AC180 Low Watt capacity

Product Discussion BLUETTI Elite & EB Series
1

I have a new AC180 and do not get anywhere close to the 1152 watt capacity advertised. If I plug in a small fan drawing 21 watts, the AC180 calculates that it can run for 26.3 hrs, but this is only 552 watts. This seems to reflect what I am seeing on my camping trips. I just do not get near the 1152 watt capacity the system is supposed to get. Less than half is not acceptable.

2

TLDR - You will never get 100% of the rated output due to inverter losses. Smaller inverters are better for smaller AC loads, while larger inverters are more efficient for larger AC loads.
Welcome to the harsh world of solar. The Wh listed on the unit is physical capacity, not usable capacity. It is due to inverter losses. Power stations that have high inverters will experience very poor performance when subjected under a low constant AC load. The AC180 is only 40% efficient with a constant load of 20W. This is due to the fact the inverter is 1800W. The AC2A or the new Elite 30 V2 by comparison would be around 65-70% efficient since its inverter size is only 600W. If you want more efficiency you need a smaller inverter, or better yet use a DC powered fan which is around 85% efficient.

See: https://community.bluettipower.com/t/bluetti-powerstation-idle-consumption-and-efficiency/25702/7

3

Hi @Camp4fun, We appreciate you taking the time to test your AC180’s performance. For the most accurate capacity measurements, we recommend using a load of around 1000W during testing.

With smaller loads, the unit’s base power consumption (self-discharge) becomes a significant factor, skewing your results
Larger loads minimize this effect, giving you a truer measure of actual capacity.

The AC180 has different running times depending on the device you’re using it with.
For high-power devices, the running time = Battery capacity × DoD × η ÷ load power.
For low-power devices, the running time = Battery capacity × DoD × η ÷ (load power + self-consumption of AC180).
DoD refers to Depth of Discharge and η is local inverter efficiency.
For AC180, DoD is 90%, η is 85%, and self-consumption is about 15W.
E.g. If you run a 100W blender with it, the running time will be:
1152Wh × 90% × 85% ÷ (100W+15W) ≈ 7.66 hrs
Note:

  1. The formula is NOT suitable for inductive loads with compressors, like refrigerator, air conditioner, etc.
  2. The above data is for reference ONLY.
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