DJI, known for high-tech drones, has recently dipped its rotors into the heavy-hitters of the off-grid sector, and honestly, it doesn’t disappoint. The DJI Power 2000 is a stylish, feature-rich, compact little beast of a power station that dropped the other day with some serious specs – and an obvious eye on popular brands like Jackery, EcoFlow, and Renogy.
Being a bit of an off-grid enthusiast myself and having spent roughly eight “#vanlyfe” years travelling the lower 48, I’m no stranger to batteries and how good – or bad – they can be.
There’s a whole host of options when it comes to portable power generators these days. Renogy was one of the first ones I became familiar with, as my first solar starter kit was, in fact, Renogy. EcoFlow hit my radar soon thereafter, and now Jackery is all the buzz. And rightly so; battery technology has gotten better and safer.
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP/LifePo4) has taken over from lithium ion as the latter is prone to “venting” – most people would call it exploding – when a cell fails catastrophically and releases all the smoke (and fire) in a violent and nearly inextinguishable way. While LFP is far more stable and considerably less prone to spontaneous whole-home BBQs, it’s less energy dense … but what it lacks in energy density, it makes up for in lifecycles as much as 500% over lithium-ion – we’re talkin’ four to five thousand cycles an ten+ years.
And with that knowledge, the DJI, on paper, looks really good.
The Power 2000 packs 2,048 watt-hours of juice in a carry-on-sized package. 17.6 x 8.9 x 12.8 inches and 47.9 lb (44.7 x 22.6 x 32.5 cm, 21.7 kg) to be precise. Just about the same size as lugging around an old ATX tower, if you know what I mean (yes, I used to LAN party, don’t judge me).
At a quick glance, the Power 2000 has three 120-volt AC plugs (your common house plug), a 30-amp RV plug (that supports an astonishing 3,000 watts continuous), and a total of eight USB plugs (four and four of USB A at 24w max and USB C at 140w max output). DJI ain’t messin’ around.
Doing the math really quick (2,048 Wh ÷ 51.2V = 40 amp-hours) tells us that you could run the DJI full blast for about 38 minutes without charging it. It doesn’t sound like much, but realistically, the 40 Ah battery probably isn’t going to be used like that often, if ever. It’s going to power lights, laptops, phones, and probably a hot plate (usually around 1,500 watts) to griddle up some delicious campsite French toast.
Or if you’re using it for an emergency backup in case of a power outage, it’ll run your fridge for around 40 hours. Or if you’re doing some DIY project around the yard and need to power up your electric chainsaw, you’re good for a little Texas-Chainsaw-action for close to an hour. The list goes on for the capable little power station.
If you’re really feeling frisky, you can connect up to ten expansion units, giving you a modest 22,528 Wh. Honestly, at this point, you’re probably better off just buying a 400 Ah LFP battery, a rolling storage box, a charge controller and an inverter. It’ll cost you considerably less money, but sure won’t look as cool.
But back to DJI’s latest offering: the trickest part of the whole unit, in my opinion, is the input: The Power 2000 can charge at 1,800 watts. That’s a lot. Depending on the input voltage, it’s nearly 40 amps. From dead, it’ll charge to 80% in about 55 minutes. Not much feels as satisfying as when your phone reads “super fast charging” on it. The DJI gives off those same vibes.
I mentioned other brands earlier, and here’s how they stack up against the Power 2000:
Jackery
Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus
- Capacity: 2,042 Wh (we’ll call it a tie)
- Output: 2,200 watts (enough for most stuff)
- Ports: 25-amp RV style, four 120v AC, two USB-A, two USB-C (solid!)
- Weight: 61.5 lbs (27.9 kg, tubby-wubby)
- Expansion: Up to 24 kWh (on par)
- Recharge speed: 0-80% in 66 mins (but who’s counting?)
Price: $2,199 (on sale for $1,499 on Amazon right now for Prime Day)
Jackery’s comparable offering is pretty solid, but DJI edges it out just a tiny bit. I have nothing bad to say about it … except I’m not a superfan of the color orange.
EcoFlow
EcoFlow Delta 2 Max
- Capacity: 2,048 Wh (I see a theme here)
- Output: 3,400 watts (beats DJI by a smidge)
- Ports: Six 120V AC, four USB-A, two USB-C, 12V socket (is this even in the same league?)
- Weight: 50.7 lb (23 kg, slightly chonkier than the DJI, but we could all use a ‘lil more exercise, right?)
- Expansion: 6 kWh (again, is this even in the same league?)
- Recharge speed: 0–80% in 43 minutes (lightning-fast using AC and solar together)
Price: $1,699 (also on sale right now for $999 for Prime Day!)
While it doesn’t top the list of features, the EcoFlow is nothing to shake a stick at. For its price point, it’s hard to argue why you shouldn’t have one in your garage, charged up and ready to go for whatever situation you might need it for.
Renogy
Renogy Portable Power Station (so cool it doesn’t even have a catchy name)
- Capacity: 495 Wh (it’s just a baby)
- Output: 800 watts (pretty good for such a compact unit)
- Ports: three 120V AC, three USB-A, one USB-C, one 12V socket (it sounds great for camping)
- Weight: 16.7 lb (7.6 kg, almost pocket-sized!)
- Expansion: N/A (take what we give you and like it)
- Recharge speed: 0–80% in 60 minutes (relatively slow considering its lower capacity)
Price: $615 … but only 3.4 stars on Amazon reviews. I don’t trust it.
To be fair, Renogy offers two power stations on Amazon right now: this one and a 4,800 Wh beast of a unit that’s designed to be more of a permanent install whole-home backup fixture. This little guy is perfect for an ultra-portable little power station to top up your phones, Insta360 camera, walkies, GPS, Spot locator, or whatever other small electronics you might use while you’re surviving the wilderness … but you’re not going to be brewing any coffee with it.
So is DJI’s latest $1,299 (normally $1,899) creation worth the cost of admission? Well, put it this way, at the bare minimum, any of these power stations are going to last you a decade or more (barring any misfortunes, of course). And what kind of price do you put on having charged phones and fresh pots of coffee while braving the great outdoors? Or keeping your freezer stocked with venison from spoiling when the power goes out for a couple of days?
Me? I can power my entire house almost indefinitely with my solar, 4.8 kWh (400 Ah at 12V) lifepo4, and 3,000-watt inverter setup (sans air conditioning, of course) as long as it’s not dark and cloudy for more than a week at a time. And I can’t really put a price on that.
Also, DJI has the best marketing photos of the bunch, so that’s what I’m using as the tie-breaker. I think it’s worth it.
Source: DJI
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