When you’re shopping for a portable power station, there are a lot of confusing numbers to figure out—but the most important detail to consider isn’t a number at all! It’s what your battery is made of.
It’s Battery Chemistry That Matters Most
I’ve purchased several portable power stations for my home. Some are big enough to contain over 3,800 watts of capacity. That’s enough to keep our fridge running for over a day. Some are 1000 watts and better sized to power a hot plate or a TV. Our 300Wh units are best for phones and gaming handhelds.
What they all have in common isn’t their size, but their battery chemistry. In other words, they’re all made of the same type of battery—and it’s different from the kind you used to find under your car’s hood or inside most phones.
They’re all lithium iron phosphate batteries, also known as LiFePO4 or LFP.
- Brand
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Anker
- Dimensions
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27.6×10.3×15.6
- Weight
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136.7lb/62kg
- AC Output ports
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One NEMA TT-30R, One NEMA L14-30R, Six NEMA 5-20R
The Anker F3800 Plus is an updated version of Anker’s F3800 solar generator, offering the same 3.84kWh capacity and 6000W output. This model comes with improved charging, with a new max solar input of 3200W and 165V, along with support for 240V from a gas generator.
What Is LiFePO4?
LiFePO4 batteries, technically, are still lithium-ion batteries. The difference is the battery chemistry. In contrast with the lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium batteries common to our portable devices, LiFePO4 batteries use lithium iron phosphate as the cathode (or negative side) and uses carbon as the anode (or positive side).
These batteries aren’t energy dense, so they aren’t small, which is why you don’t see them inside smartphones. But they come with many advantages that make them superior for supplying backup power.
LiFePO4 Batteries Have a Longer Lifespan
Batter chemistry determines how many years of use you may get out of any given battery. This information is typically indicated in two ways. One is the number of charge cycles, which refers to the number of times you can charge and discharge your battery before it stops holding a charge as effectively. The other might be in years, with phrases such as “in 10 years, the battery will charge to 80% of its current capacity.”
In some ways, this is two ways of saying the same thing. A battery that lasts 800 charge cycles can charge and discharge every day for around three years before it degrades. A battery that lasts 5000 cycles will still be going strong in a decade.
While a non-LiFePO4 battery like the Jackery Explorer 300 can go 500 cycles before being reduced to 80% capacity, the LiFePO4 Jackery Explorer 300 Plus can last for 3000 cycles before seeing the same reduction in how much energy it can store. This is why LiFePO4 batteries also tend to come with longer warranties.
LiFePO4 Is Far Less Likely to Catch Fire
Batteries are ways of storing high amounts of energy in a small amount of space. While they’re not as easy to ignite as a tank of gas, they do still come with the risk of fire. When lithium-ion batteries catch fire or explode, it’s usually the result of short-circuiting, which can happen for various reasons.
When mishaps happen, lithium-ion batteries can experience what’s known as thermal runway. This leads to a fire that is self-generating until the battery fully discharges. This is why when some electric cars catch fire, firefighters focus on containing rather than extinguishing the fire.
LiFePO4 batteries are many orders of magnitude safer than other types of lithium-ion batteries. Not only are they unlikely to catch fire, but they release so much less energy that even if they’re punctured, they’re more likely to release smoke than flames. You can see this in a drill test that Will Prowse showcased on his YouTube Channel.
This is why most built-in home backup batteries increasingly use LiFePO4 batteries instead of other battery chemistries.
LiFePO4 Can Be Stored at 100%
As mentioned, most lithium-ion batteries don’t like to be fully charged. While you can charge batteries to 100%, most prefer to be at 80% or lower (but not too low—they don’t like to sit around at under 20%, either). This means that if you buy a 1024Wh portable power station with lithium-ion batteries, it’s best stored with a capacity of 819Wh. If the power goes out unexpectedly, you don’t actually have access to as much power as you might have expected when buying the unit.
A LiFePO4 battery can be stored at 100% just fine. This is because the battery is constructed out of different materials that respond differently when holding that many electrons.
Instead of buying a built-in home battery, my wife and I opted to spend less money on several portable power stations instead. They’re all LiFePo4 batteries stacked in our pantry at around 90–100%. I wouldn’t feel nearly as comfortable storing as many batteries made of an older battery chemistry—at least not one this large. Nor would I spend this much money on batteries that need to be replaced in just a few years. But with LiFePO4, safety and longevity have largely been addressed.
That’s not to say these batteries are perfect. If nothing else, they’re expensive, which is reason enough to keep an eye on other emerging battery chemistries like sodium-ion. Yet until then, LiFePO4 is the way to go.
