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The generator could stay put while they waited for daylight or for the storm to pass.
Photo Credit: EcoFlow
After a massive ice storm left one homeowner without power for four days, they began looking for an affordable way to prepare for the next outage.
A $2,100 solar-and-battery bundle seemed promising, but concerns about charging time gave them second thoughts.
In a Reddit post, the homeowner compared two EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra bundles. One was a power station with two 220-watt solar panels for $2,100, and the other was the unit with EcoFlow’s Smart Generator 3000 for $1,800. A $20,000 whole-home standby generator was beyond their budget.
Fuel access shaped the homeowner’s initial preference. Solar would mean neither arranging gasoline or propane deliveries nor making fuel-buying trips if leaving the area became difficult.
The aforementioned charging-speed holdup may have pushed them away from solar and toward the generator-only option.
“Curious what direction you’d lean and why,” they wrote. “Or if you think there’s a better option out there all together, I would love that feedback too.”
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For one commenter, a major benefit of a battery was avoiding an immediate trip outside in dangerous weather. The generator could stay put while they waited for daylight or for the storm to pass. They described keeping EcoFlow Delta 2 power stations connected to their most important devices, reporting at least eight hours of runtime.
“Giving the storm time to pass or at least the sun to come up before I have to get my generator out,” they wrote.
A different user backed up that experience with their own, including a blizzard.
Another commenter described using an Anker Solix C1000 to back up a Rinnai gas boiler, its circulation pump, and a TACO zone controller. Their equipment uses conventional plugs, and they reported a combined draw below 200 watts while running heat and hot water.
That commenter also had another way to recharge through their Prius Plug-In’s outlets, rated at 120 volts and 1,500 watts, according to their Reddit comment.
One commenter suggested building the setup in stages, starting with an inverter generator rated at 2,200 to 4,000 watts, preferably with dual-fuel capability. A fast-charging 1,000- to 2,000-watt-hour power station could follow, with 400 to 800 watts of solar panels added eventually.
Commenters disagreed, however, about how much fuel this approach would save. One commenter explained that the intended use was to charge the battery rather than leave the generator idling until appliances needed power. Another questioned the claimed fuel savings.
A different commenter suggested a $500 dual-fuel inverter generator rated at 2,500 or 3,500 watts if sunshine during outages seemed unlikely. 
Others favored relying on a generator with stored propane, though the posts advocating a multistage setup including a power station, or getting battery backups garnered the most upvotes from the forum.
Other households preparing for outages have faced similar questions about how long batteries will last and whether solar panels can keep them charged. 
• A homesteader’s four-day blackout raised doubts about battery backup and prompted generator recommendations.
• Rolling blackouts drove a household toward a bargain power station with solar voltage compatibility problems.
• A writer weighing solar backup faced practical limits on powering fridges and tools during outages.
• In San Diego, a prepper’s $4,000 solar backup plan faced battery-draining electric cooking demands.
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

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