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There are batteries in almost everything we use these days. And battery tech has gotten so good that instead of using a gas powered generator for power off grid, you can use a high capacity portable power station. These vary wildly in size and use cases, from powering your entire house in a disaster or simply charging your mobile devices on a camping trip. But the principle is the same, and we're going to talk about how best to use one in today's video. First off, let's talk about charging. A lot of people will colloquially call these things generators or solar generators, because they can be charged via a solar panel. That's a bit of a misnomer because they don't actually generate
electricity like traditional generators do. Instead, they just have high capacity batteries that store power that you can deploy later. But depending on your use case, they can function in basically the same way I have here. The Anker 521 portable power station, and I've used it for years. Our CNET Labs Team has been testing a ton of power stations, so be sure to check out a link in the description if you're shopping for one. This comes with a standard DC in charging port that you can plug into a wall outlet. This is by far the fastest way to charge it, and it can even be charged through its USB-C port, like with your laptop wall charger, which is pretty cool.
But my favorite thing is that it charges via solar Anker cells. This in a package with a 100 watt solar panel that plugs right in, and you can use the panel for other devices with the USB port. In order to charge optimally, you will have to make sure you're getting the right angle for the sun, and you might have to move it around throughout the day. The 100 watt panel charges it fairly fast, dependent on the weather and the time of day, but you can charge it with any size solar panel as long as you have the right plug and larger power stations
like the Eco Flow Delta three I'm going to talk about in a second. Get paired with larger solar panels like a 400 watt one, and it can still provide power while it's charging. So you can essentially get a net neutral or even positive charge while it is in use, which is really nice for camping trips. Now, this one is designed to be portable, and you might have a tougher time transporting and charging a larger one. Speaking of larger ones, we also have the Eco Flow delta three, which is obviously much larger and more appropriate for powering appliances. For a long time it is much less portable, but there are a lot of nice design
details, like wheels and a handle that make it more portable than you might I use the portable Anker for camping trips a lot. As you can see, it spent a lot of time outside. I use it mostly for charging devices, but with a large capacity model like the Eco Flow Delta three, you can use it for more demanding tasks and even appliances like a portable AC unit or an electric water pump. Like I said before, if your power goes out, you can run critical appliances at your house like a refrigerator, a heater, or even your Wi-Fi, which is handy.
Just had a curiosity. I wanted to see how long this thing says it could run my fridge. and according to the little info screen here, says you can do it for three and a half days, which would be pretty amazing if there's like a long term power outage, my food would stay cold and unspoiled for quite a long time. Hopefully enough time for the power to come back and more importantly, if you have some kind of electrical dependent medical device like a CPAP machine, something like this is even more valuable. Just make sure if you do want a power station to power a medical device in case of an emergency to get one with a UPS function.
This stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply, and it'll make sure you don't lose any uptime and protect your devices from power spikes that could cause damage. I fortunately don't have any medical devices yet, but I also use this for outdoor projects. My house is pretty old and needs a lot of work. There is no outdoor power outlet to run cables to tools. I have run through the house before, but that's inconvenient and the extension cords can be bad for the door seal. If I shut the door and if I leave the door open, my dogs will
get out while I'm using power tools, which is not very safe. I have some tools I can plug directly into the power station, and I can also be charging batteries with it while I'm working. Outdoor projects are a niche use case, for sure, but I think almost everyone can get some use out of a portable power station. Whether you want a small one to take with you on camping trips, or you want to be prepared in case of an emergency. So that is the rundown on portable power stations in general. If you want individual reviews of different models,
if you're trying to decide which one is best for your use case. Be sure to stay tuned to all of our websites. But that is going to do it for me. This is Owen and I will see you in the next video.
