Hey everyone,
today i wanna share my concept of a “new” powerstation as part of the #DesignTheNextBLUETTI contest.
My base is the the Bluetti Elite 200 V2. In my opninion, its already a impressive powerstation when looking at the numbers. I do like the portable factor paired with powerfull ports.
My dream powerstation would extend the boundarys a bit further. Here what im thinking of:
Hardware:
- Inverter: 3000W
- Switchable DC Ouput 12V/24V with 30A for 12V and 15A for 24V or custom voltage output
like charger 1 - Around 2000Wh capacity is a great sweetspot
- Change PV input (MPPT) to 145V MPPT like AC200L
- Battery expansion for B230/B300/B300K/B300S
- Bidirectional AC Charging (Charge from the Grid/ Discharge into the Grid)
- Solarpanel on the top
Software:
- The first ever Bluetti product which integrates native into Third Party Applications like HomeAssistant
- Remote Turn on / Turn off via Bluetti App or third party api
- Smart AC Charging in combination with S1 Plug and flexible grid price
Lets procide with the “why” starting by the hardware again:
Inverter:
I think the AC is on of the most important parts of a powerstation. Its the main part that beenig used, atleast for me. To find the perfect inverter size isnt that simple. On one hand, you want a inverter that can handle everything and on the otherhand you want a small lightweight and efficient powerstation. I think 3000W should handle nearly any everyday device i can think off, while inverters in the 2300W - 2600W range may have a problem with big inductive loads. Im pretty sure, when a high quality inverter would be used, its still pretty efficient too.
DC-Ouput
Most Bluetti Powerstation offer a 12V Output in form of a cigarette port. While this port is highly compatible with many devices, it do have some restriction and problems. You are limited to 10A and its not a tight fit and gets quite hot. This type of port is not really meant for long operations. My intention is, to make the DC Output more flexible to use. Instead of a cigarette Port, i would go with a aviation port. It fits perfect and can manage high loads. Devices that needs the cigatte plug, i would integrate a compatibity mode into the app that restrict the power to 12V 10A on that port and work with a high quality adapter.
As i say, with the aviation plug, we are more free to choose. Instead of rely on 12V i would implement one of the two solutions:
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Solution 1:
Make a lockable toggle switch to switch between 12V 30A and 24V 15A. I think theese two voltages are most common and its a easy interface
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Solution 2:
The DC output dont have a fixed voltage. Instead you are able to set a voltage in a range from 12V to 48V in the Bluetti App to your needs
Capacity:
Capacity is also something where you need to find a certan sweetspot. More or bigger cells mean longer run time but also more weight and bigger size in general. I choose ~2000Wh. Its good to power the most things for a longer time and its also possible to fit that within a portable shape and weight.
PV Input:
In my opinion, a 60V 20A MPPT is not enough or lets say wrong splitted for a 2000Wh Battery. This voltage would be already exceeded by two of the Bluetti 410W Glas solar modules (each 37,4 V) when used in series. To archive a quick and steady charging process, even on days with less solar power, i would choose the MPPT from the AC200L. This offer 145V which allow me to connect 3 of the Panels instead of just one. When go in parallel, you may could use two panels on the elite too, but i more of a fan of series connection for many reasons.
Battery expansion
We talked about finding a compromise between Capacity and size in the section “Capacity”. 2000Wh is great to carry around, but maybe not enough for a temporary usecase and you need to extend the runtime of the Powerstation. One great example would be the Allotment garden of my uncle. He uses a powerstaition with about 1000Wh and thats really all he really need when enjoying his stay there. But there is a catch, as soon the spring is rising and the flowers start to grow again, he need to power all of his garden devices. Theese cant be powered because 1000Wh arent just enough to supply all his devices and have something left for the evening. In that case a B300 expansion would be perfect. He can enjoy a portable powerstation all the time and when he really needs more than usual he can expand it.
Bidirectional AC Charging
Something we didnt see on a portable Bluetti Unit for now is bidirectional ac charging. This would allow the unit to charge from the grid and discharge the unit into the grid. Why is this interesting? - When we think of flexible energy prices, wouldnt it be great to charge the unit from grid when its really cheap and discharge when it gets more expensive? In my opinion this would be a absolute killer feature. A plug, like the S1 from Bluetti could connect by bluetooth to the unit and change the operating mode to charge or discharge depending on the live energy costs. That would be a great way to save energy costs for people, that cant install a balcony system.
Integrated Solarpanel
The newest survey shows, that nobody really enjoy the use of the wireless charging pad. What to to with the free space on the top? - I would love to see a integrated solarpanel. Let it have someting between 25W and 40W. The main intention is to use the space and also reduce the selfconsumption of the unit, which make it more “efficient” or atleast maximize the usable capacity.
Lets have a look at the Software implementations i think off:
HomeAssistant Support:
Im really sure thats a feature that a lot of people would enjoy to see. Ingreation of Bluetti Units in third Party software. Its not like that Bluetti should provide a native integration into every piece of third party software, but a open api would help so many people and developers out there to make every bluetti product even greater! For my part, i would love to have all my systems into one application instead of 10 Apps for every different brand.
Remote Turn on / Turn off:
Thanks to the Bluetti Cloud, you are able to turn on and off certain ouputs. Some units also offer a remote turn off too. But there isnt a unit which actually can be remotly turn on when already turned off. This would be a feature, that really would make sense. When not possible with the Bluetti cloud, then atleast locally over Bluetooth. Some units, for example in a camper, arent reachable all the time. To turn on a unit, while its physcly not reachable at the moment, could be a hugh advantage for many out there, including me. The Problem with this feature is again the consumption. The Bluetooth or Wifi modules would need to stay permanently on. The Built-In Solarpanel could help to reduce this effect.
Hope this ideas inspire the next generation of portable power by Bluetti. Really curios what you guys think about my ideas, let me know if you like!
Greetings
Erik
