Solar Powered Backup V.S. Home Standby Generator

The consumer market offers several options for backup power in residential settings, the two most popular are home generators and solar battery backups.

Resources and Fuels:

Let's start with some of the more obvious factors: one of these gets power from the sun and the other burns fuel. Solar panels slowly power up a battery backup system, which stores that power until it’s needed. Some systems will also “return” access power generation to the grid, which can net you a small discount on your utility bill. Keep in mind that these setups involve lots of equipment and labor, which can be quite expensive.

Standby generators are essentially just engines, albeit specially designed for their purpose, and operate much in the way you would expect an engine to operate. Most of these types of generators run on either natural gas or liquid propane (sometimes diesel gas) so the operational cost is at the mercy of current fuel prices. If your home is already on natural gas then setting everything up is fairly simple. Large propane tanks may need to be purchased and installed if that’s the route you're hoping to take.

Effectiveness:

Standby Generators are a time tested technology and have been fairly popular for the better part of a few decades now. The systems are rock solid, and with every new iteration they grow closer to perfection. These units require similar basic maintenance to most other engines (oil changes, battery checks, etc..). Pending a shortage of fuel, these units should have no problem running continuously without any major issues. Generally speaking, maintenance here is done on an “hours of use” basis, so hypothetically, continuous use would be interrupted with some oil changes. 

The battery backup setups that are powered by solar panels are unsurprisingly dependent on the sun. Here in the north east we generally don’t recommend them for that reason alone. They’ll work just fine most of the time, but we tend to have pretty thick and overcast winters here, which decreases their reliability. Also, depending on the size of your setup, you may discover that you’ll only be able to continue powering your home for a limited amount of time. If you experience an outage lasting more than a day you may find yourself out of power again before the grid returns.

Pricing:

Both of the projects are expensive, no doubt about it, but a good solar and battery backup will probably run you almost twice as much as a standby generator installation. It’s worth noting here that depending on where you live these prices can vary pretty drastically, and the condition of your install will be a price factor as well. Depending on what state you live in and who you get your utilities through, you may also be eligible for some rebates for clean energy products like solar panels. 

We’ve seen national estimates for home standby generators installations to be as high as $15,000, but here in the North East the average is probably somewhere between $10,000 - $13,000 (nearly half and half for the generator itself and then the labor and materials for install), keeping in mind that there are price variations for everything from additional labor for trenching, model make and size of your unit, and other additional factors. We personally recommend the Cummins Quiet Connect Units which are incredibly well built, but not necessarily the cheapest options out there. Also, If you want to power the Generator with Propane and don't already have a tank, that will be an additional cost.

Solar panels and the accompanying battery backups can be considerably more expensive, with cheaper options like Generac PowerCell still being upwards of $20,000 dollars for a full set-up and install. Sometimes the solar panels and the actual batteries are priced separately or done at different points in time. You may find the getting just a battery can be as cheap as $10,000, but then you’re left with nothing to power them.

The more “premium” products like Tesla’s PowerWall are upwards of $30,000 for a full install, and will scale with additional “cells” needed to store power. These prices can be prohibitive for most homeowners, considering the frequency of how often these systems are used. There are even more expensive set-ups you can look into if money is no object. 

Overall Generator Pro’s and Con’s:

PROS:

• Less expensive and more reliable.
• Functions like a car engine, easy maintenance.
• Comes in various sizes to power your entire home.
• Blends well into your current home-scape.
• Average life span of 20-25 years.

CONS:

• Must pay for fuel and get regular maintenance.



Overall Solar Setup Pro’s and Con’s:

PROS:

• Eco-friendly technology, no fuel expense.
• Possible rebates (state dependent).
• Cells stored indoors, low visibility. 

CONS:

• Higher upfront cost, more expensive to manufacture and install.
• Newer technology, not as time-tested, more complicated.
• Performance dependent on good weather.
• Some people dislike the look of the roof covered in panels (some do not mind)

Conclusion:

As is generally the case, the better product here will depend a lot on your situation. As previously mentioned, here in the North East, we don’t generally recommend these solar set-ups. Winter is a tough time for us Northerners, it’s the time of year where we have the worst weather and the most power outages. The last thing you want is uncharged batteries during a snowstorm. On the other hand, the Cummins generators we recommend operate incredibly well at below freezing temperatures. They even have cold weather kits and heated slip rings that will allow your generator to operate below zero without issue.

Another important consideration is that these home battery setups are a relatively newer technology, still going through the phases and iterations of new designs and use cases. Only very recently have major brands like Generac started to produce them at a considerable volume. Most people that have these sorts of setups are early adopters, people who know the possibility for error and imperfection is higher, but who are also interested in engaging with newer technology. 

These solar setups also use a lot of rare metals that are very expensive to source, a contributing factor in their high cost. Our hope is that in the coming years the price of these sorts of setups will decrease and become more competitive as the technology gets better, more efficient and cheaper to produce. There are plenty of places, particularly in the southern U.S. where we have an overabundance of solar energy just waiting to be tapped into, making a battery backup with solar panels very attractive.

Hurricane Home Solutions is a licensed contractor that provides backup power solutions to homeowners all across New York and Northern Pennsylvania. We’re certified Cummins Dealer as well and big advocates of their Quiet Connect Series units, which boast quieter noise volumes and better cold weather performance than leading competitors. If you’re interested in learning more about these systems feel free to call us directly or fill out a form here on our site.

We can also be reached by email at info@hurricanehomesolutions.com