Hi, what are you looking for?
SunRider Scaling Up Production Of Solar-Powered Cargo E-Bike For Urban Logistics
Space-Based Solar Power Is Back On The Table
Just The Facts: The Cost Of Solar Has Fallen More Quickly Than Experts Predicted
10 Years of Transformation: What We Have Learned Since RE Futures Showed What Was Possible
Perpetual Motion for Climate Funding
10 Years of Transformation: What We Have Learned Since RE Futures Showed What Was Possible
Siemens Gamesa Begins Testing 115-Meter-Long Wind Turbine Blades
Cost Of Renewables Falls As Installed Capacity Increases
Renewables Become Leader in Grid Resilience: Decentralized Approach to Disaster Recovery
How Not To Short-Circuit the Clean Energy Transition (Video)
DOE Launches $84 Million Enhanced Geothermal Energy Systems (Video)
Renewable Generation Surpassed Nuclear in the U.S. Electric Power Sector in 2021
Betting A Billion Dollars On Low-Carbon Grid Transformation Tech
Mexico’s Clean Energy Ambitions Realistic With These Renewable Energy Resources
Scientists Use Multivalent Cation Additives to Rid Rechargeable Batteries of a Common Pitfall
BYD To Supply LFP Batteries To Tesla, Sakuu Announces 3C Lithium Metal Battery
Interview with Impossible Mining CEO Oliver Gunasekara, Part 1
Solid Power Begins Manufacturing Prototype Solid-State Batteries
Energy Security at the Edge of the Grid
Energy Security at the Edge of the Grid
Texan Tesla Powerwall Owners Can Help Change ERCOT’s Mind On VPPs
Gridspertise — Advanced Digital Solutions For A Smart, Resilient Grid
Betting A Billion Dollars On Low-Carbon Grid Transformation Tech
“Home of the Future” — Solar Power Home with Electric Ford F-150 Lightning Backup Power (Video)
Effects of Weather Projections On Energy Consumption in Buildings
People Are Starting To Receive Starlink RV Terminals, & They’re Efficient
Speed, Bow Shape, & Ultrasonics, Electrification & More Will Reduce Marine Shipping Fuel Requirements
Automating The Secret Life Of Buildings: Interview With PassiveLogic CEO, Part 2
Converting From Fuel Oil To Heat Pumps Would Save The US 47% Of The Oil We Used To Import From Russia
EU Parliament Backs 2035 End Date for Combustion Engine Cars
Tesla Has Over 3 Years’ Worth of Cybertruck Orders — Maybe
Tesla Registers New High-Res Radar Unit With FCC
“No Room At The Inn” (For Our Tesla)
Charging on Queensland Electric Super Highway Going to Gladstone EcoFest
How 3 Years With A Tesla Model 3 Almost Made Me Forget About The Mobility Revolution
Oupes 1800W Power Station — Solar Generator (CleanTechnica Review)
CleanTechnica Tested: FlexSolar 200 Watt Briefcase Solar Panel Kit
CleanTechnica Review: Fanttik X8 Air Compressor
CleanTechnica Review: Hiboy VE1 Pro Electric Scooter
Germany’s Plugin EVs Continue To Grow, Despite Headwinds
UK Plugin EV Share Grows YoY, BMW Leads In May
Road to Zero Emissions Now Clear for Road Traffic
Top 20 Electric Cars In The World — April 2022 (Charts)
France EV Share Grows In May, Fiat 500 Leads
How 3 Years With A Tesla Model 3 Almost Made Me Forget About The Mobility Revolution
Oupes 1800W Power Station — Solar Generator (CleanTechnica Review)
CleanTechnica Tested: FlexSolar 200 Watt Briefcase Solar Panel Kit
CleanTechnica Review: Fanttik X8 Air Compressor
CleanTechnica Review: Hiboy VE1 Pro Electric Scooter
Tesla Q4 Shareholder Conference Call — Watch & Listen Here
Volkswagen Group — In-Depth Conference Call Highlights Company’s Focus On Transition
Bill McKibben On Unions, Tesla, & Elon Musk — CleanTechnica Interview
How To Watch & Listen To Tesla Q3 Earnings Call — Most Useful Livestream
Tesla Sales & Future of Tesla Discussion with Ride the Lightning, Starman, & EVANNEX
Oupes, a company I haven’t worked with before, recently got in touch with me and sent me their 1800W power station to review. It’s one of the most powerful stations I’ve tested, and it’s got a couple of tricks up its sleeve that the others don’t.
Here are a few specifications for the unit so you can compare it to other things if you’re shopping:
Right off the bat, I need to compare it to the only other station this powerful that I’ve reviewed: The Jackery Explorer 1500. In some ways, it falls a little short, but in other ways, it comes ahead.
The solar panels fold up very small, and have a footprint very similar to the power station. They have carry handles, a pouch to store cords, and folding legs.
One of the ways it outperforms the Jackery is by size and convenience of the solar panels. They fold, like the Jackery Solar Saga panels, but they fold up quite a bit smaller. Instead of needing to tuck them behind things in a closet or other storage area, you can set them beside the unit because they have a similar footprint. This could also be quite useful for car camping.
The Oupes 1800W power station and two Oupes solar panels.
When deployed, they’re a little wider and not as tall as the Jackery panels we’ve reviewed. Like any folding solar panels I’ve tested, they can struggle to stay standing up in the wind, so sometimes you do need to add some weight to the legs to keep them pinned down. This can be done with scrap lumber as I did here, or you could do it with whatever you have on hand, like rocks or tent stakes.
The little legs have stretchy support strings, and you can put some weight on those, or a tent stake, to keep it from flying away on a windy day.
Altogether, these two 100W peak-rated panels put out a respectable 130 watts. That sounds pathetic, but 150 watts is typical in good light and I didn’t have great light today. A dust storm (you can see dust on the panels here) and wildfire smoke in the area cut my power pack. Given the conditions, I think they did pretty good. It would probably take 8 hours or so to charge the unit up completely, but if that’s too slow, you can plug in as many as four panels to cut that time in half.
The lantern feature lighting up my table.
Another thing I really liked was the lantern feature. This would be great both for camping and emergencies. The light was bright, but not harsh because the LEDs are hidden behind a diffuser panel. I’m glad to see that they had typical uses for these in mind.
I was also impressed with the display. It shows not only current power draw or charging power (or both if you’re doing both), but it also shows how long you have left at current power use levels before the unit would be dead. This takes a lot of guesswork and math out of it, and makes it easier to adjust on the fly to make sure you have enough power to get through the night, etc.
Personally, I think the Jackery stations and panels look a little more classy, but that’s only skin deep. They appear to be just as robust and functional, but this is just a matter of personal taste.
Another small nitpick: The 12-volt output is a little low on voltage. Most power stations output around 13 volts, with a voltage sag closer to 12 volts when under heavier load. This station put out 12.5 volts at a low load, and dropped to either 11.9 volts or 12.0 volts even when loads increased. It never dropped below 11.9, so this shouldn’t be an issue unless you’ve got some very sensitive equipment that has to be above 12 volts. None of my radio stuff had any problems.
To stress-test this unit, I plugged a larger toaster oven into it. When set to the toast mode, this pulled around 1200 watts from the unit. We then used it to cook a small frozen pizza. Ten minutes of cooking took about 10% of the battery, so you could definitely use this for cooking in an emergency as long as you don’t need to do any long bakes. It should have no problem running microwaves and other kitchen appliances, as it puts out as much as any 120 volt wall outlet can.
It had no problem at all running a larger toaster oven (1100 watts).
For RF testing, I did what I usually do: use it to power an amateur radio. If an electronic device is putting out nasty radio waves, a sensitive receiver will usually pick it up all over the HF (shortwave) bands. Like other units I’ve tested, this one didn’t make any radio interference.
The Oupes power station running my computer and a Yaesu 818 HF transceiver to transmit digital signals.
This has nothing to do with the power station (it provided adequate power), but this evening I was able to get signals out as far as Japan and western Australia, which was fun. Because my radio gear and computer use so little power, I could have done this for 2-3 days using the power station, and probably indefinitely with good sun during the day.
All in all, it’s a great value, especially if you can catch it on sale like it is right now. It works well in all of my testing, has plenty of features and ports to power just about anything, and has a built-in lantern for emergencies or camping. The solar panels were very convenient to move, store, and put in a car. I’d recommend this power station if it fits your power needs.
All images by Jennifer Sensiba.
Jennifer Sensiba is a long time efficient vehicle enthusiast, writer, and photographer. She grew up around a transmission shop, and has been experimenting with vehicle efficiency since she was 16 and drove a Pontiac Fiero. She likes to explore the Southwest US with her partner, kids, and animals. Follow her on Twitter for her latest articles and other random things: https://twitter.com/JenniferSensiba
#1 most loved electric vehicle, solar energy, and battery news & analysis site in the world. Support our work today!
Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.
Oukitel recently sent me a power station (aka “solar generator” if you add a solar panel) to review. I’ve seen a lot of power...
Here at CleanTechnica, we’ve tested a number of power stations, including almost everything Jackery has to offer. You’d think that once you’ve tested a...
Portable power stations open up a wide range of new options for bringing tools, technology, and toys to new places. Battery producer EBL is...
Pumping up tires at home is fairly easy. For my bikes, I have a big manual pump. Sure, it’s a bit of a workout...
Copyright © 2021 CleanTechnica. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.