This portable battery station can power your home for two weeks - and it's $700 off right now

3 weeks ago 8

Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus power station

What's the deal?

The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus is on sale for $1,299 at Amazon right now, down from its usual price of $1,999.

Why this deal is ZDNET-recommended

If you see the sun on a regular basis, then solar generators are the way forward. They allow 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: My favorite laptop power bank can fully charge a MacBook in 90 minutes, and it's on sale

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.

View at Amazon

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: 3,000W Max, 6,000W 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: 4,000 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.

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 2042.8 Wh of electrical storage capacity to the system.

This is even bigger!

Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus along with an add-on PackPlus E2000 Plus battery pack

Is 4,000 Wh not enough for you? You can connect up to five PackPlus E2000 Plus battery packs to a single Explorer 2000 Plus to get 12,000 Wh of storage.

A single PackPlus E2000 Plus weighs 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: The best portable power stations of 2024: Expert tested and reviewed

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.

The front of the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus is very neat and uncluttered -- a few buttons, a minimalist display, and the power 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.

Wheels take the strain out of moving the Explorer 2000 Plus

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

A cable is used to connect a Explorer 2000 Plus to the PackPlus E2000 Plus battery pack

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.

Also: This ultra-portable power station gives you AC power on the move - and it's on sale for Prime Day

The power outlets had no problem supporting a continuous load of 3,000W and even surges of 6,000W. If you 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 a very 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 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 (currently $200 off) doubles this.

As for recharging, the unit takes two hours to charge when connected to AC or six 200W SolarSaga solar panels (currently over $200 off), 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.

Also: Run your Raspberry Pi off-grid with solar power. Here's what you need

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.

ZDNET's buying advice

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. If problems do befall your unit, you can fall back on Jackery's excellent warranty.

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