The Elite 100 V2 is a revamp/upgrade to the AC180.
Form factor - The E1V2 is, smaller and lighter than the AC180, by a significant amount, whilst keeping the same sized inverter. A definite plus.
The 11% battery capacity reduction is somewhat offset by improved efficiency, whilst still being a very usable and capable power station.
The removal of the wireless phone charge pad and 2 USB-A ports may not be appreciated by some, however, adding a 2nd USB-C PD at 140W along with other improvements, helps offset this.
The doubling of the DC input Amps to 1,000W is a significant improvement over the 500W of the AC180.
It is definitely quieter than the AC180.
Adding WiFi to a power station of this size for remote control anywhere there is Cell service is something many have asked for and kudos to Bluetti for adding this function.
UPS time controlled charging and charge limits is a definite plus.
If the Elite 100 V2 is meant to be a revamp/upgrade of the AC180, I think Bluetti have nailed it. To fit so much in such a small space is, in my opinion, engineering excellence. The deletion of 2 outputs and slightly less capacity, weighed against, all of the additions and improvements definitely tip the scales to the plus side. It’s a Winner for me.
Note - Lab or Bench testing has its place, however, I, as would many users, be more interested in; Will it do what I want it to in the “Real World”, either at home, or out “Bush”? (Wilderness). That will be Part 2.
Bound to happen, lol, one more.
Ground Test.
Ref Pic below - Items used - Elite 100 v2, multimeter, E1V2 240VAC power cable and an Earth (Ground) test cable.
The Earth test cable has a 3 pin plug top each end with only the Earth pin connected to the grey 3 core cable. (Active and Neutral wires are cut off at the outer insulation and not connected to their respective plug top terminals. This is 100% a safety feature as live pins are dangerous).
The reason for the test cable is, poking multi meter probes into sockets is not wise.
Continuity was checked between the AC input ground, both AC output sockets and the ground screw terminal in all combinations.
Are they interlinked? - YES, all good. The next post will highlight why this is important.
Tomorrow, I am having some work done to my house grid circuit breaker box, to add generator transfer circuit breakers and a generator AC socket with pins. This will allow use of my AC180’s and AC200P to power some of the house during a grid failure. This is the CCTBRKR layout now;
The are, currently, 2 RCD safety switches - the one to the left protects the main aircon and 2 x power circuits. The one to the right, protects the bedroom aircon and the lighting. The five breakers to the right are RCDOs, which protect individual circuits.
The issue here is that if a device on the power circuit trips the RCD, both power circuits and the aircon lose power, making it difficult to trace. The one to the right might be an issue with the bedroom aircon, which also trips all lighting, which at night is a huge issue.
The first, change will be to remove the 2 RCD’s and then replace the 5 circuit breakers with RCDO circuit breakers, which will free up 4 slots.
More…
I have decide to only put the 4 power RCDO’s on the gen trfr switch and not the lights. These 4 will give power to all 240VAC GPO outlets within the house and 3 external ones, one of which is the instant hot water IGN.
Why no lights? - I have a number of plug in LED lights i.e. 2 desk lamps, a stand light, bedside lights and more.
However, during a grid out, a house light can be switched on, but as there is no power not be lit. When the grid is restored, the light comes on and signals me to turn the transfer switch back to Grid.
The 2 aircons and electric oven will only be grid connected. Other high load items in the house are - Front load washing machine, vacuum cleaner, microwave, electric kettle and other kitchen appliances. These are normally plug in to wall GPOs, so it’s personal policing to not use them when using Bluetti power.
As we have the instant H/W and a gas cooktop, coupled with Bluetti transfer switched AC power, the house will provide; H/W for showers, Cooktop cooking and a gas kettle for coffee, lights as deployed, Internet, TV, Laptops, device charging and, most importantly the main house fridge.
The constant total load for all of this, with occasional spikes, is calculated in the range of 400-500W. With all power stations I have a total of 12kW of inverter and 8kWh of capacity. This gives around 16-20 hours without recharge. The cost has been half that of a home battery.
During use, I can “Daisy chain” 2 or 3 together (power out from one to input the next) and as one depletes, recharge it from, solar, generator or vehicle.
Not specifically a part of this review, but, an example of what Bluetti can be used for, even the smaller ones.
To add to the above Gen Trfr posts.
There is, in Australia, a thing called “Virtual Power Plant” (VPP). This is where a group of homes with roof top solar and home battery, combine their solar feed to grid and where the Power Authority “PA” can use their batteries as firming load to stabilise the grid.
This means that through the Smart Meter of each house, the PA have control over, what they supply in grid power to the house, switching on and off of home solar panels and diverting stored energy from “your” battery to the grid. Hence the name VPP. In other words full control.
This is why I chose to go down the path of power station back up. As I only have roof top solar, which the PA still have switching access, (see note **) when the grid fails, I control backup supply.
I am not on a VPP energy plan, but, given the above, if I install a home battery, can the PA, in the future, take my stored energy? I don’t know, but also not prepared to risk this scenario.
My only concern is to have back up energy, when I need it and under my control.
Note ** - If a power line breaks, technicians are called in to repair it. If the PA do not turn all rooftop solar on that circuit off, the inverters connected to those panels are still sending power back down the unbroken lines to the break. This would expose those technicians repairing the line to electrocution.
To conclude the Genny Trfr posts - The electrician is currently installing it and power to the house is OFF.
I have the following items individually powered from several Bluetti power stations.
Main TV area and across to a laptop, LED desk light, phone charging.
Household fridge - 520lt
Office room (where my wife is currently) 32" TV, Laptop, LED desk lamp and the heater used in the AC capacity test (1 bar at 360W.
WiFi router, fibre optic node and security camera hub.
The total power draw for all of the above added from each power station’s display is 556W. This is what would be used, give or take a little, in a grid outage.
I’m also boiling a gas for a coffee on the stove top. It has a piezo ignition from the grid, thankfully we have a box of matches.
This means, even an AC70’s 1,000W inverter could run a grid outage here. The issue here is runtime, so augmenting capacity would be needed. It also means that with the AC200P’s 2kW inverter, everything in the house could be powered except for the washing machine and main A/C as the bedroom A/C is within its power range.
Therefore a “balancing act”, of only using what is needed to survive.
