Solar comparison
Which solar path wins?
This page ranks the current solar options side by side using the new Met-Ed bill as the savings baseline. The goal is not just cheapest hardware, but the best mix of upfront cost, monthly payment pressure, and how much real utility bill you can offset.
Bill baseline
$692.47
31 days, 3,110 kWh, Met-Ed + generation.
All-in rate
~$0.223/kWh
Useful for rough savings math on each setup.
Daily use
30.3 kWh/day
Average from the Mar 31–Apr 29 bill period.
Best fit
EG4-style
Best for bill offset, not portable backup.
Recommendation
Rank the options by what they actually solve.
If the priority is bill reduction, the staged EG4 path wins. If the priority is fast outage coverage for critical circuits, Jackery and Anker are easier to live with. If the priority is lowest backup-energy cost, Pecron is still the value winner. The Will Prowse DIY path sits in the middle: good for learning and critical-load resilience, but not a full bill-offset machine.
| Rank | Option | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EG4 solar offset | Best bill savings and best long-term solar architecture, but highest upfront commitment. |
| 2 | Will Prowse 2026 | Strong learning value, critical-load support, and the most coherent DIY split-phase path. |
| 3 | Anker F3800 Plus | Cleaner home-backup UX than Pecron, but much more expensive per usable kWh. |
| 4 | Jackery 5000 Plus | Great for portable testing and selected circuits. Adding a Callsun 2-pack x2 ($1,400) doubles the offset to ~$562/yr with materially faster recharge. |
| 5 | Pecron E3800LFP | Cheapest useful battery box, best value for outage support, least polished for whole-home use. |
Choose EG4 if
You want real bill offset and can handle a ~$34k project with freight logistics.
Choose Will Prowse if
You want a learning-first split-phase build with room to grow, at ~$4,889 base.
Choose Anker if
Clean critical-circuit UX matters more than dollar efficiency. ~$4,000 target.
Choose Jackery if
You need the safest test rig at $2,635. Add Callsun panels ($1,400) for real daytime recharge.
Choose Pecron if
Backup value per dollar is the priority. Lowest entry at $1,199, strong 4-panel ceiling.
Decision dashboard
Cost, offset, runtime, and circuit fit in one view.
Use this table first. The individual pages explain why each row behaves this way. Note: "Upfront" mixes project cost (EG4, includes labor) and hardware base (all others).
| Path | Upfront | 12-mo | Offset / yr | Backup window | Recharge | Circuit fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EG4 offset | ~$34k project | Financing TBD | ~$3,500-$4,100 | Battery-count dependent | Solar-first daily refill | Best whole-home architecture. |
| Will Prowse | $4,889 base | ~$407/mo | ~$281-$562 | ~1-2 days selected loads | ~1.5-6.8 days by panel count | Fridge, radon, network, lights, well; not HVAC. |
| Jackery MVP | $2,635 | ~$220/mo | ~$281 | ~21 hr battery-only, longer with sun | ~1.2-3.0 solar days | Best portable test rig for critical loads. Add a Callsun 2-pack x2 ($1,400) for 1.8 kW panels — doubles offset to ~$562/yr. |
| Pecron | $1,199+ base | ~$100/mo | Up to ~$490 with 4-panel mount | ~12-19 hr common loads | Same-day on good sun with 4 panels | Fridge, network, lights, managed outlet. |
| Anker | ~$4,000 target | ~$333/mo | ~$401-$714 if panels added | ~14-28 hr base selected loads | Depends on mounted array | Cleanest selected-circuit UX. |
Monthly values are simple 12-month arithmetic, not financing offers. Recharge estimates assume usable solar production before overlapping loads and final wiring losses.
Will Prowse
$4,889
DIY split-phase starter. Rough savings ceiling at the current bill rate is about $195/year from the 900W pair, or about $391/year if we double the panels. This is still mostly a resilience and learning purchase, just with better daytime headroom.
12mo flat: about $416/mo
Payback: not really the point
Jackery + Callsun x2
$2,635 + $1,400
Portable backup plus 900W of solar base ($2,635, ~$281/yr offset). Add the Callsun 2-pack x2 upgrade ($1,400, 1.8 kW total) to double the offset to ~$562/yr with materially faster recharge.
Jackery 12mo flat: ~$220/mo. With x2 upgrade: ~$337/mo.
Best as a test rig; upgrade only if panels go semi-permanent
Pecron
$1,199+
Lowest-cost battery box. The array can add roughly $490/year of offset if you build the four-panel version, but this is still mainly an outage product.
12mo flat: about $100/mo
Payback: strongest value
Anker
~$4,000 target
Cleaner home backup path. Savings depend on how much solar you actually mount, but the stack is a better UX match if selected circuits matter more than raw value.
12mo flat: about $333/mo
Payback: comfort, not dollars
EG4 MVP
Best long-term, now with a sane first step
The 10-panel ZNShine starter array plus one EG4 16 kWh wall battery turns the big EG4 plan into a realistic first purchase instead of a leap-of-faith cart. It is still the best long-term architecture, but the battery vendor may be freight-only or loading-dock oriented, so the home-delivery logistics are not as easy as the price tag suggests.
Starter stage: 10 panels + 1 battery + inverter
Bill math
What the current bill suggests.
The bill’s all-in average rate is about $0.223/kWh. That makes even modest solar useful, but it also shows why the portable stations are mostly backup products: they can offset some kWh, yet the full house load is still very large.
| Setup | Modeled solar / yr | Bill offset / yr | Rough note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callsun 900W pair baseline | ~1,260 kWh | ~$281 | Shared MVP panel model for Jackery and small DIY tests. |
| Callsun 2-pack x2 / 1.8 kW | ~2,520 kWh | ~$562 | Significant recharge improvement over the MVP, but still not whole-home offset. |
| Will Prowse 900W pair | ~1,260 kWh | ~$281 | Best as a learning and critical-load system. |
| Will Prowse 2x pair | ~2,520 kWh | ~$562 | Better charging headroom with the same panel baseline. |
| Pecron four-panel mounted | ~2,200 kWh class | ~$490 | Best backup-energy value if mounted permanently. |
| Anker starter mounted array | ~1,800-3,200 kWh class | ~$401-$714 | Depends on panel count and whether you expand. |
| EG4 full offset build | ~18,947 kWh class | ~$3,500-$4,100 | Only one here that clearly chases the bill itself. See solar offset page for net savings breakdown. |
Emporia per-circuit diagnostics
Single kit versus double kit.
The summary page should speak the same language as the individual option pages: one kit is the starter version, two kits are the more capable version, and the circuit fit is what tells us whether that extra array is actually useful.
| Build | Solar / day | Critical fit | Readout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kit / 2 panels | ~1.7-4.0 kWh/day | Useful starter refill, but battery support still does most of the work. | Best for learning and portability. |
| 2 kits / 4 panels | ~3.4-8.0 kWh/day | Much better at sustaining the critical-load stack through daylight. | Better if the array is more permanent. |