There have come to market an assortment of so-called
solar power stations or "solar generators" advertised
as silent, odorless and utterly safe "generators" The
name is misleading, but the devices have some uses in
the context of emergency power preparedness.

Usually, they consist of a package containing a battery,
an inverter and usually a battery charger. Crucially, most
do not contain a transfer switch. That severely limits
their use to manual deployment after the power is out.
They can't be hooked up in advance to act automatically
in case the power goes out. 

Economically, they're relatively expensive. The tight
integration of components makes for convenient packaging,
but complicates capacity expansion via external batteries
and makes repairs impossible when manufacturer support 
wanes and batteries age.

For camping trips, picnics and other pre-planned events
they're just like engine driven generators but they're
a lot more costly for the energy stored. Of course,
they're also quiet and odorless, which can be priceless. 


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