I found the ultimate battery station, and it can power your home for two weeks

Gas-powered generators, move over.

If you see the sun on a regular basis then solar generators are the way forward, allowing you to capture and store the free energy that's beaming down from the sun, convert it into electricity, and store it in batteries.

Solar generators consist of two parts: There's a portable power station (think power bank but bigger) and solar panels. The power stations come in all shapes and sizes, from small boxes you'd be happy carrying for a short distance, to big boxes on wheels that you don't want to be taking with you too far. 

Also: The best portable power stations you can buy

Jackery, a familiar name in the power station game for over a decade now, has a new power station called the Explorer 2000 Plus, and this thing is a total game changer. You can scale it up from a single unit that's good for a day or two of camping, to an array of batteries and solar panels that can power your home for two weeks.

You read that right: two weeks.

Here I'm going to focus on the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus alone, and I'll cover the SolarSaga 200W panels in the future (when the sun decides to reappear in the sky here in the UK). 

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Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus

Jackery 2000 Plus Power Station is capable of powering heavy load devices up to 3000W such as air conditioners and power tools.

Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus tech specs

• Capacity: 2042.8 Wh
• AC output: AC Output(×4)：120V~ 60Hz, 20A Max
  AC Output(×1): 120V~ 60Hz, 25A Max
  AC Total Output: 3000W Max, 6000W surge peak
• USB-A output: x2 Quick Charge 3.0, 18W Max
• USB-C output: x2 100W Max, (5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 20V up to 5A)
• Car output: 12V⎓10A
• AC input: 120V, 60Hz, 15A Max
• DC input: 11V-17.5V, 8A Max
  17.5V-60V, 12A Max
• Battery: LFP (LiFePO4 battery)
• Rated charge cycles: 4000 cycles to 70%+ capacity
• Weight: 61.5 lbs/ 27.9 kg
• Dimension: 14.7 x 18.6 x 14.1 inches/37.36 x 26.90 x 47.3 x 35.94 cm
• Operating temperature: -10~45°C/14~113°F

Note: I've been reviewing the UK version of the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus, which has different power outlets and input and output voltages, but it's otherwise equivalent to the US version. 

It's big.

But you might notice that there's something sitting atop my Explorer 2000 Plus. That's an add-on PackPlus E2000 Plus battery pack that adds an additional 2042.8 Wh of electrical storage capacity to the system.

This is even bigger!

4000 Wh not enough for you? You can connect up to five PackPlus E2000 Plus battery packs to a single Explorer 2000 Plus to give 12,000 Wh of storage.

A single PackPlus E2000 Plus weighs in at 41.9 lbs (19 kg), so the two units combined come in at over 100 lbs (46.9 kg).  

Still not enough? No problem!

You can join together two Explorer 2000 Plus units, each connected to five PackPlus E2000 Plus battery packs to give you a whopping 24,000 Wh of power storing capacity – enough, according to Jackery, to provide power for the average household for two weeks. 

This setup will cost you a cool $22,500, but there's little to compare with the power and flexibility it offers.

Also: I found the ultimate off-grid coffee maker – and it brews at rocket speed

OK, let's wind back and look at the Explorer 2000 Plus. 

Compared to many power stations, this is quite a streamlined unit. On the front is a compact display, a few buttons, and a handful of outlets.

To help with moving the power station, there are comfortable handles on the side, a retractable suitcase-style handle, and wheels.

Yes, wheels. The retractable handle and wheels take some of the sweat out of moving the power station, especially if using additional batteries.

If you have an add-on battery, a cable is used to connect the two units together.

There are a few things that I look for when testing a power station.

First, the inputs, outputs, and rated capacity need to match up with the published specs (see the specs list above). 

The Explorer 2000 Plus passed all my tests with flying colors. 

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The power outlets had no problem supporting a continuous load of 3,000W and even surges of 6,000W. If you can push the power station beyond this, then the Explorer 2000 Plus powers down gracefully and waits for you to reduce the load.

Under heavy loads, there are fans that kick in to keep everything cool (which also come on when charging the unit), but these fans are quiet — only 30dB, or how loud a library is — and the Explorer 1500 Pro can handle a 3,000W continuous load without any difficulty.

It's very a well-designed unit.

The USB and 12V outputs also live up to the specs. The 100W USB-C ports are particularly useful for those of us who may charge and power our laptops off a power station.

Also: The best iPhone power banks: What size do you need for the best charging?

The 2,000 Wh capacity is huge. It can charge up your iPhone over 80 times, or run a mini fridge for over 12 hours. It'll also power a portable air conditioner for a couple of hours, or a heavy-duty welder for 40 minutes.

It's a lot of power.

And this is just the Explorer 2000 Plus. A single PackPlus E2000 Plus battery pack doubles this.

As for recharging, the unit takes two hours to charge up when connected to AC or six 200W SolarSaga solar panels, seven hours from two 200W SolarSaga solar panels, or 25 hours from a 12V car adapter.

I also like to test durability, and so far the unit has been thrown into the back of a truck, dragged around different places, and dropped a bit roughly more than once without any ill effects.

It's a really rugged product.

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Another thing I like to test is longevity. 

Nothing beats taking it into the wild and relying on it for several weeks. I've not been able to do that yet, but I have been using the Explorer 2000 Plus as much as possible, and put around a dozen charge cycles through it, and so far it's holding up well and I've had zero problems.

Everything is well-built and tough, it takes being knocked about, and it delivers what it promises without needing to rely on extreme, over-inflated specs.

The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus is a solid, expandable portable power station. If you're in the market for a power station, either for in-home use or for your outdoor adventures, it is an excellent choice that should give you years of use. (And if problems do befall your unit, you can fall back on Jackery's excellent warranty.)

Also: The best power banks for recharging your devices

Now, the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus isn't cheap, coming in at $2,199, with the combo that includes a PackPlus E2000 Plus battery pack and two SolarSage 200 solar panels costing $4,999.

But if you're tempted, I've got some good news for you! Over on Amazon, Jackery is offering discounts of up to $450 off the retail price depending on what configuration you're looking for (just click on the coupon on the above page to apply).