With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and more intense, it makes sense to think about contingency plans in case your power goes out for a few days or longer. The r/preppers subreddit is full of people who think about such things, and one of them recently made a post asking for advice.
"Would you buy solar panels or gas generator first?" the poster wrote. "I have cash for either 2500 watts gas generator (but don't have room to store a lot of gas) or 550 watts solar panels setup. I do plan to eventually buying both after other financial obligation. Just wondering what your opinion would be to get first."
Although the other members of the subreddit were not unified in their opinions, the consensus seemed to come down on the side of the solar panels. Several mentioned the need for accompanying batteries.
🗣️ Do you have a backup power source in your home?
🔘 Yes — a portable generator 👍
🔘 Yes — a full-on generator 🔋
🔘 I use solar panels ☀️
🔘 No — I don't 😬
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"The solar setup wins here as others have said, I'll give you my reasoning," one commenter wrote. "You can utilize the solar panels every day without effort. The cost of gasoline, you won't have to pay to transport, handle, store gasoline or do the small engine maintenance if you don't use it. The solar panels will yield money back in your pocket in the form of offsetting electricity."
"I went with solar because I cannot reliably store large amounts of fuel. Solar can produce a fraction of the energy as a generator [on a per-hour basis] and only during the right conditions, but it is fairly passive and stores easily," wrote another.
Of course, it's one thing to have an emergency source of electricity. It's another to hope to power your entire home from a few rooftop solar panels. After one commenter asked what the original poster wanted to power with their emergency solar panels, another replied, "This is the most important question."
As several commenters pointed out, solar panels can come in handy even if you don't need them for an emergency. They can save you money while providing clean, renewable energy that reduces your reliance on the grid. That's why more and more Americans are installing them on their rooftops or signing up for community solar programs.
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