the Explorer 1000 v2 (its headline says 1024 Wh), 1264 Wh (Explorer 1000 Plus), 1024 Wh (HomePower 1000 v2 and HomePower 1000 Plus v2, though a collection card says 1280 Wh), 2042 Wh (Explorer 2000 v2) and 2048 Wh (HomePower 2000 Plus v2). The Explorer 1000 naming problem is large enough to have its own page: Jackery Explorer 1000 models compared.
Warranty needs a note. Product pages for most of these models say 3+2 years, meaning three years plus two more free on jackery.com. Jackery's service policy page lists 2+1 years for its "1500, 1000, 500, 300 Series," and the Explorer 300 page says 5 years. Both sets of statements are on jackery.com, read the same day. Jackery says the free extension applies to purchases made on jackery.com.
What the loads need: run times from the table
These run times are from our own arithmetic: capacity times 0.85, divided by the load. "Over rated output" means the load is above the unit's rated AC output, so that unit cannot run it. Capacity used is the figure in our data file for each model, which for the Explorer 1000 v2 is the 1070 Wh from the US spec table.
| Model | Router (12 W) | Refrigerator, average (76 W) | 55-inch TV (103 W) | Space heater (1500 W) | Microwave (1583 W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explorer 300 | 20.8 hours | 3.3 hours | 2.4 hours | over rated output | over rated output |
| Explorer 1000 v2 | 75.8 hours | 12.0 hours | 8.8 hours | 36 minutes | over rated output |
| Explorer 1000 Plus | 89.5 hours | 14.1 hours | 10.4 hours | 43 minutes | 41 minutes |
| Explorer 2000 v2 | 144.6 hours | 22.8 hours | 16.9 hours | 1.2 hours | 1.1 hours |
A 300-class unit suits device charging. Heating loads drain any battery fast, even where the rating allows them.
A worked sizing example
Take a household that wants to keep a refrigerator and a Wi-Fi router running through a one-day outage. Using the table above, the refrigerator average is 76 W and the router is 12 W.
- Refrigerator for 24 hours: 76 W x 24 h = 1,824 Wh of energy.
- Router for 24 hours: 12 W x 24 h = 288 Wh.
Neither a 300-class nor a 1000-class unit holds 1,824 Wh at label capacity, and the 85% assumption lowers the usable share again. The run-time table agrees: the Explorer 1000 Plus covers the refrigerator average for 14.1 hours and the Explorer 2000 v2 for 22.8 hours.
A 1000-class unit covers a refrigerator for about half a day and a router and lights for days; a 2000-class unit comes close to a day for the refrigerator. Jackery lists solar input limits of 400 W (Explorer 1000 v2) and 800 W (Explorer 1000 Plus) but no solar recharge times with named conditions, so we give none.
The refrigerator figure is an average. The compressor draws more when it starts, and makers say two to three times more. A unit rated 300 W has headroom for that; a unit that barely clears the rated watts of the loads you named does not.
Safety facts that apply to any backup power
These are not Jackery's. They come from public agencies.
- Generators run outdoors. CPSC says never use a generator indoors, in a garage, basement or shed. CDC says to keep it outside at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents. Ready.gov also says use one only outdoors and keep it at least 20 feet from windows, doors and attached garages. Carbon monoxide from a fuel generator can be fatal; CPSC says it "can kill you in minutes." These pages concern fuel generators.
- Battery power stations are not named on any agency page read. We make no claim that agency guidance covers them. Follow the manual that comes with a power station, including where to place it and how to charge it.
- Food in an outage. FoodSafety.gov says a refrigerator holds food safe for about 4 hours unopened, a full freezer about 48 hours and a half-full freezer about 24 hours, with doors closed. Ready.gov gives the same 4-hour and 48-hour figures. FoodSafety.gov says never taste food to judge its safety.
- How long outages last. EIA reports that U.S. customers averaged about 11 hours of interruptions in 2024, with nearly 9 hours of it from major events such as hurricanes. Without major events, interruptions average about 2 hours a year, EIA says.
- Medical devices. Ready.gov says to talk to your medical provider about a plan for any electric medical device. Read the label on your machine and ask its maker for its watts. This site does not say a power station will keep one running.
For a longer treatment of the choice between fuel and battery, see solar generator vs gas generator.
Which Jackery size fits which situation
- A phone, laptop and lights during a short outage: a 300-class unit. Read Jackery Explorer 300 for its run times and its inconsistent spec page.
- A refrigerator for part of a day, a router, a TV, and a few charging devices: a 1000-class unit. Start at Jackery Explorer 1000 models compared to avoid buying the wrong 1000.
- A refrigerator for most of a day, or several loads at once: a 2000-class unit. See Jackery Explorer 2000. Jackery says the older Explorer 2000 Plus has been discontinued and names the HomePower 2000 Plus v2 as its successor.
- A weekend camp or an RV trip: solar generator for camping and RV.
How Jackery compares with other makers
EcoFlow and Bluetti make comparable units, named here without links. At 1,000 Wh, EcoFlow lists its DELTA 3 Classic at $479 sale against $599 list, or $0.47 per Wh, and Bluetti lists its Premium 100 V2 at $849, or $0.83 per Wh; the Explorer 1000 v2 is $0.52. These are single-day prices, not a ranking. See Jackery vs EcoFlow and Jackery vs Bluetti.
Policies, as Jackery states them
Jackery's policy page, read 2026-11-02, says shipping is free to the contiguous US, with 1 to 5 days in transit after processing, and that it does not promise the estimates. It states a 30-day return window from the date you receive the order for jackery.com purchases, with refunds within 10 business days of receiving the item, and that it pays return shipping only for a defect, delayed shipping or a damaged package. Other retailers follow their own policy. Jackery's About page says the company has worked on clean energy "since 2012." More in the Jackery review.
What to put beside a power station
A power station is one part of a kit. See survival water filters for the water side and survival food kits for the food side. For quantities per person across everything, use the 72-hour emergency kit checklist, and for a pack you can carry, the bug out bag list.
FAQ
How many watt-hours do I need for a home outage?
Add up the watts of what you will run, multiply by the hours, and compare to the unit's capacity times our 85% planning assumption. A refrigerator at 76 W average uses about 1,824 Wh over 24 hours. A router at 12 W uses 288 Wh.
Can a solar generator run a space heater?
Only if its rated output is above the heater's wattage. Our table shows that a 300-class unit cannot, and that the Explorer 1000 v2 can start a 1,500 W heater but, by our arithmetic, for about 36 minutes.
Which Jackery should I look at first?
Read the page for the size that fits your loads, then check the lineup page if your choice is a 1000-class unit, where Jackery lists several models with different capacities.