Question
We recently had a good question about using the popular Jackery 1000 portable power station (click to view on Amazon)
and a Jackery Solar Panel (click to view on Amazon) for powering basic electronics like a 12V fridge, laptops, and phones when traveling.
Here’s the question from our Goal Zero Vs Jackery – The Ultimate Power Station Battle
I’m no pro with generators or this subject, but I plan to be camping and on the road for 2-6 weeks at a time. I am considering the Jackery 1000w. I will be traveling with a friend and we both work remotely. So I will have 2 laptops, a 12v fridge (probably the Alpi Cooler I think?), and phones. My main concern is the Alpi cooler, do you think the Jackery 1000 + their 120w? Solar panel will be enough to run mainly the cooler (45W and roughly drawing 3-4 amps) full time? – B
Answer
Yes, that setup should work as long as you don’t have two gaming laptops that are going to be on for 10 hours a day.
We’ve written this post that compares power consumption between the Alpicool and Dometic fridges, and based on the numbers in that post.
Most Alpicool fridges will run for several days on the Explorer 1000 before the Explorer needs to be recharged.
Let’s say you have the Alpicool C20 which will use about 200 watt-hours total per day, so that’s 4-5 days on its own with the Explorer 1000.
But then you charge two 60W laptops for four hours which will at most use around 500 watt-hours per day (120*4), then you’ll have 300 watt-hours left.
Now, if you have a 100W solar panel charging the Explorer for 5 hours, it’ll generate around 350 watt-hours (70*5) as long as it’s sunny.
So at the end of the day, the battery should be above 50% state of charge.
So you shouldn’t have any issues keeping the fridge powered with the Jackery as long as you have a solar panel connected to it.
Cloudy days suck when you rely fully on solar panels, so how much you can charge your laptops will depend on the weather.
Related Posts
- BougeRV CR45 Portable Fridge Freezer Reviewed For Camping/RV
- Jackery Explorer 1000 Power Station Review (For RV/Camping)
- Is The Jackery SolarSaga 100W Solar Panel Worth It?
Have any questions about this Q&A? Leave a comment below.
