Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus v2 Review: Portable Battery Power for Apartment Living

I have been using the Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus v2 in a wide range of applications over the past few months around my apartment in Queens, NY. The flexibility and portability make it especially useful for people living in apartments. I had previously written about the Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus v2 when it launched. You can read more about the technical specifications in that article.

Overall, the battery charged in about an hour. It starts charging at a little over 1000 W and then drops to a little over 800 watts as it charges. The first thing I plugged into the battery was a fan, which used about 50 watts. Then I plugged in my laptop, which charged at another 50 watts. I was able to work comfortably for a day off the battery with capacity to spare.

Keeping on the cool side, the battery was easily able to run my 12,000 BTU window air conditioner on a warmer day. Being in a century-old pre-war building, insulation could leave something to be desired. In addition, my corner apartment with large windows and 10-foot ceilings contributes to the load. Air conditioners can be a challenge to power, as the power consumption tends to spike when the compressor kicks in, but it did not pose a challenge to the battery. On a day in the mid-80’s (Fahrenheit), the battery was able to keep the indoor temperature in the mid-70’s all day with capacity to spare. Also, as my wife likes plugging her 1750 W clothes iron into the same circuit as the air conditioner, adding the battery could reduce the potential to trip the breaker when the compressor kicks in. It would be useful to maintain comfort during a power outage.

In terms of keeping things cool, the battery tends to use a little over 3% of its capacity per hour on my high-efficiency 14.1 cubic foot Midea refrigerator during the day with the door opening periodically. With the door staying shut, it would be closer to 2% per hour. That could potentially keep food from spoiling for a couple of days during an outage. While Jackery makes the FridgeGuard specifically for this application, the Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus v2 could come in handy for added capacity during an emergency.

The battery would also come in handy for people with fish tanks to keep the pumps running during a power outage. I have an aquaponics setup with a few small fish to grow herbs and start seeds in the Spring. The battery can easily run the filters, pumps and heaters, as well as the powerful lights for the plants. However, for someone with exotic fish in a saltwater aquarium, battery backup could be essential to keeping the fish alive during a power disruption.

In addition, I was able to run my Vitamix blender with the HomePower 1000 Plus v2. The powerful motor can draw over 1000 W, but it doesn’t take long to blend up a smoothie or frozen beverage. As such, you could easily make frozen margaritas at a backyard party using the battery to power the blender.

In terms of cooking, the battery could easily handle my rice cooker and Instapot pressure cooker for extended cooking times. I was able to cook an 8 lb. pork roast in the pressure cooker. It also had enough power to run my air fryer and microwave. However, with the air fryer drawing as much as 1700 W, it depletes the capacity quickly, even though the load is within the 1800 W continuous rating of the battery. A kettle or coffee maker does not pose much of a challenge. You could also potentially run an electric grill, although I did not have the opportunity to try it yet. This could make a cookout more convenient, in addition to reducing risks associated with fire-based grills in dry areas.

After all that, I needed to clean up. I was able to run my dishwasher off the battery. Heating water is clearly one area that consumes a lot of energy, but I was able to run the dishwasher for a full cycle with room to spare. I was also able to run my portable washing machine off the battery. While the loads were not massive, the voltage fluctuates significantly while it is running. It did not create an issue for the battery. Of note, these are efficient NYC apartment-sized appliances. Many Europeans use similar-sized appliances, but middle-American McMansions tend to use more power-hungry models. Your mileage may vary.

Shifting to a work environment. I was easily able to charge my laptop, run the router, charge my phone, etc., with capacity to spare. You could easily keep an office running during a power outage. Or set up a remote office for the day, returning to charge at night.

I also used the battery to run my Bambu Labs X1-C 3D printer. Overall, the load is small enough to produce large prints that last hours using just the battery for power. However, when plugged in, the battery can ensure consistent power through multiple prints. I used a power strip to turn on and off the power to the battery on several occasions. There was not a flicker or even the slightest variance in the print layers. If you have ever had a power disruption during a multi-hour complicated print, the benefit is clear. Moving forward, I wouldn’t use the printer on a large print without the battery. In addition to serving as a high-capacity UPS, I was also able to time shift the electricity consumption of the printer.

Using the Jackery App, I was able to easily set up the battery to use a TOU utility plan. By entering the times and rates, it can even calculate the savings. In addition, you can program the battery to retain a set amount of capacity for backup, seamlessly switching to input power when that capacity level is reached.

For Con Edison small business TOU rates, peak electricity supply from 8 AM to 10 PM is $0.5443/kWh from June 1 to September 30 and $0.2680/kWh all other months. Off peak is just $0.0199. Of note, this does not include the separate service charges, delivery charges and taxes, which on my last utility bill worked out to be $0.3378/ kWh on top of the electricity supply charges. Electricity is expensive in NYC. However, many small businesses rent and do not have access to the panel to take advantage of the potential TOU savings from a larger battery at that location. Smaller batteries can be implemented at point of use, such as a workstation. As such, a battery like a HomePower 1000 Plus v2 at each workstation could save roughly $0.50 per day in the summer and $0.25 in the winter. Payback on the investment could come in a few years. If a business changed locations, they could easily take the batteries with them. However, the ability to provide UPS battery backup could also easily pay for itself quickly if work could continue uninterrupted, work in progress could be saved and sensitive equipment could be protected.

To take it a step further, the HomePower 1000 Plus v2 can directly take DC solar input. This does not feed back into the grid, but it could provide power for different uses. This could be useful when camping or even with a more permanent solar setup to power an appliance, workshop or small office. While it would not replace the capability of balcony solar, the ability to run appliances off small-scale solar that does not feed into the grid could provide some of the benefits while the balcony solar regulations are being figured out.

Overall, I found the battery to be more useful than I originally anticipated. I tended to look at the power rating of different devices and assumed that they would pull that for the entire duration and drain the battery quickly. However, many cycle on and off, making 1024 Wh of battery go much farther than I would have thought. In addition, Jackery’s power and capacity ratings seem to be conservative, letting me use it right up to the rated limits without issues. And the portability lets me conveniently try it in a wide range of applications. Living in an apartment with efficient appliances, it also fits many of my potential use cases. And it gives people living in apartments who do not have the ability to modify the panel many of the benefits of battery storage. However, if the HomePower 1000 Plus V2 turns out to be  not enough for your needs, Jackery also offers expansion batteries to increase the capacity, as well as offering larger capacity models. While travel conflicts did not give me the chance to try it out for camping yet, I hope to use it outdoors soon.

Of course, Jackery also offers much larger batteries. And they have some even smaller batteries coming. But that is for another article.

Jackery supplied the HomePower 1000 Plus v2 for review, but did not pay for the review. The thoughts here are my own.