or you could save a lot of money and buy a power inverter and hook it to your car battery. Leave the car running(outside) and run an extension cord to your fridge. Worked for me up north after a snow storm. could probably handle a fan as well.

Finally someone who gets it. You could cover your house with solar cells and would basically power a toaster. The fact is there are just not that many photons per square meter to generate power.

We lived in SoCal when the 1994 Northridge earthquake hit and we were without electricity for over two weeks. We also had to rebuild the house. So in 2019 we moved to TV, bought a great house and immediately installed a full house natural gas generator (22kw). It wasn’t a waste of money because we sleep better knowing it’s there and it increases the value of the house. A side note: We also had solar panels which did save a ton of money but then at SoCal Edison the rates were so high that before solar we often had $ 500 months. The electric here is way less expensive and these houses are much better insulated so no financial reason to go solar.

Actually I believe you might be wrong about your statement about solar cells not being able to run the country. There are many quotes as well as back of the napkin figures that state 100 square miles of solar cells can run the country. What would be needing would be additional distribution wiring as well as immense storage for night time . There is even a famous YouTube clip video of Elon musk talking about this. Of course it would be several billions of dollars and no one is willing to pony up and the fact that you'd have about 2,000 utility commissions that would have to agree to this. Solar cells are an important part of the equation to even off the demand capacity during the day when electricity you use the most for air conditioning

Not true
 

Just not cost effective

Y'all need to hit the books more and then revise your computations.

A 3,500W generator *will* run three refrigerators, one freezer, a couple of incandescent bulbs, a wifi router, a gateway modem, a DVR box, and a television simultaneously. Been there, done that, still have the extension cords to prove it.

As others have posted, a refrigerator requires about 350W when it is running. When it is not running the solar cells could charge a battery for use overnight.

Your smart because it’s going to get worse. EV’s are coming, some people are going to learn the hard way!

It takes about 20 square miles of solar cells to generate the same power as a medium sized power plant so 100 square miles wouldn't do squat to cover the nation's electric power demands. A solar farm the size of Texas is closer to the truth. And don't forget that you need something to cover those frequent times when the "sun don't shine". Oh, and there is the little issue of the approximately 20 to 25 year lifespan of a solar panel with a loss of about 1 to 2% annual loss of efficiency. The point is that solar energy is a very, very diffuse energy source, and electric energy storage is problematic.

SOLAR IS WASTE OF $$$—can’t produce enough power to run a weed-whacker for 5 minutes. For $375 on Amazon we got a generator that’ll do what you want. Ours will run 1) a portable AC unit (a MUST if you want to sleep), fridge, and TV no problem…with power to spare.

No, the estimate is 10,000 square miles. That is a square 100 miles on a side. That is much different than 100 square miles.

And that is being very generous.

It's kind of funny (in a sad way) to see all the detractors on this forum nay-saying solar as an option. In Florida, I get it - you need a lot of energy to run an air conditioner 24/7/365. But it doesn't stop people all over the country from having 100% solar energy power their homes, all year round, though most of them also have wood stoves for heat, which is more efficient than a fireplace.

There are homes that use solar and "sell back" energy to the power company of any energy they don't actually use, which actually earns them a profit rather than an expense for electricity every month.

Then there are communities that are 100% "off grid" with plumbing, running hot water, heat in the winter, electricity, refrigerators and freezers, internet connection, etc. etc. Check out Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village for more on that. Solar and wind power, biomass and biogas, hydrogen, fire, water power - they aren't there yet, but their end goal is zero waste and 100% sustainability. All their homes are solar powered.

Don't tell me about "studies". People lie. DO THE MATH YOURSELF. All the info you need is available on line. I just did the math to show you why you can't even run a few basic emergency necessities on solar from the square footage of your own roof. Why do you imagine that we could run a country on solar if you can't even run a single home on it?

100 square miles? Give me a break!

If you're math-challenged, just look out the window next time you fly to the West Coast and observe over "100 square miles" in California alone with your own lyin' eyes. They can't even run California on "100 square miles"!

Your math is wrong! Though 100 sq mi is wrong too.

OrangeBlossomBaby - You've made these mostly misleading comments before. Allow me to explain. Below is a summary of the ‘self-sustaining communities’ you allude to that are not connected to the grid. I couldn’t stop laughing while reading through the community summaries. Does The Villages allow outhouses or homes made out of straw bales and mud or old tires? Do we have a source of geothermal steam or hydroelectric power that I'm not aware of ??

Drum roll please:
Three Rivers (Oregon) - Population - 80, powered by solar panels, wind turbines, and backup generators, water is periodically hauled in. It contains mostly vacation homes.

Greater World Earthship Community (New Mexico) - the world's largest off-grid, legal subdivision, 634 acres contains passive solar houses made of natural materials like adobe, recycled tires, and cans, each with1.8 kilowatts of solar power, solar-powered water collector and self-contained sewage treatment system. Propane powers the stoves. Note: NM is one of the sunniest locations in the US.

Breitenbbush (Oregon) - 85 residents - set on 154 acres doubles as a worker-owned cooperative that runs the Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat. Geothermal waters help to heat the complex of 100 buildings. The community has a hydropower plant to supply electricity.

Earthaven (NC)- 75 people on 320 acres. 12 "neighborhoods," each containing two to eight homesites. Everything is powered by solar panels and hydropower. Residents catch water off roofs for use in irrigation.

The list goes on.