If you have solar power, why do you still need a generator?
Solar panels work best when you have direct sunlight shining on them. You also need enough of them and a battery storage system to save solar energy for when it is needed at other times of the day. Many depend on generators to help when there is not enough power or your needs change. The right generator can be an inexpensive solution to help keep everything working normally.
Solar Panel Efficiency
It takes direct sunshine on a solar panel surface to produce the maximum-rated power of a solar panel. Conditions such as an overcast sky, shadows, improper mounting angle, equatorial direction or short winter days will reduce the actual solar panel output to below the rated values.
Oversizing your solar array is often recommended. But a very costly option.
Performance from a solar panel will vary, but in most cases, guaranteed power output life expectancy is between 3 and 25 years. This guaranteed life expectancy rating is usually 80% of the published rating of the solar panel. Of course, this will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and as always, you typically get what you pay for.
Battery Options
The oversizing of your battery storage system may help when there is not enough solar power to meet your needs but, it is also a very costly option. Eventually, you still need more energy to recharge them.
Depending on the type of batteries you have, if they cannot hold up under load and are never fully charged, they sulphate faster.
Failures
Off-gird systems depend on a lot of electronics to operate. Electronics can fail without notice leaving you without power for hours, days or weeks. The chances of you losing power are greater than being on the grid! Having a reliable generator eliminates all that risk.
A generator will also let you exceed your inverter, panels and battery capacity for using heavy loads.
Grid-Tied Systems
A grid-tied solar system is connected to the electrical power grid. The system relies on this grid to produce usable solar energy and funnel excess energy for net metering, clean energy credits, or later usage.
Since a grid-tied system depends on grid power to work, there is no protection from power outages when they occur.
Generators Backup
Most solar power systems are designed to work with multiple power sources such as solar power, wind and generator power. When the system cannot keep up with demand, it signals a generator to turn on for help.
The one type of generator that can handle being turned on and off as often as needed without fail is a diesel-powered generator. There is nothing more fuel-efficient and longer-lasting that can compare. New small diesel generators run at much slower speeds, make less noise and outlast others by over 20:1
Diesel-powered generators have the longest life expectancy over any other type.
A diesel generator can even replace solar panels, charge up batteries quickly and then turn off, waiting for the next time batteries need recharging.
AURORA builds small diesel generators for this purpose.
For off-grid systems, a generator is typically sized to supply the inverter's full charging capacity plus additional loads needed during Charging.
Some generators only produce 120V, but Aurora generators can be configured for either 120 or 240-volt use.
Combining a generator with your off-grid solar array will provide additional capacity to the system and potentially allow you to consider a smaller battery bank since the generator can offset the shortfall when there is limited sun or charging capacity.
For grid-tied systems (no battery), a generator can provide backup power while maximizing your solar production.