Portable Power Stations/Solar Generators That Include Solar Panels
Power stations, also known as solar generators, are portable batteries that also have a solar charge controller and usually an inverter to power regular 120V AC outlets.
Even though it’s often referred to as a solar generator, most of them don’t include solar panels but are sold separately.
There are a couple of power stations that do include solar panels or are at least sold as part of a kit with a solar panel, and that’s what we’re going to look at today.
I have separated the products based on the brand, I recommend all of these brands and have personally tested and used their products.
Related Post: Best Portable Power Stations For Camping
Portable Power Station Bundles That Include Solar Panels
The links below will take you to the specific product listing on Amazon, except where I link to the specific merchant stores.
Jackery
- Explorer 300 Plus + 100W SolarSaga – A great little setup for somebody that’s looking to charge phones, tablets, and similar smaller devices.
- Explorer 500 + 100W SolarSaga – Same size solar panel, but the battery is almost twice as large compared to the Explorer above.
- Explorer 1000 Plus + 200W Solar – Twice the solar panel power, and a power station capable of powering a fridge or a microwave.
- Explorer 2000 Pro + 200W Solar – Same amount of solar, slightly more powerful inverter, but twice the battery capacity compared to the Explorer above.
- Explorer 2000 Plus + 400W Solar – Similar to the one above, but with twice as much solar power.
- Explorer 2000 Plus + 400W Solar + Extra battery – Like the one above, but with an extra battery pack to increase battery capacity.
EcoFlow
If you shop directly from Ecoflow’s website in the US or CA, you can use the code ECOFLOWAFF for 5% off. If you’re in EU you can get 8% off with the code EFEUAFF8. Note that this is only on EcoFlow’s website, not on Amazon.
- River 2 + 110W Solar Panel – A powerful little power station with a 110W solar panel included.
- River Pro + 160W Solar Panel – More battery capacity, larger solar panel.
- Delta 2 + 200W Solar – A lot more powerful inverter (1800W) and two rigid but portable 100W solar panels.
- Delta 2 + 220W Solar Panel – Same power station as the one above, but with a portable bifacial 220W panel instead.
- Delta 2 Max + 400W Solar Panel – Twice the battery capacity, and a large 400W solar panel.
- Delta Pro + 400W Solar Panel – Massive power station with 3600Wh battery capacity and a 3600W inverter. 30A RV plug. Includes a 400W solar panel.
Bluetti
If you shop directly from Bluetti’s website you can use code EB70S20 for $20 off on EB70S, AFF100 for $100 off on AC300+2 B300, or AFFDEAL for $15 on any order above $1000. Note that this is only on Bluetti’s website, not on Amazon.
- EB3A + 120W Solar Panel – Comparable to Jackery Explorer 300 Plus but with more ports and more powerful inverter. Includes a 120W solar panel.
- EB55 + 120W Solar Panel – More battery capacity, more powerful inverter, more ports. Includes the same 120W panel. There is also a bundle with a larger 200W panel.
- EB70S + 200W Solar Panel – 716Wh battery capacity, 800W inverter, includes a 200W solar panel.
- AC200Max + 200W Solar Panel – A powerful and very popular power station, available in several different bundles with panels of different sizes. This specific one includes a 200W panel.
Goal Zero
- Yeti 300 + 50W Solar Panel – Small but powerful power station with lots of ports, includes a portable 50W panel.
- Yeti 700 + 100W Solar Panel – More battery capacity, better display, and a larger 100W panel.
- – More battery capacity, and a rigid but portable 100W panel.
- Yeti 1500X + 200W Solar Panel – Even more battery capacity at 1516Wh, more powerful inverter, and a larger rigid but portable 200W panel.
- Yeti Pro 4000 + 400W Solar Panel – 4000Wh battery capacity, 3600W inverter, includes a portable single 400W panel.
- Yeti 6000X + 400W Solar – A massive power station with 6071Wh battery capacity but the same 2000W inverter as the 1500X, includes two rigid but portable 200W panels.
Frequently Asked Questions About Power Stations & Solar Panels
Can The Power Station Power My Device?
It depends on the limits of the inverter in the power station and how many watts your device requires.
If your device requires 500W and the power station has a 300W inverter, it won’t work.
But if your device requires 50W and the inverter can output 100W, it will power it.
Most devices have a sticker or some kind of information on it that tells you how many watts it requires.
If you can’t find it, you can plug your devices into a Kill A Watt (click to view on Amazon) which will tell you exactly how many watts your device(s) are using.
Then you’ll know how powerful of an inverter you need.
Understand the difference between 500Wh and 500W when you look at the information about a specific power station.
The 500Wh (Wh=watt-hours) is the battery capacity while the 500W (W=watts) is the inverter’s max output, in other words, the number of watts it can power at most.
How Long Does It Take To Charge A Power Station?
If you know the battery capacity of the power station and the input watts a wall/car charger or solar panel can generate, you can divide the two to get an approximate number.
For example, a 500Wh power station being charged by a solar panel generating 50W would be 500/50=10 hours.
One thing you must take into consideration is that a 100W panel will usually not produce exactly 100W, but usually around 70-80W. Some panels nowadays to produce the wattage they are rated at, but only during perfect conditions.
What Should I Look For In A Power Station?
You should first decide whether it’s more important that is has a lot of battery capacity or a large inverter.
More battery capacity will let you run/charge devices for longer, but a larger inverter will let you power more devices at once.
For example, one power station might have a 300W inverter and 500Wh battery capacity, while another one might be the opposite with a 500W inverter and 300Wh battery capacity.
I also recommend buying a lithium power station and not a lead-acid power station. Lithium is lighter and better in general.
There are also two types of inverters, pure sine wave, and modified sine wave inverter.
The pure sine wave inverter is better and safer to power sensitive electronics.
Although a modified sine wave will run electronics like phones, tablets, and laptops fine as well but not as efficient.
Last but not least, if you want to power a 12V fridge/freezer (click to see review of the best ones), you should get a power station with a regulated 12V cigarette port.
That will power the fridge safely until the battery runs out.
Unlike an unregulated 12V cigarette port that will power the fridge until the battery reaches a certain voltage, and the fridge will sense a low battery voltage and shut itself off.
Have any more questions about power station that include solar panels? Leave a comment below.
