EcoFlow has been a mainstay of the portable power plant market for years and they are showing no signs of slowing down. The new EcoFlow DELTA 2 bundles EcoFlow’s robust iron phosphate battery cell technology with its proven power electronics in a compact package of 1024 Wh/1 kWh with an impressive continuous power of 1,800 watts / 2,700 watts peak power. EcoFlow sent us the new portable power plant DELTA 2 to put it to the test and we were eager to get started.

Right out of the box, the first thing you notice is the price. $999 for a solid portable power plant from a proven company like EcoFlow with even better pricing during launch week. That price will give you a full kilowatt-hour of storage capacity using iron phosphate (LFP) cells that allow for many more cycles before packaging capacity begins to decline. The DELTA 2 should still have 80% of its storage capacity after 3,000 cycles. Put another way, if you fully cycled the battery every day, you could do that for over 8 years and still have 80% of the boilerplate storage capacity.

Charging the DELTA 2 with EcoFlow’s 400 watt foldable solar panels. Image Credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

Disclaimer: EcoFlow has provided the DELTA 2 free of charge for this assessment.

The trade-off for using LFP cells is usually a heavier and larger package, but the DELTA 2 comes in a sleek, compact package. EcoFlow has handles on either side of the unit that make it easy to move the 27-pound mass. I found it to be one of the most ergonomic, easy-to-move packs I’ve tested. If you don’t plan to move it, the handles are great anchor points to secure it to your RV, trunk, boat, etc.

Testing in the real world

The recent heat waves in California provided the opportunity to use the DELTA 2 to manually shift electrical consumption from off-peak hours to peak hours. Over the weeks of heat-induced stress on the grid, the DELTA 2 made it easy to plug it in in the morning and use it for a few hours in the evening to power the entertainment system. It was more than enough to power a 65-inch TV, network switch, PS5, Raspberry pi and supporting equipment as they only drew between 170 and 300 watts together.

The DELTA 2 supported this setup almost every night for the full 5 hours without any problems. It’s a nice use case for the DELTA 2 and replicates the use case in a recreational vehicle or off-grid home, where the power plant would be recharged the next morning via a row of solar panels on the vehicle’s roof. With a 200-watt solar panel pushing power in, testing showed the EcoFlow DELTA 2 would charge here in Southern California in 5-10 hours, depending on the angle of the panels.

Image Credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

On Labor Day, the DELTA 2 made it easy to bring the party outside, powering a single burner induction cooktop to bake homemade spring rolls. The power pack turned on the induction hob and immediately woke up and started pushing out the power to carry the heavy load. On the medium temperature setting, the DELTA 2’s display showed in real time how the induction hob pulses full power on and off to lower the average heat output. With a cast iron pan, the spring rolls seemed to have no objection.

It was the perfect way to get the family out of the house for a COVID-friendly gathering, keep the extra heat out of the house, and take some strain off peak hours to keep California’s fragile electrical grid up and running. A few dozen homemade crispy spring rolls later and the DELTA 2 barely blinked as it produced nearly a steady 1,500 watts for almost 45 minutes.

With the DELTA 2 plugged into a power outlet, it instantly woke up and started drinking electricity, guzzling 1,170 watts from the outlet. That translated into a full charge in just under an hour. Getting 1,100 watts from a wall outlet isn’t the fastest we’ve seen as some devices can draw up to 1,800 watts, but the ability to get a full charge from a wall outlet in less than an hour should meet the needs of most consumers. . EcoFlow says it will charge from 0 to 80% in just 50 minutes or from 0 to 100% in 80%, making the DELTA 2 a great addition when usage demands maximum flexibility.

We took the DELTA 2 outside and hooked it up to EcoFlow’s powerful 400 watt portable solar panels and it eagerly took the power. It’s capable of getting up to 500 watts from solar panels (11-60V, 15A), so this wasn’t a surprise. We set up the panels at 9:00 am at our test site in Southern California and were able to fully charge the DELTA 2 in 3 hours without having to move the panels. This demonstrates the impressive power of EcoFlow’s 400W collapsible solar kit and the DELTA 2’s ability to charge quickly with an appropriately sized solar system.

EcoFlow’s 400-watt foldable solar panels keep the EcoFlow Delta 2 powered up during a National Drive Electric Week event in Ventura, CA. Image Credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

For those looking for flexibility when it comes to capacity, the DELTA 2 has something for you there too. A dedicated expansion port on the side of the device allows one of the two available external battery packs to be added to the device. By plugging in the DELTA 2 Extra Battery, you add one kilowatt hour of capacity (2kWh in total) or you can go big and plug in a 2kWh DELTA Max Extra Battery for a total of 3kWh. The extra packages are also nice because they open up different installation options and more flexible configurations.

Use cases

The DELTA 2’s 1 kWh capacity makes it a solid choice for intermittent home backup power. Here in Southern California, the grid regularly goes out and the DELTA 2 is more than ready to keep the lights on, the fridge buzzing and the internet running. Adding a foldable or stationary solar panel further extends that functionality and allows essentials to run much longer when the sun is out.

As a mobile power station, the DELTA 2 can effectively replace a complete power system in a motorhome. It directly replaces the battery pack, an 1800 watt inverter with AC and DC output, and allows direct solar charging. The ability to add more storage capacity means the system can even be scaled up to larger vehicles and more devices.

Image Credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

The possibilities are truly endless. The DELTA 2 is so capable and flexible that imagining what it can’t do is an easier task than listing all the things it could be used for, but to get your mind started, here are just a few of the many scenarios, the DELTA 2 comes in handy:

  • Keep your food cool in a portable electric cooler at a football game
  • Saving and discharging electricity for a home without electricity
  • Keep the internet going and the lights on at work when the power goes down
  • Make breakfast on the beach after a great morning surf session
  • Replace propane, lead-acid batteries, charge controllers and inverters as the power system for an RV
  • Charge all your devices while camping off-grid for a week
  • Saving power for your home in the event of an unplanned power outage

For more information about this power station, visit the official EcoFlow Delta 2 website.

General specifications

  • MSRP: $999 from EcoFlow and Amazon
  • Capacity: 1.024 Wh / 1 kWh
  • Extra battery: Can add one DELTA 2 extra battery or one DELTA Max extra battery
  • Battery Chemistry: LFP (LiFePO4 battery)
  • Cycle Life: 3,000 cycles up to 80+% capacity
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Dimensions: 15.7 x 8.3 x 11 in / 400 x 211 x 281 mm
  • Net weight: 27 pounds / 12 kg

Input Specifications

  • Charging AC Current: 1200W
  • Solar charging: 11-60V, 15A, 500W max
  • Charging car: Support 12V/24V battery, 8A
  • DC charging: 1,100W

Output Specifications

  • AC output: 6 outputs, 1,800W continuous, 2,700W peak
  • Maximum output power: 2,200W
  • USB-A output: 2 ports, 5V, 2.4A, 12W Max
  • Fast charging via USB-A: 2 ports, 5V, 2.4A / 9V, 2A / 12V, 1.5A, 18W Max
  • USB-C output: 2 ports, 5/9/12/15/20V, 5A, 100W Max
  • Car output power: 1 port, 12.6V, 10A, 126W Max
  • DC5521 output:: 2 ports, 12.6V, 3A, 38W Max

 

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