How to choose the right portable power station?

What is Portable Power Station?

Portable Power Station is a multifunctional power supply with a built-in battery and can store electric energy. It has the characteristics of light weight, large capacity, high power, long life and strong stability. It can output common power interfaces such as DC and AC, and can supply power for laptops, drones, photography lights, projectors, rice cookers, electric fans, kettles, cars and other equipment. It is suitable for outdoor camping, outdoor live broadcast, outdoor construction, and location Scenes that consume a lot of power, such as shooting and family emergency power consumption.

In the next text, we will explain in detail how Portable Power Station works, usage scenarios, key points for product selection, etc.

 

What is the difference between Portable Power Station and powerbank?

Protable Power Station	Power Bank

There is a big difference between Portable Power Station and mobile power output.

The power bank can be connected to a smartphone through a Type-c data cable to provide about 10,000~30,000mAh of power.

Portable Power Station supports the AC output of household sockets, and can support electrical appliances with a power consumption of more than a kilowatt, while mobile power sources cannot supply power to large electrical appliances. Portable Power Station has a wide range of applications. It can be used not only at home, but also in various outdoor scenarios. It can be connected to high-power appliances such as electric ovens, electric fans, mobile refrigerators, and mobile air conditioners.

 

What is the difference between Portable Power Station and Generator?

Portable Power Station	Generator

Compared with Portable Power Station, generator has many differences in terms of fuel, power, noise, etc. It looks like the same type of device, both for power, but is actually a completely different device, so let's take a closer look at the differences between them.

1. The power of the Portable Power Station is the electric energy stored in the battery cell, while the generator usually uses gasoline as fuel for power generation. The Portable Power Station can charge the built-in battery through the Solar Panel, while the generator does not have the charging function.

2. The power of the generator is relatively large. In general, generators tend to be more powerful than Portable Power Stations. However, depending on product specifications, high-performance Portable Power Stations can also provide power as powerful as generators, such as Potential New Energy's QN-S1000W.

3. The Portable Power Station has low noise. Due to the structure of the Portable Power Station, there is not much noise when charging and supplying power, but the noise of the generator is quite loud.

4. With Portable Power Station, you can operate with confidence without worrying about the surrounding environment. Since no exhaust gas is emitted during operation, it can be used safely both indoors and outdoors. The generator uses gasoline as fuel, and it will emit exhaust gas when generating electricity, so it is not suitable for indoor use.

5. Portable Power Station is easier to storage and maintain. For the Portable Power Station, it is recommended to charge it every six months, keep the power at 60%~80%, and put it in a well-ventilated place, away from high temperature and humidity. If it is a generator, not used for more than 30 days, all gasoline needs to be removed, if left in it, it may become clogged with fuel going bad.

How Portable Power Station works

Portable Power Station consists of a control board, battery pack, inverter, and BMS system. It can convert direct current (DC) through the inverter into alternating current (AC) that can be used by other electrical appliances. It also supports multiple interface DC outputs. Charge various electrical equipment.

 

Portable Power Station usage scenarios

Portable Power Station can be used in various indoor and outdoor situations, we will introduce some typical usage scenarios as a reference.

1. You can use electricity in your RV

If you put the Portable Power Station in the RV, you can use most of the household appliances in the car. Example: a rice cooker or electric kettle. By connecting to the car's outlet, electricity can be stored in the Portable Power Station, which can run for a long time.

2. Using electricity in camping and outdoors

Many people have problems with running out of power while camping or doing outdoor activities. With the Portable Power Station, you can use your electrical appliances with confidence.

For example, in camping/outdoor scenes, it can be used in this way: charging mobile phones, cooking with rice cookers, playing music with audio equipment, etc.; it can be connected to electric ovens, electric fans, mobile refrigerators, mobile air conditioners, and outdoor photography;

Adventure enthusiasts use electricity in the wild, and can connect to SLRs, lights, drones, etc.;

Lighting electricity for outdoor stalls, can be connected to flashlights, lamps, etc.;

Outdoor live broadcast power, can be connected to cameras, speakers, microphones, etc.;

Electricity for outdoor construction, such as mines, oil fields, geological exploration, geological disaster rescue, and field maintenance emergency power for telecommunications departments;

3. Become an emergency power supply in case of power failure

For example: In case of power outage in winter, you can use Portable Power Station to continue to use lights or electric blankets for heating. In summer, the power outage can also use fans or air conditioners to cool off. You can also use an electric kettle to boil water, and use a microwave oven to heat food. In an emergency, you can still use electricity normally.

 4. Can be combined with Solar Panel to save electricity

 

By connecting Portable Power Station and Solar Panel, the electricity generated by solar power can be stored in Portable Power Station. Use energy storage power supply to power electrical appliances, Solar Panel, and Portable Power Station. Potential New Energy has launched an ETFE Foldable solar panel with an output power up to 200W.

Potential New Energy | 200w ETFE Foldable solar panel The product is dustproof and waterproof and can be used safely in camping and outdoors. If you use it with Portable Power Station, it can be charged stably.

200w ETFE Foldable solar panel to provide safe power for camping, outdoor activities and emergencies

Portable Power Station Lifespan

The typical life of Portable Power Station is about 500~2500 cycles.

The number of cycles is the unit used to represent the life of the Portable Power Station, charging from 0% to 100% and then from 100% to 0%.

The life of the Portable Power Station is shown in number of cycles because the standard life of the same model varies with usage conditions and environments.

Taking Potential New Energy's Portable Power Station "QN-S500W" as an example, the number of cycles that can be used as a life indicator is "more than 2000 times"

If used daily, the estimated lifespan is about 5.4 years. (2000 cycles/365 times ≈ 5.4 years)

Learn more about Potential New Energy Portable Power Station

 

How to choose Portable Power Station?

With the increase of consumer demand, various merchants have launched Portable Power Stations of different specifications. When purchasing a Portable Power Station, you must pay attention to the battery capacity and the type of output port. The following explains how to choose the ideal outdoor power supply.

1. Choose according to the purpose and battery capacity

The battery capacity of the Portable Power Station is expressed in Wh (watt hours).

The power consumed per hour in Wh can be judged that the larger the Wh, the larger the battery capacity, and the larger the capacity, the larger the battery size. You can choose the battery capacity by depending on the intended use.

 

Here is a simple table summarizing what kind of usage and how many Wh are needed.

Purpose of use	Wh guide
Telecommuting outdoors	More than 350Wh
Outdoor camping	More than 500Wh
Operation of small refrigerators, rice cookers, etc.	More than 600Wh
Emergency power supply in case of power outage	More than 1000Wh

For those who want a powerful Portable Power Station, we recommend Potential New Energy's QN-S1000W.

QN-S1000W has a rated power of 1000W and a capacity of 921Wh. It supports Solar Panel charging, vehicle charging, and AC charging. It has an overwhelming advantage among many Portable Power Stations.

 

Click here for Potential New Energy Portable Power Station "QN-S1000W"

2. Select the output waveform as sine wave

The power provided by Portable Power Station can be divided into two types: sine wave and rectangular wave. We strongly recommend choosing the sine wave model.

A sine wave has a waveform similar to that of a household outlet and can power a wide variety of devices. And square waves are not suitable for powering compact machines such as game consoles and personal power supplies.

 

3. Select by output port type

The type and number of output ports also vary from product to product.

If you want to use the power supply in a wide range of scenes, it will be much more convenient to have the following three types.

Port	Uses
AC outlet (socket port)	General Electric Equipment
Type-c / USB and other ports	Charging for smartphones, laptop power, etc.
Car charger / DC output and other ports	The use of automotive electrical equipment

Potential New Energy's "QN-S1000W" has three AC output ports and two USB fast charging output ports, two Type-C ports, two DC ports, and one car charger port.

 

Summary：

 

The Portable Power Station is equipped with a high-capacity power battery that can power a variety of power-using devices. It has a larger capacity and higher output than mobile power. It can be connected to Solar Panel and charged by solar power.