Portable power stations are great for RVs or camping, power outage emergencies or just to make or just to make working in the yard or other remote locations a lot easier. There are many options available online, and it is hard to know which one is the best price or which one is best suited to one’s needs. So here is a list of the best portable power stations for the costs and features.
What should one be looking for when purchasing a portable power station?
There are three main things that one should look for when purchasing a portable power station:
- Max Wattage Output
- Watt-Hours
- The Screen or Display
Two other things might be necessary to consider: Max Input and Surge Power.
Max wattage output
Max wattage Output is essential because it determines what one can use with their portable power station. So when purchasing a portable power station, it is necessary to know what device one wants to use and if the portable power station is powerful enough to do it. For example, if one wants to use it for an RV to power an electric water heater or AC, they need a powerful portable power station that offers a thousand watts or more of max wattage output. If someone just wants a portable power station to charge their smartphones or run their laptops, then most portable power stations would work fine for that.
Watt-Hours
Watt-hours are also really important to consider while buying a portable power station. A watt-hour is how long one can power one watt for one hour. Something like the Jackery Portable Power station, which runs at 240 watt-hours, can run a 24 watt LED TV for 12 hours. But for something more powerful like the Ecoflow Portable power station, which runs at 1260 watt-hours, a television running at 60 watts could run for twenty-one hours. So the Ecoflow power station is excellent in an emergency because it runs for a longer time.
The screen or display
The last major thing is the screen or display. It might initially seem less essential but having a perfect display makes a big difference. There are some portable power stations with displays that do not show any information. Other displays show exactly the input-output wattage and the number of hours left or the percentage left. Having a display like this is very useful because it helps make decisions while powering on the devices. So if someone needs to do something to get them through the day, they would know precisely how long it will last. Having a good display increases the cost, but it is generally not that much and proves highly fruitful in the long run.
The two other things which are not as essential but might be helpful to keep in mind are the max input and the surge power.
Max input
The maximum number of watts that the portable power station will allow for input is maxed input. There are a couple of reasons why this could be important. The first reason is that if something is plugged in higher than the number, one runs the risk of frying their device. This drives another essential point: some portable power stations have fuses built-in or have overload protection. This could also be one of the things to look for while purchasing a portable power station. Another reason max input is so important is that it determines how fast one can charge their battery. So when you are looking for portable power stations on Amazon, it might be beneficial to look for the max input. If there is no information, the chances are that the max input is very low, and it might take a lot of time to charge the battery.
Surge power
It is essential to know about Surge or peak power because Amazon listings show them as the highest power that one can get. However, that might not be true. The surge or peak power is a temporary surge of power that one might get, but it is not prolonged. Therefore, power-hungry devices like vacuum cleaners would operate on the surge power for a few seconds and then die. So it might be advisable to not attach too much importance to the surge power but the max input of the portable power station instead.
Conclusion:
The EF Ecoflow power station, one of the more expensive portable power stations, is a good deal. If someone is looking for something cheaper or smaller, the Jackery might be a good option. However, one might buy a portable power station suited to their individual needs. It is advisable to look for the five qualities mentioned in this article before purchasing.
