Charging Bluetti EP500 Vitality Storage System With Photo voltaic Panels & Grid

A few months in the past, I wrote a evaluate of the Bluetti EP500 Professional vitality storage system. As a Floridian, it hit me after a very dangerous hurricane in 2022 that I ought to have a backup energy supply for when the following dangerous hurricane hits and we lose electrical energy for an prolonged time frame once more. Bluetti was type sufficient to ship over the EP500 Professional (a $3,999 retail worth) for prolonged evaluate. Bluetti additionally despatched over the complementary photo voltaic panels afterward. Right here’s my tackle the photo voltaic panel portion of the bundle after a few trials.

I used to be notably excited in regards to the photo voltaic panel bundle ($1,498 retail worth proper now — $749 per photo voltaic array with a $100 low cost) since I needed to energy the vitality storage system with 100% clear, renewable, photo voltaic vitality. Sadly, I found that’s just a little tougher than anticipated.

Beginning with opening and connecting the photo voltaic panels themselves, that was really fairly simple. The cords offered are tremendous clear and straightforward to attach. The panels themselves are really moveable and manageable. However there was one problem.

As you possibly can see within the image above, there are little fold-out backstops on the again of the photo voltaic panels. Pulling certainly one of them out is straightforward sufficient, however they don’t then lock into place there. They maintain high quality as soon as they’re all standing, however to open all 4 panels out, it’s difficult to get them every to remain standing as you pull the stand out for the following one and the following one and the following one. Those you pulled out first very simply slip again in opposition to the again of the photo voltaic panel as you’re attempting to open the following ones.  It’s clunky. Naturally, this isn’t the top of the world and it’s manageable, but it surely’s definitely not ultimate. Doing the job with two folks makes it a lot simpler, but it surely’s nonetheless not completely easy and easy even with two folks wrestling with the PV350 photo voltaic panels.

When you do get the entire stands open and the panel array standing, it really works nicely. It’s steady and robust. Once more, although, if it is advisable to transfer the array a bit, it’s a little difficult since lifting it even a tiny bit can result in the backstops snapping again into their authentic positions flat in opposition to the again of the panels. I’m stunned there’s not some locking possibility.

What I’ll say is that I really like the simple and stylish method by which the photo voltaic panels fold up after which get wrapped up in their very own backings with none additional cowl. They find yourself wanting like artwork portfolios or particular journey circumstances. They’re surprisingly heavy in comparison with how they seem on this state, however I’d say they’re high quality — not too heavy. They’re in all probability a reasonably ultimate steadiness between photo voltaic capability and weight.

That stated, charging up the EP500 Professional with these photo voltaic PV panels is a unique form of problem. I first tried doing so one afternoon on our again patio — with daylight coming in however by way of a typical Florida pool/mosquito display screen (we don’t have a pool, however we do have mosquitoes). It simply wasn’t working. The solar wasn’t regular sufficient or robust sufficient by way of the display screen, and the vitality storage system was really progressively shedding electrical energy merely from being on outdoors and needing to chill itself, and never getting extra electrical energy from daylight to surpass these wants.

So, I took them out one other day and put them in our driveway, the place the screens wouldn’t intrude. Sadly, whereas it’s certainly the Sunshine State, it wasn’t the sunniest day. It was a bit overcast, and I bumped into the identical drawback as earlier than. They did cost up the vitality storage system for just a little bit, however after a couple of % of added cost, the system simply stalled at round 20%. I moved the panels round to attempt to hold them in as a lot solar as attainable, however there was only a bit an excessive amount of cloud cowl and an excessive amount of additional shading from a few small timber. After about two and a half hours and no progress for many of that, I gave up.

As you possibly can see within the following image, I wasn’t getting something near the 700-watt max I ought to have the ability to get from the 2 arrays (350 W every). In the meanwhile I took the image, I used to be really pulling in additional energy than I used to be more often than not — 194 W versus one thing round 100 W. Total, although, the efforts simply didn’t reduce it. I used to be caught at about 20%.

Now, if we had been in a real after-hurricane scenario, I do suppose these would nonetheless be helpful. There are two sorts of climate you get after a hurricane passes over. You possibly can nonetheless get bands of rain at instances, however a lot of the time, you get tremendous clear skies — the hurricane has sucked the clouds into it and leaves sunshine behind. So, I think about I’d have nice situations for recharging the EP500 Professional with the PV350 photo voltaic panel arrays proper after a hurricane, after I’d want the photo voltaic vitality probably the most. (Keep tuned — possibly I’ll get to check this out for actual subsequent yr!)

You can too cost the EP500 Professional with a easy electrical energy plug through the grid — through a traditional 120V electrical energy outlet. That works actually quick. You possibly can cost the entire 5120 Wh vitality storage system in only a few hours. For comparability, you possibly can see two photos beneath from me charging the system this fashion. The primary image exhibits the system at 7% state of cost, and the second image exhibits the system 43 minutes later at 30% state of cost. So, charging 1 / 4 of the battery takes round 45 minutes.

Naturally, this isn’t for on a regular basis use. It’s for emergency backup energy. (Although, if the photo voltaic panels collected daylight and turned it into electrical energy a bit higher, I’d in all probability use the vitality storage system to energy my laptop and telephone regularly.) I feel it’s a reasonably ultimate system by way of measurement, together with weight (it shouldn’t be any heavier) and vitality storage capability. I positively wouldn’t need it to be any heavier since you have already got to be tremendous cautious with any lifting to not put your again out, and I feel there’s ample electrical energy provide within the system. Equally, whereas it might be good to have extra and higher photo voltaic panels, in an emergency after-hurricane scenario, I feel these will work nicely and are the proper steadiness of weight and measurement (I don’t have limitless cupboard space) and energy capability. Naturally, if Bluetti can supply photo voltaic panels which can be twice as environment friendly or work higher in low-light situations, that will be even higher, however this could do for now.

If we ever get hit with a extreme hurricane and prolonged energy outage, or I simply have a free very sunny day, I’ll evaluate the system once more and let you know the way it goes. Within the meantime, the EP500 Professional is resting within the air con inside the house and the photo voltaic panels are neatly tucked away within the storage between quite a lot of tennis gear, some seashore stuff, and a degree 2 EV charger I would like to check someday.

Additionally see: This Bluetti Vitality Storage Backup System Is Clean & Very good — I’m Prepared For Hurricane Idalia!