WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT · SOLAR
Small solar won't run your house. It will keep your phone charged, recharge a battery station, and give you free lighting indefinitely. Here's what each tier costs and what it actually delivers.
THREE TIERS
Each tier does more and costs more. Start with the tier that matches what you actually need to keep running, not the one that sounds most impressive on a product page.
Tier 1 · $30–$80
A foldable 20–30W panel with USB ports. Charges phones and power banks directly from sunlight. Slow by grid standards — a full phone charge takes two to four hours in direct sun — but free and indefinitely sustainable.
Good for: keeping communication devices alive in an extended outage. Not for running appliances.
Tier 2 · $80–$300
Rigid or semi-flexible panels that connect to a battery station via MC4 or XT60. A 100W panel in good sun produces 300–500Wh per day, enough to meaningfully recharge a 500Wh battery station and keep it cycling through a multi-day outage.
Good for: recharging battery stations. Requires a compatible station with solar input.
Tier 3 · $400–$3,000
A matched panel-and-battery-station combination — 200W panel plus a 1,000–2,000Wh station — that functions as a self-recharging power hub. Provides lighting, device charging, fan operation, and CPAP power indefinitely as long as the sun is available.
Good for: multi-day and extended outages. The 200W Solar guide covers the full setup.
Affiliate disclosure: New World Survival earns a small commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. We only recommend gear we'd put in our own kit.
REAL NUMBERS
Panel wattage is a peak rating under ideal lab conditions. Real-world production depends on sun hours, angle, temperature, and clouds. These numbers reflect typical US conditions, not the best-case figures on the box.
DAILY PRODUCTION · TYPICAL CONDITIONS
Assumes 4–5 peak sun hours. Northern states and winter conditions reduce output. Southern states and summer add to it.
A portable panel flat on a horizontal surface loses 15–25% of potential output compared to one tilted toward the sun. During an outage, take a few minutes to angle the panel roughly toward solar south and tilt it to face the sun directly.
Shade from a single branch or roof overhang can reduce output by 50% or more. Position panels in full, unobstructed sun and recheck their orientation midday.
The panel charges the station during the day; the station powers your household at night. Check your battery station's maximum solar input before buying a panel — some units cap at 150W even if the panel is larger.
A 200W panel recharging a 1,000Wh station in five to six sun hours creates a sustainable loop. The 200W Solar project guide covers the full component list and wiring.
HONEST LIMITS
Setting the right expectations before buying prevents disappointment during an actual outage. These are the loads that small solar cannot support.
A central AC unit draws 3,000–5,000 watts continuously. No portable solar setup can power it. A window unit draws 500–1,500W — possible with a large battery station but drains it in hours.
Electric water heaters draw 4,000–5,500 watts. Outside the range of any portable solar system. Gas water heaters with electronic ignition may work with a small battery station for the igniter only.
An electric range burner draws 1,200–3,000 watts per element. An oven draws 2,000–5,000W. Neither is practical on battery or portable solar. A propane camp stove is the outage cooking solution.
A standard grid-tied rooftop solar system shuts down automatically when the grid fails — it must, to protect lineworkers. Without a battery backup or special inverter, your rooftop panels produce nothing during an outage.
Forced-air furnaces and heat pumps draw far more power than any portable system can supply. A gas furnace blower motor (300–500W) is within battery station range and is a common use case.
Winter storms that cause the longest outages also produce the least solar production — heavy cloud cover, short days, snow on panels. Solar is a supplement during these events, not a primary power source.
WANT THE FULL PICTURE?
The 200W Solar project guide covers component selection, wiring, battery sizing, and what a completed system realistically powers day-to-day — not just in an emergency.
200W Solar Setup