Whether you’ve been looking into solar for home backup, off-grid living, or just basic blackout prep, a bundled solar kit can be a great way to keep things simple and even save some money, especially compared to piecing together components on your own.
For pre-bundled power station + solar kits, we’ve been recommending ShopSolar.com for some time now. And while their portable power station kits are probably what they’re known best for, Shop Solar has quietly stepped up their game in other ways. We found out just how much they've improved during our latest round of mystery shopping.
So, let’s take another look at one of the biggest solar retailers in North America to find out what it is they’re doing differently, whether or not their customer support has improved, and if their pre-packaged solar kits could save you thousands of dollars.
We’ve mentioned and recommended Shop Solar countless times on our channel, especially when discussing pre-packaged power station kits that contain units from big-name brands, like EcoFlow, Bluetti, and Anker SOLIX.
Let’s say you’re trying to pair something like an EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra with solar panels. Shop Solar offers a variety of bundles centered around that specific unit, each with a different number of panels and the right cables to wire that system together. Other bundles will even include other accessories, like expansion batteries and home power panels.
Obviously, getting everything that you need in one order is super convenient, but the real advantage of ordering through Shop Solar is the fact that these bundles work out much cheaper than if you ordered a similar bundle from the power station brand directly.
If you’ve watched our video reviews, you’ve probably heard us call out power station brands for selling solar panels that are absurdly overpriced.
Shop Solar’s solution? They bundle premium power stations with off-brand solar panels that are still high-quality and fully functional, but come in at a much lower cost than those sold by the power station companies themselves. That alone can save you hundreds (or even thousands) depending on your setup.
While we’ve always known Shop Solar is a top destination for power station solar panel kits, what we didn’t realize until recently is just how far they’ve taken this idea—now offering full hybrid and off-grid solar kits with mix-and-match batteries, inverters, and panels. It’s not just about portable setups anymore either.
While other retailers typically stick to one brand for their solar kits, ShopSolar.com allows you to really customize your order by offering complete solar kits that contain components from a variety of manufacturers.
On top of that, most of these components are actually the exact same ones we have tested and recommended on our channel. Let’s say you wanted a bundle that contained an EG4 FlexBOSS 21 and GridBOSS, solar panels, and a battery bank, Shop Solar puts all of that together, then allows you to substitute certain pieces for others, either out of your own preferences, or to drive the total cost down.
A bundle might contain a set amount of EG4 LL Server Rack Batteries, which are great, but they’re also expensive. So, the consumer has the option to switch them out for something like a set of Rich Solar Alpha 5 Server Rack Batteries, which are cheaper, but offer the same specs as the EG4 LL Batteries.
While you can certainly lower the price by mixing and matching components, everything is still super easy to understand, even if you’re new to solar. All of the substitutions are still going to deliver the same specs as the premium versions.
Plus, these bundles are way cheaper than if you purchased the same components separately.
We wanted to compare prices between Shop Solar and Signature Solar. To do so, we built a kit that offered the following:
The kit contained a complete wiring diagram and all necessary connectors and cables. It also was available to us at the time of ordering with free shipping. With our own discount code (THELAB), it came out to pretty much exactly $23,000.
After, we tried to build out a kit with the same components on Signature Solar's website, which is actually the go-to place for EG4 gear. While the pricing was similar (about $23,200), shipping would have cost hundreds of dollars extra and we couldn’t easily customize or mix in different brands. Not to mention, Signature Solar doesn’t offer nearly the same variety of pre-packaged solar kits, which meant we would have had to guess which components we needed.
Here’s where it gets interesting: we swapped out the EG4 batteries in the Shop Solar kit for Rich Solar Alpha 5 batteries—a product we’ve consistently recommended—and the price dropped to just $19,900! Same inverter setup, same solar input, and same battery storage capacity.
Basically, all the same parts with the exact same performance, just way better value. Even before accounting for shipping, which would cost hundreds more, you’re talking about savings of $3,300!
From our perspective, this kind of flexibility is what really sets Shop Solar apart. You’re not locked into one brand’s ecosystem, and you don’t have to pay top dollar for branding alone. You can customize your system based on what makes the most sense for your budget, power needs, or even installation skill level.
This isn't limited to just power station or EG4 kits, either—you’ll find options that center around other solid brands, like Growatt and Sol-Ark. And because these kits include things like wiring diagrams, cables, and solid post-purchase support, it’s easier for a beginner to install than ordering components individually from different sites.
Last year, we mystery-shopped Shop Solar and had a decent experience—helpful but not remarkable. This year, we did it again under fake names and blocked phone numbers, and the results were even better.
We posed as confused customers looking for a backup power system that could meet some made up needs. We got paired with a rep who started by walking us through the differences between portable and fixed solar power systems.
They clearly knew what they were talking about, and didn’t try to upsell us at all. Instead, they helped us understand what would actually meet our needs—including transfer switches, battery bank options, and what type of inverter setup was best for our home. They even recommended a portable power station kit that would be cheaper, as well as much easier for a total beginner to use.
The rep even explained how to manage power usage with a portable power station versus a home backup system and broke it down in plain English. Unfortunately, that’s pretty rare in the solar industry. In our experience, most solar retailers and brands rush through a few options or try to nudge you toward a high-ticket sale that exceeds the power requirements you’ve told them about. This felt different—informative, honest, and surprisingly chill.
One minor hiccup: the rep incorrectly stated that the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 could only be paired with DELTA Pro 3 expansion batteries. In reality, you can mix and match with expansion batteries designed for older models, like the DELTA 2 MAX or original DELTA Pro—just not with the DELTA Pro Ultra batteries. Still, that was the only issue in an otherwise great call, and we do think that was an honest mistake, rather than an attempt to upsell us.
So, well done to Shop Solar for upping their game on the customer service front!
We originally started recommending ShopSolar.com mainly for their power station bundles, and they’re still a great retailer for that. However, after mystery shopping them again and diving into their other offerings, we’re now comfortable recommending them for fixed off-grid and hybrid solar kits too.
They bundle high-quality pieces of equipment into smart configurations, all while offering plenty of options for customization and delivering genuinely useful customer service.
If you’re building a solar power system and don’t want to overpay for brand-name markup or figure out compatibility between components on your own, Shop Solar is still a retailer that we feel confident recommending. Plus, you could potentially save hundreds or thousands of dollars by making a few adjustments to the kit you order.
Shop Solar: www.ShopSolarKits.com
Use Code: THELAB for 4% Off Your Order
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