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I have become quite the expert when it comes to portable power stations. It’s definitely a weird flex, but I’ll take it when I can get it.
When it comes to power stations, there are several different categories of how they are scaled. Some can run your phone, some can run your fridge, some can run your room, and some can run your house.
The Anker Solix E10 is on that home side. The company calls it “a Whole-Home Backup System, uniting battery, solar and a smart generator.” And that’s absolutely – and impressively – what it does.
It can scale up to where it could be a larger home and scale down to where it’ll be a smaller home, or maybe a large garage, depending on what all you have in your garage.
The point is that it is a power station comparable to probably a Tesla Power Wall, as a lot of people would recognize just due to the brand name. It is not only a reservoir of power that you can pull from in case of a power outage, but also a transfer switch.
It has the ability to connect with solar panels to intake solar power from the sun and utilize that to run your home. Depending on the power company, you have potentially even kicked back some power to the grid and gotten yourself a return.
If you run out of power in case of emergency and you don’t have enough solar to run your entire home, you can even connect to a portable smart generator that happens to be tri-fuel. That means you could then run that off of natural gas, propane gas, or gasoline.
So at the end of the day, over the last 141 days that I have had this set up at my home, I have not once worried about a power outage or a storm that’s coming, knocking out my power and causing food to spoil or for my kids to panic. In fact, I’ve welcomed several storms and excitement, actually, to test the system.
Anker Solix E10: Price and availability
Depending on how many batteries and accessories you get, your price is going to change pretty aggressively with this setup, especially if you start counting in install costs as well.
Your base system with one inverter and one battery is going to cost just over $4,000. Once you get up to the Basecamp Power Dock Smart Generator, you get up to $10,000 pretty easily.
You can get these through Anker or Amazon. One thing you will want to note is that, unless you are a licensed electrician, you’re going to need to get one to get this all installed. Mine even had to consult with the city code and the utility company in order to get everything approved, since I am tied into the power grid.
Anker Solix E10: Unboxing and First Impressions
My entire setup showed up on a semi truck off a pallet because I got several batteries, the inverter, the generator, and other components needed to help with install.
From the first moment I started unboxing everything and looking at the quality, I was blown away with how sharp this looked. Once I found out that this was going to have to get strapped to the side of my house, I actually wasn’t that upset because it looks so sleek and professional.
It doesn’t look like it’s some toy or cheap product that needs to be mounted, but actually it looks like it’s floating. It looks like it’s an addition to my home, not just a slap-it-on-the-side. It looks intentional.
Anker Solix E10: Design & Build Quality
Like I mentioned, I needed to have a licensed electrician install this, but once he installed it and handed it over to me, the setup process within the app was significantly easier than I’m sure his job was. All I had to do was pair the already set-up device to my app, answer a few questions on how the system was set up, and then I was good to go.
Now I have the ability to run more isolated breakers if I’d like. I can see my power output level. I can see when the smart generator is hooked up and trigger when and how to turn that on. I can check my battery levels.
Another huge thing that I noticed right away is that, much like some of the other units from Anker Solix, I can have my location set so that when there’s a storm coming in, it will automatically top my batteries off.
Meaning that I can let them idle and sit at around 80%, maybe 90%, during the winter. When there’s a storm, they will automatically top themselves off to help with the longevity of the battery while also still getting the benefit of having the entire battery’s capacity when needed.
At first, I was thinking that I would need to have this installed in my garage, but once I found out that it was rated for extreme weather, extreme cold, and even extreme heat, I knew that I could have this outside my home, even in my Midwest temperament, and be just fine.
Anker Solix E10: In use
One of these days I’ll get solar added to my roof, but according to what I’m seeing, it looks like the solar input can take up to 9,000 W with two batteries which is madness if you ask me.
What I can speak to is the smart generator. I’ve tried it both with propane and with gasoline, and both have worked very well. It’s a smart generator, meaning that it can automatically trigger when needed based on my E10 power panel, so already I’m a step ahead.
This feels almost like a Generac kind of style, where it will kick on when needed, but what’s really cool is that I can disconnect and utilize this as just a generator if I ever needed it as well. If I’m working out on a property somewhere else, or my cabin property, or anything like that, I could bring this generator and get power immediately wherever I need it.
The other nice thing about this generator is that, since it is a smart generator, it has push-to-start, so I won’t ever have to rip on that cord unless there’s something that’s going wrong. Lastly, this generator starts up pretty quickly and has its own built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so I can pair it to my app independently of the E10 power wall. It runs fairly quietly.
I’ve tested several times and barely notice it kicking on, and I don’t notice it kicking on. When it comes to the power output on the inside, it seamlessly transitions, and I haven’t even noticed a flicker or the inside of my house recognizing that there’s power loss at all.
It’s genuinely a bit hard for me to understand sometimes, even being in this world, but this one little generator has been able to run my entire home when testing. I’ve intentionally made the system go off-grid, and then my house will run simply off of this generator, and there have been zero drops in ability.
Admittedly, I’m not charging a car off of my house or anything else insane while doing that, but a full house with two fridges, microwaves, air fryers, two-stage HVAC, and 3,000 sq. ft., plus a basement. I’ve had zero issues running off of this one simple generator.
I used to have the F3800 Whole-home backup system through Anker. While that worked and was solid, I was very aware of the battery capacity, just in case there was ever an issue. Now, though, I don’t have any concern at all because, worst-case scenario, I can run off of gasoline.
If I run out of gasoline, I can run off my two propane tanks that I have at the house. While I’m running those, I can go and get more gas if I needed to, or more propane. Down the road, I could hook up to my natural gas line as well.
This may not be for everyone, but I have had a hard time pointing people away from it when I’ve talked to Dee about Whole Home Backup Systems. Other than, of course, the cost and the fact that this is slightly different than what people have gotten used to when it comes to a Generac or Tesla Powerwall. When I explain just how beneficial my system is, it definitely gets their head turning and gets them interested in this for their own.
One final positive note is that down the road, if I choose to get an electric vehicle or expand or want to have some additional power outside of my house, I could run an independent circuit directly from this Powerwall and then control it from my phone. Anker allows me to customize the output, the schedule, and the control of the circuit independently from my house, and I can do it all from my phone.
Anker Solix E10: Final verdict
The Anker Solix E10 Powerwall makes incredible sense for most homeowners, especially those who are looking for some flexibility and want to have the gas, propane, or natural gas backed up as well. Not only can I use this as a whole-home backup system, but then I can actually use each piece independently for more than what they originally used it for.
It is, of course, a bit of a headache having to consult with the local electric company to ensure that you can hook up your system in line with the grid, because that is a very real concern. It did cause some delay for my install; however, if you can get that solved, this is an absolute no-brainer for me.
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