If you are looking for a solar generator to act as an emergency backup power supply should the power go out, then look no further than the Bluetti EP500 Pro.
According to Power Outage.US, utility customers experienced 1.33 billion outage hours in 2020, up 73% from roughly 770 million in 2019. If trends continue, it doesn't look much brighter for 2022.
You have many options to safeguard your home from power outages, with solar generators being at the forefront of those.
In this article we aim to walk you through one of the industries leading solar generator for home, BLUETTI EP500Pro.
What Is BLUETTI EP500Pro?
The Bluetti EP500 Pro is a UPS that has a 5100Wh capacity, thanks to its built in LiFePO4 battery pack and a 3000W pure sine wave AC inverter which converts that stored energy from DC to AC.
In essence, the the EP500 does what a gas generator would do. Just better.
The EP500 Pro comprises of the following components:
- Pure sine wave inverter
- LiFePO4 battery
- MPPT Charge controller
- Various other smart gadgetry
What Are the Features of EP500 Pro?
The EP500 Pro as a backup power supply has a plethora of features:
5100Wh Capacity
Battery capacity is the life force of any solar generator. The capacity dictates how long you are able to power various appliances around your home. The more capacity the better, especially if the generator is acting a UPS.
6000+ Charge Cycles
Most solar generators have 2000 cycles or less. The EP500 Pro allows over 6000 cycles. This means you can discharge (completely drain) the generator 6000+ times. That is a lot.
Charge cycles directly impact the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of the product. In other words, let's say you have two solar generators A & B. Both generators have the same capacity of 5000Wh. However, A costs $2500 and has 2000 cycles. B costs $5000 but has over 6000 cycles.
At first glance you may think of choosing A as the capacity is the same and it is half the price. However, if you work out the LCOE you will notice that the B is much cheaper over the long term.
3000W PSW Inverter
Without an inverter, a solar generator is useless. This is because all electricity produced by your solar panels runs in DC and is stored in DC. Your homes appliances however use AC current.
This means that in order for you to use this stored energy, it first has to be converted into AC current. This is where the inverter comes in handy.
Split Phase Bonding
The Bluetti EP500 Pro also supports split phase bonding. As All About Circuits puts it: "A split-phase power system is one with multiple (in-phase) AC voltage sources connected in series, delivering power to loads at more than one voltage, with more than two wires."
BLUETTI EP500 Vs EP500Pro Specs
What to Consider Before Buying A Solar Generator for Your Home?
The most important thing to consider before buying a solar generator for your home is the capacity.
What capacity do you need?
The best way to find this out is to make a table jotting down all your homes appliances, how much wattage they draw, and how long you plan to use each appliance. By doing this you can get a could figure of how much capacity you may need.
Here is an example below:
| Appliance | Wattage | Time in use | Watt Hours |
| Fridge | 350W | 3 | 1050Wh |
| Smart TV | 100W | 2 | 200Wh |
| 5x LED Lights | 50W | 5 | 250Wh |
| Total | 1500Wh |
As you can see from the example above, an EP500 Pro would have no problem with the above scenario as it is rated at 5100Wh of capacity.
Now, during a power outage you of course make sure to run only the essential home appliances in order to conserve energy for when it may be needed.
But I am sure you can see from the example above that the EP500 Pro would have no issues running your TV for 50 hours, should that be what your really want.
EP500 Tutorial
Take a look at our tutorial video to get a better idea of the technology works. (Please note, the video covers the EP500, not the EP500 Pro. However, besides certain specifications, you will find most things remain the same.)
Lastly, go ahead and check out our crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter if you'd like to find out even more interesting information on the Bluetti EP500 Pro.
