Clean Portable Power is excited to partner with EcoFlow to bring the Power Kits to the Australian market, including overseeing all safety and certification requirements for the local market.

In this post, we take a preliminary look at the highly anticipated and game-changing EcoFlow Power Kits, and provide some of our thoughts on the benefits of this product.

In a typical off-grid power system, you’d find solar batteries to store energy, solar panels to generate energy, solar charge controllers to control the flow of energy to and from your solar panels, battery chargers, DC-DC converters, and inverter-chargers. You’d also find wiring to connect all of those independent components.

Sound like a lot of work, right? Off-grid solar kits are often a daunting task to build yourself. They take up a ton of space, and are tough to maintain and expand when your needs grow.

That's where the EcoFlow Power Kits come in to play.

EcoFlow Power Kits exist to make off-grid power generation, storage and use more accessible than ever.

Compact homes without a connection to the power grid, as well as Vans , motorhomes and caravans, are expected to benefit from the new EcoFlow Power Kits. These are compact, modular power solutions that make it quick and easy to build a custom battery and charging system. The setup is far more neat ,compact and cleverly integrated compared to current industry standard solutions.

Once set up, you can incorporate LFP EcoFlow batteries, solar panels, and a variety of add-ons which can be tailored to your exact needs. 

There's three main factors we can dive a bit deeper into, to help explain how Power Kits work, the benefits and and how this compares to the tradtional market offerings.

To put it simply you can think of: Power storage, power generation, and power management.

All that energy has to be stored somewhere. EcoFlow Power Kits change the game by introducing a new line of stackable LFP batteries. Longer-lasting lithium iron phosphate batteries are used here, with advanced smart features such as self-balancing and self-heating, which improve both the efficiency and safety of the product.

Up to 15kWh EcoFlow LFP batteries can be combined with an EcoFlow Power Hub which puts the storage beyond the capacity of options like the Telsla Powerwall and LG Chem Resu. Batteries are available in 2 sizes, 2kWh and 5kWh, and up to 3 batteries can be coupled with the Power Hub.

This should easily be enough power storage for small to medium-sized Caravan and off-grid builds such as sheds. Unlike a typical solar battery that relies on solar panels, these can be charged via the four aforementioned methods

The system voltage is 48V which is far more efficient for inverting purposes and wiring is a 1/4 the diameter and weight of 12V inverter systems. The thinner wires produce significantly less heat and power loss, resulting in a more efficient and safer system.

A leading feature of EcoFlows solar generators, particularly the Delta series are their ability to charge quickly from both AC (grid power) or DC (solar) sources. Power Kits can draw energy via one of four basic ways - Off-grid solar panels, your Vehicle alternator, shore power, or even the EcoFlow Smart Generator. This feature is just as important as battery capacity. Its no good having a large system capacity without being able to charge quickly and efficiently!

  The Power Kits change the game in this regard, with combined charging of up to 7800W! Solar panels can be plugged into up to 3 of the DC input ports supporting between 10V-150V at upto 30a (1600W max per port) giving a total solar input of upto 4800W (4.8KW).  Port one has additional power filtering and can also be used for alternator or wind turbine charging supporting upto 70a @ 12V. There is no need to install third party, expensive DC/DC charging systems in your vehicle, this is built into the Power Hub. The alternator input can be adjusted supporting between 5a-70a so smaller, smart alternators should not be a problem.

Finally, the EcoFlow Smart Generator (petrol) can be setup for automated charging through one of the 3 battery ports. This creates a fully modular energy system.

 The Power Kits have been designed to support all of your AC and DC power loads. On the AC side the inverter supports an impressive 3600W continuous with a surge rating of 7200W. This can be wired into an existing AC distribution system or AC circuits can be managed by EcoFlows optional distribution panel. The advantage of the paired distribution panel is it allows you to monitor power use on upto 6 protected AC circuits (10a circuits), which can also be switched via the console or paired smartphone. 

One the DC side, 12V circuits and devices have not been forgotten with the Power Hub providing a DC output which can support upto 60a at 12/24V. For existing vehicle based setup this should be enough to support all pumps, fridges, lighting and 12V AUX sockets that are already wired in. The optional distribution panel can also support upto 12 fused DC circuits all of which can be monitored via the console / paired phone. 6 of these can circuits can also be switched. 

The nature of the power kits mean that installations should be undertaken by (or signed off by) qualified personnel. The DC solar voltages (upto 150V) as well as 240V AC (at upto 16a) make it important to ensure the system is functioning safely. A poorly installed system is dangerous to both the installers and users of the system. Its particularly important that all mobile power systems adhere to the AS/NZS 3001:2008 installation guidelines. For off grid / tiny home (without wheels) installations there are also several guidelines and standards that need to be followed.

The new battery installation standard AS5139 (October 2020) applies to batteries installed in a fixed location whose voltage is at least 12V and energy storage is at least 1kWh. The Ecoflow batteries are at this stage considered category 3 under AS5139, meaning that issues such as battery enclosure design, ventilation, voltage drop and arc flash needs to be considered. Of particular note is that lithium batteries cannot be installed within habitable spaces, ceilings or wall cavities, under stairs or access walkways, or near combustible materials. More information can be found via the standards Australia publication. 

The EcoFlow Power Kits tick all the boxes in solving all the Power Requirements for Off-Grid Purposes.

They simplify the set-up making installation or expanding your system easier than ever, not to mention the space saving benefits within your Van or Off-Grid Build.

This is combined with numerous fast charging, power generation options and unrivalled power storage options (up to 15kWh) with the new LFP Batteries.

These components are then stitched together with the 5-in1 Power Hub to make managing your power easier than ever. This comes with the additional options of the Smart Distribution Panels or use of the EcoFlow App to make it unrivalled in smart tech features as well!

If you have questions about any of the above, we are happy to help! Please get in touch via our contact form, or signup for more information on the Power Kits product page.