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PRICE: £1637.99
UK.JACKERY.COM
Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Keep your photography – and your life – energised with this battery and solar panel outfit
SPECS › Prices Jackery Solar Generator 1000 £1637.99, which includes Explorer 1000 and two SolarSaga 100W solar panels. The Explorer 1000 on its own is £1154, and each SolarSaga 100W is £272.99 › In the box Explorer 1000, two SolarSaga 100W solar panels, mains charger and leads, car charger cable, SolarSaga parallel adapter cable, user manual › Capacity 1002Wh (21.6V, 46.4Ah) › Cell chemistry Li-ion NMC › Lifecycle 500 cycles to 80%+ capacity › Management system BMS, over voltage protection, short circuit protection › Ports AC output: 110VAC, 60Hz, 1000W (2000W surge) › USB-A output 5v, 2.4A › Quick charge 3.0 5-6.5v, 3A/6.5-9v, 3A/9-12v, 1.5A › Output 5v, 9v, 12v up to 3A › USB-C output 12v, 10A › Car output 12v-30v (163W max) › Recharge times AC adapter, 7.5 hours; 12v car adapter, 14 hours; optional two SolarSaga 100 solar panels, eight hours › Operating temp -10-40˚C › Weight 10kg › Dimensions (wxdxl) 23.3x28.3x33.3cm SolarSaga 100W Solar Panel › Peak power 100W › Power voltage 18v › Power current 5.55A › Ports USB-A output 5v, 2.4A USB C output 5v, 3A › Dimensions (folded) 610x535x35mm › Dimensions (unfolded) 1220x535x5mm › Weight 4.69kg each › Contact uk.jackery.com
ENERGY AND ITS rocketing costs have been making the headlines in recent weeks, and it’s a huge issue for us all. As photographers, we can’t get far without electricity – and if you shoot lots on location and spend extended time off-grid, a power solution like this Jackery outfit is essential. Priced at £1637.99, you get an Explorer 1000, two SolarSaga 100W solar panels and cables for mains, car and solar charging. Both items are available individually: the Explorer 1000 is £1154, the single 100W solar panel £272.99. Smaller Explorer 240 and 500 power stations are also available, and these can be mains, car and solar charged, too. The Explorer 1000 is a portable power source, with a 1002Wh capacity. It comes equipped with a selection of ports, including two three- pin AC sockets, one 12v 10A for car charging, and two of each USB-A 3.0 and USB-C ports. Having left the Explorer charging overnight to full power, for the first part of the test I wanted an idea of its capacity from a photographic perspective. I plugged in two 12v 5A 60W 480 LED lights to assess this. The Jackery website has estimated runtimes for popular domestic items. According to the Explorer’s LED info panel, the output for both lights running was around 60W. Every 20 minutes or so, a cooling fan turned itself on. While this is reasonably quiet, it’s noisy enough to have you reaching for the remote if you are watching TV – and runs for 30-60 seconds each time. After an hour, the battery said it had 93% power left. The
cooling fan had come on five times, but was doing its job well – the casing was only slightly warmer to the touch, compared to when the unit was switched off. As the test progressed, the fan came on less often – I assume because the unit had acclimatised. I ran the lights at full power for 12 hours and the battery still had 28% charge.
Once the battery was low, it was time to charge it up again – this time, using the two supplied solar panels. Each has a built-in handgrip, and there are two kickstands on the rear to support the cells at the best angle, so set-up is quick. Also on the back is the output lead, and this connects to the supplied parallel adapter that plugs into the Explorer. There’s a USB-A and USB-C port, allowing you to charge devices directly from the panel. On an April day that had spells of sun, I set up the solar panels and left them to it after checking the initial input. This varied between 10W (cloudy), 40W (cloudy but bright), and over 120Wwhen both were in full sun. Recharge time obviously differs according to location and lighting conditions. I got to 50% from the 28% starting point in six hours on a typical – often cloudy – British April day before the heavens opened. I completed the charge on a day with bright sunshine, and it took a further 6.5 hours to get to 100%. WC
STAY UP TO DATE The LCD display keeps you informed of charge levels
Verdict The Jackery Explorer 1000 Power Station is a seriously useful piece of kit. If want to run lights or a printer, or have to do work off-grid, this outfit comes at quite a cost, but is worth every penny. PROS Solar or mains chargeable, impressive capacity, portable at 10kg, USB-A and C ports, car chargeable, simple to use CONS Serious investment
PLAYING IT COOL The instructions say that during charging. you also need to keep the Explorer out of direct sunlight and away from heat
38 Photography News | Issue 99
photographynews.co.uk
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