INTRODUCTION

    Whether you like going camping in nature or you just want an extra layer of security during emergencies at home owning a portable power station is a must. But what do you need to look for when out in the market looking for one? The first and pretty much only thing you need to decide on is what output and capacity model you'd like to get your hands on based on your needs and well, at least for me anything beneath 700W/600Wh shouldn't even be on your radar (unless you only want to charge/power portable devices). The good news is that compared to even just 10 years ago there are far more portable power station manufacturers out there making it easier to find exactly the model to cover your needs. One such manufacturer is ALLPOWERS which send us their S1500 Portable Power Station together with their SP033 solar panels.

    HK ALLPOWERS TECH LIMITED is a solar energy technology company integrating R&D and production.  Since its establishment, the company has been committed to research and development of portable solar energy related products. The current main product categories include portable solar panel phone chargers, solar laptop chargers, portable solar semi-flexible solar panel, and solar energy storage systems. ALLPOWERS is mainly oriented to Western Europe, North America, East Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and other markets in more than 30 countries and regions. We have accumulated to provide solar energy products for more than 100 customers around the world, and has cooperated with many world-renowned companies or brands, including Hanergy, Hikvision, Decathlon and so on.

    The S1500 portable power station is a pure sine wave inverter model that features a power output of 1500W (3000W surge) and a battery capacity of 1092Wh (295200mAh). For their S line of portable power stations ALLPOWERS has used Ternary lithium battery cells which have a life expectancy of 1000 cycles to 80% capacity. Yes, Ternary lithium battery cells may not be as long lasting as LFP ones but for the vast majority of people such differences will not be a game breaker. The S1500 also comes ready with four 1500W AC ports (Schuko 220V-240V/50Hz for the EU model), 12V/24V car lighter input, MPPT 300W solar panel input, three USB-A ports (5V-2.4A), single USB-C PD100W port (5V-5A/9V-5A/12V-5A/15V-5A/20V-5A), two emergency LED lights, real time LCD display and Bluetooth connectivity for use with the ALLPOWERS app. ALLPOWERS has also made it possible for the end user to recharge the S1500 with 6 different ways (AC/USB-C/AC + USB-C/Solar/Car Lighter/Solar + USB-C) so that too is a strong selling point. As for the SP033 foldable solar panel it features polysilicon solar cells that deliver efficiency levels of up to 22% (19-22%) and can generate peak power of up to 200W (+-5%). So, let's move forward with today’s review and see just how well this bundle by ALLPOWERS does.

 SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

ALLPOWERS uses a white box the front of which has their logo just over a large product picture.

A sticker with the product specifications and company contact information is placed at the rear of the box.

The S1500 is placed between two thick pieces of foam whereas the bundle is placed inside a storage pouch/bag.

Along with the S1500 inside the box you'll also find the power adapter with its power cord and the user manual.

 THE S1500

The S1500 measures ‎320mm in length, 220mm in height and 190mm in width and weighs 10Kg.

Since the S1500 uses ternary lithium battery cells it's quite smaller compared to the TEZE K5 model with its LiFePO4 cells.

On the right side of the S1500 we find two DC inputs (wall/car lighter), MPPT inputs and an 80mm exhaust fan.

At the front ALLPOWERS has placed four AC outputs, two LED lights with their on/off buttons, LCD display and the bluetooth, DC and AC buttons.

Moving to the left side we find two DC outputs (13V/5.5A), three USB-A ports (5V-2.4A) and a single USB-C PD100W port (5V-5A/9V-5A/12V-5A/15V-5A/20V-5A).

As with most power stations the S1500 comes with a very sturdy handle (also rubberized underneath).

Four rubber feet are placed on all 4 corners of the S1500.

 THE SP033

Even folded the SP033 solar panel is quite big as you can see from the above picture (650x515mm).

The foldable solar panel is dressed with durable and waterproof IP66 certified nylon.

At the rear we find the storage area inside which ALLPOWERS has placed an MC-4 to 5.5 x 2.5mm cable, MC-4 to Anderson cable, DC 8mm adapter, DC 3.5 x 1.35mm cable, DC 5.5 x 2.1mm cable and the instruction manual.

The SP033 features an adjustable kichstand design which makes it very easy to set it up at an angle.

When unfolded the SP033 measures 2230mm in length and 650mm in height.

In terms of quality the SP033 is among the best I’ve seen to date, at least when it comes to portable solar panels.

ALLPOWERS APP

For remote control of the S1500 you may use the ALLPOWERS smart app.

You will need to first add the power station to the app (this is a Bluetooth model).

After that the main tab will display the input and output and will allow you to enable/disable AC and DC power and turn the LED lights on/off.

You can also rename the device from the top right corner.

Strangely enough even though the device was listed in the main screen as seen above once i restarted the app i had to add it again (small bug which i will inform ALLPOWERS of).

TESTING METHODOLOGY

    In order to cover a wide range of electrical and electronic devices i decided that I’ll be using 3 different ones to test portable power stations, the VEVOR SH-C22 bluetooth car refrigerator (DC, around 45W consumption - not continuous), Delonghi Aria Dry Light dehumidifier (AC, around 662W consumption) and a generic air cleaner (AC, around 55W consumption). Of course, my ExTech HD600 dBA meter will also be used at around 10cm away from each portable power station to record the maximum noise coming from the built-in fan/s.

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

    Even though ternary lithium battery cells don’t have the same endurance in time as LFP ones they should be more than enough for the vast majority of people and as you can clearly see from the charts the ALLPOWERS S1500 did considerably better than the TEZE K5 even though the latter sports higher battery capacity (295200mAh/328300mAh). Yes, I do like the design TEZE gave the K5 more than that of the S1500 but i seriously doubt I’d put that above performance (the LiFePO4 cells, perhaps). Also, worth mentioning is that unlike other power stations the fan of the S1500 didn’t spin at all while I was using it to power devices. It only started spinning while the S1500 was charging itself and yes, it was louder compared to the TEZE K5 (alas not by a lot). ALLPOWERS also mentions that the peak power output of the S1500 is 3000W but I only went up to roughly 1450W during my tests by using two air cleaners and two dehumidifiers (I just don’t have anything in the lab or at home for that matter that could peak at around 3000W for just a second). Finally giving it a total of 9 outputs and bluetooth connectivity for use with their very own app is certainly not something we see, at least not from mid-end models. As for the SP033 solar panel even though I really liked it due to its very good quality (both in regards to the panel itself and the waterproof nylon) I’m afraid that during the 2 weeks of testing there wasn’t sufficient sun out for a full charge so I can’t really comment on its performance (unless I can record continuous charge results will not be accurate).

    Right now, the S1500 Portable Power Station and SP033 200W Solar Panel bundle retails for USD699/799Euros directly from ALLPOWERS and so it’s quite affordable, always for what it offers in return. Yes, LFP (LiFePO4) models are considered better overall and so if you can afford spending more you can always check what ALLPOWERS has in its product line but if not the S1500 should do the trick and then some. All said and done the S1500 portable power station by ALLPOWERS did deliver as advertised during my tests and for that it certainly deserves the Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Power Output (1500W)
- Battery Capacity (295200mAh)
- Charging Ports (USB C/3xUSB A/4xAC/1xDC)
- Sine Wave AC Ports
- 200W Foldable Solar Panel
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Current Price (For Some)

CONS

- Noise Levels
- Ternary Lithium Battery Cells (Not As Durable As LFP Ones)