We recently had a major storm caused power outage in KC. I was down for three days. I had friends that were down for 5 days. Between a big inverter and an engine-driven welder/generator, I was fine.
My MIL was down for about 6 hours, and are musing on a solar generator. They know they got lucky this time, and want to be better prepared for a multi-day outage. I'm of the opinion that a small inverter gas unit would be better, but they think that dealing with gasoline sounds like too much of a PITA. They live on a suburban lot, and do not have other gas equipment currently.
In my head, they need about 600w continuous to run their fridge and freezer. I'm basing that on my own energy observations in my home. 600w, 24hr a day is 14kw-hr. My solar panels output 250 watts in full sun, correctly oriented. Each weigh 45 pounds or so, and are about 3x4 feet. In our area, a 250 watt panel will produce an average of about 750 w-hr per day. So.... optimal conditions, they need 19 panels, weighing in at 900lbs to to make this work? Which they will have to haul out into the yard after a storm?
How does that make more sense then a 50lb Honda EU1000 and three gallons of gasoline? Where is my math or assumptions wrong?