Portable models also tend to be noisier and produce less power than whole-house models, but they’re also much cheaper to buy and install than a whole-house generator, which is installed permanently.

Chauncey grew up on a farm in rural northern California. At 18 he ran away and saw the world with a backpack and a credit card, discovering that the true value of any point or mile is the ...

All of the solar generators listed here were run through empirical testing at CNET's lab and handled and examined in person by me. All the picks below were made with firsthand knowledge.