Portable power and solar generators

Solar Input Ceilings From 100 W to 3,200 W, and How Many Panel Watts a Full Daily Refill Really Takes

Published · By the SolarPanelX editors · Updated · See individual checks and dates below

Summary

Dividing nominal capacity by modeled daily panel yield gives a first-pass energy estimate, not an array guaranteed to refill the battery: at the New York year-round average of about 3.5 Wh per panel watt per day from NLR's PVWatts model, that is about 80 W for a 288 Wh unit, about 290 W for 1,024 Wh, about 590 W for the 2,073.6 Wh Elite 200 V2 and about 1,100 W for a 3,840 Wh F3800. Set against the makers' input ceilings, only the Anker SOLIX C300, with a recommended 100 W, sits near its refill number. Actual refill needs include battery losses, weather, time deployed and any loads used while charging. Input ratings are ceilings, not expected energy yields.

Panel watts for a one-day refill

UnitCapacityPanel watts at 3.5 Wh/W/dayPanel watts in December (2.0)Maker's solar ceiling
Anker SOLIX C300288 Whabout 80 Wabout 145 W100 W recommended, 11 to 28 V
BLUETTI Elite 30 V2288 Whabout 80 Wabout 145 W200 W
EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus286 Whabout 80 Wabout 145 W220 W
EcoFlow DELTA 21,024 Whabout 290 Wabout 510 W500 W, 11 to 60 V, 15 A
BLUETTI AC1801,152 Whabout 330 Wabout 580 W500 W
Anker SOLIX C10001,056 Whabout 300 Wabout 530 W600 W, 11 to 60 V
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus1,024 Whabout 290 Wabout 510 W1,000 W over two 500 W inputs, 11 to 60 V
BLUETTI Elite 100 V21,024 Whabout 290 Wabout 510 W1,000 W, 12 to 60 V, 20 A
BLUETTI Elite 200 V22,073.6 Whabout 590 Wabout 1,040 W1,000 W, 12 to 60 V, 20 A
Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus2,042.8 Whabout 580 Wabout 1,020 W1,400 W over two inputs, 17.5 to 60 V
Anker SOLIX F30003,072 Whabout 880 Wabout 1,540 W2,400 W
Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus3,840 Whabout 1,100 Wabout 1,920 W3,200 W

The yield figures come from our Starlink guide's PVWatts run for New York, a fixed south-facing panel at 20 degrees with 14% losses: about 3.5 Wh per panel watt per day across the year, 4.6 in July and 2.0 in December. Our camping guide's run gives about 3.0 for Seattle and 4.8 for Phoenix. A folding panel propped on the ground at a campsite does worse than a fixed roof mount, and nothing here includes the loss of storing energy and drawing it back.

What the ceilings are for, then

Not a daily refill. A ceiling of 1,000 W on a 1,024 Wh unit lets the battery fill in about an hour of full sun, which is what EcoFlow's 70-minute figure for the DELTA 3 Plus describes. That matters when the sun is intermittent or you are moving the panel between stops; it does not change how much energy a day delivers. A larger permitted array can collect more energy during limited sunshine until input clipping occurs. Select a seasonal energy budget with reserve, not a panel barely above an annual-average calculation.

The number that disqualifies panels is voltage

Voltage limits vary by model and input. The F3000 and F3800 Plus entries include inputs reaching 165 V, while several smaller units use 60 V limits and the C300 uses 28 V. A 400 W rooftop module has an open-circuit voltage around 45 V, which climbs in the cold, so two in series exceed a 60 V input, but not automatically every higher-voltage input; cold-weather Voc and all other limits still need checking. The 20 A limit on BLUETTI's Elite inputs and the 15 A on the DELTA 2 cap power at low voltage as well: 20 A at 20 V is 400 W, not 1,000 W. Our pairing guide works through a datasheet.

December is the design month

A refill that needs 290 W of panel in an average month needs about 510 W in December in New York. If the use is outage backup in winter, size for the December column, and expect that a unit's ceiling, not the refill figure, is what you will be running into with a 500 W array on a 1 kWh station.

Add storage losses and an uncertainty margin

If a load needs 1,024 Wh and usable delivery is assumed to be 85%, it takes about 1,205 Wh at the nominal-battery level. Dividing that by 3.5 Wh/W/day gives about 344 W before allowing for a cloudy day, charging losses not captured by the model or input clipping. The 85% factor is illustrative, not a measured efficiency for every station.

What Can a Single 100W Solar Panel Run in a Day?

In What Order Do You Size the Battery and Panels for an Off-Grid Solar System?

Shopping for one? Browse portable power stations →

Sources

  1. NLR Developer Network — PVWatts API Version 8 (runs by the editors on September 23, 2026: 1 kW, south-facing, 20° tilt, fixed roof mount, 14% losses; New York, Seattle, Phoenix)
  2. Anker SOLIX — C300 Portable Power Station
  3. BLUETTI — Elite 30 V2 Portable Power Station
  4. EcoFlow US — RIVER 3 Max (RIVER 3 Plus + Extra Battery 300)
  5. EcoFlow — DELTA 2 User Manual (Specifications)
  6. BLUETTI — AC180 Portable Power Station
  7. Anker SOLIX — C1000 Portable Power Station
  8. EcoFlow US — DELTA 3 Plus Portable Power Station
  9. BLUETTI — Elite 100 V2 Portable Power Station
  10. BLUETTI — Elite 200 V2 Portable Power Station
  11. Jackery — Explorer 2000 Plus Portable Power Station
  12. Anker SOLIX — F3000 Portable Power Station
  13. Anker SOLIX — F3800 Plus Portable Power Station
  14. Qcells North America — Q.PEAK DUO BLK ML-G10+ datasheet (open-circuit voltage of a 400 W module)

We have not tested these products. Specs, prices, stock and terms are as published on these pages on the date above and can change; check the manufacturer or retailer before you buy.

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