Portable Power Station

Our home has solar panels and battery storage. They work well and provide significant savings while supporting sustainable green energy. We also have an electricity tariff that offers low-cost energy at off-peak times (usually, this corresponds with sustainable generation).

Our car is a plug-in hybrid with a large battery that provides up to forty miles of emission-free driving. I spend very little on petrol (probably filling up three or four times a year), but I want to improve.

We also have a Portable Power Station (PPS) with a couple of fold-away solar panels that can harvest up to 880W per hour to charge the PPS from free sunshine. The PPS can power four 13-amp sockets and an array of devices via USBs, a cigarette lighter port, and a Recreational Vehicle (RV) port. The aim is to charge the battery at an off-peak rate or by solar generation—then use it to run household appliances, charge tool batteries, or top the car up.

With pressure on utility companies to reduce or withdraw standing charges, I expect consumption charges to increase. The more independent we can run our household, the lower our running costs will be.

The other potential advantage is that if power cuts become more commonplace as infrastructure falls behind housing development demands, we can at least keep the most essential devices running.