Review: AlphaESS 1000W Portable Power Station AP1000

AlphaESS 1000W Portable Power Station AP1000

9.5

Power

9.0/10

Design

9.5/10

Build

10.0/10

Pros

  • 1000W output can power most appliances and a 1,036Wh capacity lets you charge devices to full power multiple times and can run appliances for many hours
  • The power station can be recharged using the included car charger and AC charger, you can also use a USB-C PD wall charger to recharge via the 100W USB-C port and you can use a solar panel; best part is that you can use the USB-C input and AC input simultaneously
  • Easy to use with buttons all around the power station

Cons

  • More fast charging ports with have been great
(Last Updated On: August 22, 2022)

There are power stations of all sorts, from insanely high capacities and wattage output to ones that are more on the minimal side with their power and are conveniently portable. Striking a balance with a power station can be difficult because you still want enough power, so you can use all the appliances you want to and still be able to pick up the power station without nearly passing out.

In this review, we’re looking at the AlphaESS AP1000 portable power station; this is a 1000W power station with a 1036Wh power capacity, so it has a hefty amount of power behind it, so let’s see just how capable it is.

Power

Power Capacity:

With a 1,036Wh power capacity, you can rest assured that charging devices such as tablets, phones, and laptops to full power can be done multiple times. You’ll be able to charge most phones to full power about 60 times or more. With this capacity, tablets and laptops can reach full power about 15 to 20 times. So when it comes to charging devices with this AlphaESS power station solely, it can last for days or weeks.

In terms of how long the battery can last when powering appliances, that’s more about the wattage of the appliances you have plugged in. Since this AlphaESS power station has a 1,036Wh power capacity, you can power a 1W appliance for 1,036 hours or a 1,036W appliance for 1 hour. Overall, with this high capacity, you have a lot of range regarding how long the capacity will last. For example, we had a tower fan plugged into the power station that took 35W to be powered, so the fan would last about 30 hours of constant runtime.

We connected a heater and set it to high, and the heater used 1,050W, so you’re going to be looking at about an hour or less for appliances that push into the 1,000W range. Overall, the battery capacity of this AlphaESS power station is plentiful and gives you the flexibility to be able to power a wide range of appliances for many hours.

Output Charging:

Using the AlphaESS AP1000 power station is excellent because of all of its output options, although it does falter a bit when it comes to its charging ports, and we’ll get into that in the charging port section of this review. The outputs on this power station include the DC cigarette lighter port, two DC 5525 ports, two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, two wireless charging pads, and three AC outlets.

Let’s go through each of them to see what they offer.

DC Ports:

The DC section of any power station, including this one, will likely be the least used. This is because most consumers don’t have appliances or other devices that can be powered or charged from these ports.

Output of Tire Pump

The DC 5525 ports can help charge laptops that can still charge via a DC port and if you have a compatible cable.

In our case, we did find a use for the cigarette lighter port by using a portable tire pump that took about 120W to run. If you find the cigarette lighter port more reliable than the DC 5525 ports, we recommend using a DC to cigarette lighter port adapter, as it gives you a more dependable port in case you need it.

Charging Ports:

The charging ports on this power station are in-between, excellent, and just decent. This is because there are two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports; one of the USB-C ports feature a 100W Power Delivery output, which is great because you can fast charge any laptop that can charge via USB-C.

Output of devices charging

The downside to the charging ports is that the other USB-C port has a 15W output, which is just a standard USB-C charge rate, so it doesn’t feature Power Delivery. Also, the two USB-A ports share a 12W output and don’t use Quick Charge.

In our test, we used all the ports simultaneously. We charged Samsung Galaxy A51 and an LG G7 from the USB-A ports and a Galaxy Note 9 from the 15W USB-C port. We had a Lenovo Flex 5 charging from the 100W USB-C Power Delivery port. All three phones were standard charging, while the Lenovo laptop was able to charge at its max speed.

The charging from this power station could be improved by making the 15W USB-C port into an 18W port and making both USB-A ports use Quick Charge. This is a higher-tier power station, and it makes sense to have high-tier charging ports.

There are also two wireless charging pads at the top, each with a 10W output, so you can fast wirelessly charge some compatible phones at 10W. In our case, we placed a Galaxy Note 9 and an LG G7 on the charging pads, and both phones were able to fast charge wirelessly.

AC Outlets:

Then there are the AC outlets. The main reason consumers purchase this power station in the first place is its three outlets. With a 1000W output, you can power a wide range of appliances from this power station. However, there are still limits, considering many devices take 1000W+ of power. That said, we’re not focusing on what this power station can’t power; we’re focusing on what it CAN power, and oh boy, can this unit do a lot.

To start, while we were charging the phones and laptops, we also connected a tower fan and set it to its highest setting, and the power station’s output was 87W.

After that, we disconnected all the phones and the laptop and plugged in a Lasko heater to another one of the AC outlets; we set the heater to low with the fan still running and the max output of the power station as 770W.

Output of heater on low and tower fan on high

We set the heater to high with the tower fan still running, and the output jumped to 1050W.

Output of heater on high and tower fan on high

We also plugged in a Black and Decker mini fridge, and the refrigerator alone had a 75W output. With the heater, tower fan, and fridge plugged in and powered on simultaneously, and they were all able to run simultaneously; at this point, the power station output was reading 1050W. So we’re not sure if the output reading was accurate because 1050W is the same wattage we got when we set the heater alone to high.

Overall, being able to power a heater, a mini fridge, and a tower all at the same time is incredible. That said, we think we are going over the 1000W limit, and it’s best not to push this power station that far all the time.

Output of mini fridge, heater, and tower fan

After unplugging the heater and the fan but keeping the fridge plugged in, we plugged in an electric duster, and with both of these appliances running, got us a 490W output.

We then tested a Ninja food blender with the power station and put some bananas, ice, sugar, and milk into the blender to make a banana smoothie. At the blender’s highest setting, the power station output was 337W.

In the next test, we used a heat gun with the AlphaESS power station, set it to low, and got a 535W output; then we put it high, and the output jumped to 1050W with the heat gun running without any problems.

Output of Blender on high

We also powered a shop vacuum with a 972W output, so you can easily clean something outside with a shop vac if necessary with this power station.

Output of heat gun on high

Heading inside, we powered a 55-inch Samsung 4K OLED TV with the power station and had Invinicle playing; the power station’s output would jump from 90W to 300W depending on the screen.

So, as you can tell, having three outlets and a 1000W power output means you can rely on this power station for powering most appliances; make a note of its max output, and you’ll be surprised by just how capable it is. With power like this, it’s a must on any road trip and gives peace of mind in the event of a power outage.

Input Charging:

Recharging this power station is as excellent as its output because you have four ways to recharge the unit. An AC charger, a car charger, and a USB-C to USB-C cable are included. The fastest way to recharge this power station is to use the DC input via the AC charger and a Power Delivery charger with the USB-C port simultaneously. Yes, you can use the 100W USB-C port on his power station to recharge it.

The recharge rate of the AC charger alone is 180W, and the recharge rate of the USB-C input alone is 90W; that is, make sure that you’re using a 100W USB-C PD wall charger to recharge via the USB-C port to get the fastest recharge rate. When you use the AC charger and the USB-C input together, you get a 270W input.

 

We highly recommend using this dual charging method because a 270W input can get this AlphaESS power station from 0% to 100W in about 4 hours.

We tested the car charger, and it was able to recharge the power station at 80W; it’s not too bad and a good option for driving.

We also used AlphaESS’s 200W foldable solar panel to recharge their power station, which got us about 90W-120W of input power, which is excellent considering that all this input power is coming from the sun. We think we could have gotten a higher input if we adjusted the solar panel a bit for better sun exposure, but still, 100W input from the sun is excellent if you’re going off-grid.

Design

Size and Weight:

The power station is a decent size with a length of 13 inches, a width of 10 inches, and a height of 10.5 inches. The unit weighs 25 pounds. So not precisely large, it’s a pretty small size considering just how capable this piece of tech is. The 25-pound weight is more of a concern as it’s not precisely lightweight enough to hold for a long time but still light enough that you don’t have to brace yourself when you pick it.

The large handle at the top does make portability a lot easier, though.

Functional Components:

Using the power station is simple, with nearly all the functional parts of the power station being at the front. At the back of the power station, you’ll find a pretty large flashlight with its power button that can cycle through the flashlight’s three settings: low, medium, and high. At the top is where you’ll find the two wireless charging pads and the large handle.

At the front are the rest of the output ports, DC input, the power buttons for each section, and the screen. The screen on this power station is relatively minimal with it showing the remaining power capacity, input wattage, and output wattage; one thing that is missing here is that some newer power stations are using an estimated time remaining display; this shows the hours or minutes that you have left to use the power station. At this price, it would have been nice to see an estimated runtime on screen.

The screen does have its own “info” button to turn it on, and another thing that the “info” button controls is wireless charging. You have to double press the “info” button to turn on wireless charging at the top, and it took us a while to figure that out as it wasn’t explained in the manual.

Build

Structure and Material:

The quality of this power station is excellent, with its solid build all around. We could not find any loose or cheap parts; this truly feels like a premium product from a brand that knows what it’s doing. The entire build is plastic, and like most power stations, you should not drop it or expose it to water as those two things may damage it.

Tech:

This power station does have an internal fan that turns on once the wattage is over a certain threshold or whenever the unit deems it necessary to turn it on. The power station will automatically turn off if you exceed the 1000W max output or at least exceed the limit by a lot. We did go over the 1000W max output, but the power station kept going.

Reliability

Its 1000W max output and a 1,036Wh power capacity, along with its output ports and recharging options, make this AlphaESS AP1000 power station a very reliable portable power source. 1000W can power most appliances you’d use daily, but it has limits for devices that go over the 1000W limit, such as Microwaves. However, for the most part, a 1000W output is competent, and the usage of three AC outlets is plentiful.

The charging ports could be improved because one of the USB-C ports only has a 15W output, and the two USB-A ports don’t feature Quick Charge and have a 12W output.

Summary:

Power:

The 1,036Wh capacity is enough to charge phones, tablets, and laptops to full power many times. The 1000W output can power most appliances you can think of, but we have a few exceptions with devices that go over the max output of the power station. The output options are pretty great, especially with the three AC outlets.

Design:

The AlphaESS power station is easy to use, with power buttons to turn on each of its sections, and it has a large flashlight at the back with three settings. The screen is useful enough, but it would have been cool to see an estimated runtime on display. Turning on the wireless charging at the top of the power station was a little confusing as you have to double press the “info” button to do so, which isn’t stated anywhere. Overall, a powerful but straightforward power station to use.

Build:

The build of the AP1000 is good, but just like any other power station, you don’t want to drop it or expose it to water because that can damage the unit.

Reliability:

If your appliances’ powering needs don’t exceed the 1000W max output of this AlphaESS power station, then it will be very dependable.

AlphaESS 1000W Portable Power Station AP1000 Specs
Power Capacity1,036Wh
Battery TypeLithium-Ion
Charge Cycles≥1000 cycles to 80% with full charge/ discharge
AC Output110VAC, 60Hz, 1000W (2000W Surge) Pure Sine Wave
Cigarette Lighter Port12V/10A
DC 5525 Ports12V/10A
USB-A Ports5V/2.4A (12W)
USB-C Port5V/3.0A (15W)
USB-C Power Delivery Port5V/3A | 9V/3A | 12V/3A | 15V/3A | 20V/5A PD (100W Max)
Wireless Charging Pads10W
USB-C Input100W
AC Charger Input180W
USB-C + AC Charger Input270W
Car Charger Input80W
Solar Input180W Max
Size13 x 10 x 10.5 inches
Weight25 Pounds

Conclusion:

The AlphaESS AP1000 portable power station is a whole power source with more than sufficient capacity and output. You can depend on this AP1000 from powering coolers to fans during the summer or heaters during winter. The capacity ensures you can use even 1000W appliances for an hour and lower wattage for countless hours. The output options are varied and reliable, making them accessible to most consumers. Also, the recharging options are plentiful, with you being able to recharge the power station using four different methods.

Portable Power Station 900watt with Pure Sine Wave AC Outlets, Backup Power for Indoor Use, Emergency Power Outage
  • [Big Capacity] This portable power station features large capacity with 3*110V 900W PURE SINE WAVE AC outlets,1*TYPE-C PD 100W Bidirectional Quick Charge Port,1*TYPE-C Port,2*USB-A,2*Wireless Charging,2*DC 5525 Ports,1*Car Port, and 2*LED lights. support for a variety of common devices like phones, laptops, full-size refrigerators, CPAP machines, refrigerators, TV, printer, and more. Plug and play whenever and wherever indoors/outdoors, camping, or for an emergency.
  • [Meet Multiple Needs] This portable generator can power 10 devices SIMULTANEOUSLY, also it supports pass-through charging. When traveling or working outdoors, or power outage, You can use electricity with confidence. All in one portable design with a foldable handle, easy to carry and store on the go.
  • [4 Ways to Recharge] This power station can be charged in 4 ways including AC wall charge, solar panel, car charger, and USB-C. It can be fully recharged in about 4.5Hours with AC+TYPE-C. The built-in MPPT improves conversion charging efficiency and you can obtain endless solar sources when recharged with SP200 solar panel(optional).
  • [Safe and Reliable] Adopts 94-V0 cabinet material, built-in BMS(Battery Management System) protection system, this power bank supplies interior and exterior double protection. It provides green energy, low to no noise, you can use it indoors and at night, No noise and pollution worries.
  • [WHAT YOU GET] 1* AlphaESS Portable Power Station, 1*Adaptor with Power Cable,1*USB-C Cable, 1* Car Charger Cable, 1* User Manual,1*Warranty Card, 24 month Guarantee, Professional and Friendly Customer Support.
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