Re: Extra solar panel option
Reply #56 –
A few things about that review struck me. First, I have to say that those people treat their RV as if it were an all-electric townhouse. They normally run their generator six hours a day, but with the help of the Jackery powerpack were able to cut that down to "only" three hours a day?? Heaven forbid they should ever camp near me!
Second, the 1,000 watt-hour Jackery powerpack costs $1,600 for those of us not lucky enough to get one for free from Jackery. I suspect the review might not have been quite so enthusiastic if they had actually had to lay out $1,600 for the unit.
That amount would buy quite a nice solar power system installed on your RV, where it would take advantage of the existing battery, charger, inverter, and so on. In fact, if you do it yourself, about $400-$500 in parts would buy you a 200 watt solar power system, and for another $200 you could have 400 W. Add another $200 for a pure sine wave inverter, if you don't feel satisfied with the one you have. You're still only at half the price of the Jackery 1000, and you have twice the amount of solar power. Even if you have it professionally installed, you can probably match the Jackery's $1,600 cost and get more for your money.
Third, Jackery's portable solar panels (not cheap at $299 for 100 watts) are not waterproof, so if it rains you're going to have to scramble to bring them in, as the reviewer did... and you'd better not leave them outside while you go off sightseeing, in case there's a sudden shower. Frankly, there's no excuse for this in a high-priced product that is meant to be used outdoors.
Sounds as if I'm down on Jackery and dismissive of portable powerpacks, right? Well, no. For starters, I've used smaller Jackery phone/tablet charger powerpacks, and they appeared to be well made and worked well. I certainly had no complaints. And the Jackery 500 and Jackery 1000 products have a very nice set of features. There are plenty of similar products on the market today, but if I were shopping for something like this, the Jackery units would be high on my list.
So... why would I shop for one of these? As a full-time RVer, I prefer a single unified power system, based on what's already in my RV, rather than carrying my power in multiple buckets. It's simpler, and as mentioned, more cost-effective.
But suppose I were tent camping out of my car, or traveling in a van. A portable powerpack could be a great, ready-to-use solution for all my power needs. Or what if I had a homebase--a house or apartment? A 1,000 Wh powerpack could get me through a power blackout due to a storm, rolling blackout, or whatever. Granted, if I had my RV parked in the driveway, it could do the same job. But if, as is often the case, the rig were miles away in storage, I'd be happy to have a compact power source for emergency use.
I would not, however, buy Jackery's solar panels. There are better choices from Renogy and others.
In summary, Jackery makes good products, but it's up to you to decide whether they are the best and most cost-effective fit for your needs.
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Topic: Extra solar panel option (Read 1733 times)
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