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MagyarAnker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro in a practical test: Powerful balcony power station with storage, 2,400 W and up to 9.6 kWh
Following the launch of the first Solix brand balcony power plants last year, Anker soon launched the Solarbank storage unit. Just under a year later, the second generation has already gone on sale - with several models.
The series currently consists of the Solix Solarbank 2 E1600 Plus and the Solix Solarbank 2 E1600 Pro. The Solarbank 2 will follow later. We are currently testing the top model Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro. This test reveals what the balcony power station can do and how good the new flagship model from Anker Solix is.
Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro, Solarbank 2 Plus and Solarbank (1st gen) in comparison
The new Solarbank 2 Pro is the top model in the balcony power station storage series, which consists of two and later three variants. It offers the most powerful features, as a look at the following table shows in comparison to the Solarbank 2 Plus and the first Solarbank generation.
| Solarbank 2 E1600 Pro | Solarbank 2 E1600 Plus | Solarbank E1600 (1st gen.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 1,600 Wh | 1,600 Wh | 1,600 Wh |
| Expandable | up to 9.6 kWh | up to 9.6 kWh | no |
| Battery type | LiFePO4 | LiFePO4 | LiFePO4 |
| Number of MPPT | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| MPPT input power | 2,400 W (4 x 600 W) | 1,200 W (2 x 600 W) | 800 W |
| Inverter | integrated | integrated | external |
| Output power | 800 W | 800 W | 800 W |
| Dimensions | 420 x 232 x 240 mm | 420 x 232 x 240 mm | 420 x 232 x 240 mm |
| Weight | 25 kg | 25 kg | 25 kg |
| Smart Meter | compatible | compatible | not compatible |
| Special feature | 1,000 W AC socket outlet | - | - |
Overview: Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro with many new features and improvements
The first generation of the Solarbank was a good idea and also sold a lot, often in a bundle with a complete balcony power station. However, it also had to put up with some criticism. Firstly, Anker only installed an MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) solar charge controller in the Solix Solarbank E1600, which limits the possibilities. Secondly, the storage system is very sensitive to temperature and does not charge or charges very slowly in cooler weather.
Anker has tackled these problems with the second generation and presents all-round improved successors with the Solarbank 2 model series. The top-of-the-range Solarbank 2 Pro model is equipped with four MPPTs, each with an input power of 600 W. This means that the storage system can be charged quickly with up to 2,400 W if correspondingly powerful solar panels are connected.
The next advantage of the Solarbank 2 generation is the fact that it has its own built-in heater. If it gets too cold outside, it warms the battery. This means that the IP65-protected storage unit can charge at temperatures as low as -20°C, which is significantly more temperature-independent than the first model.
Another new feature is that the Solarbank 2 has an integrated inverter. It is also expandable and stackable. The 1.6 kWh (1,600 Wh) capacity of the Solarbank 2 Pro can be increased up to 9.6 kWh using the optional 1.6 kWh expansion battery. LiFePO4 batteries are used, for which the manufacturer specifies a service life of at least 6,000 charging cycles.
Another important innovation is the Anker Solix Smart Meter. The smart measuring unit can be optionally installed in the house distribution board and then measures the current power consumption of the entire household with an accuracy of 10 W, according to the manufacturer. The value is then transmitted to the Solarbank 2 Pro/Plus in real time via WLAN or Bluetooth in order to adjust the current feed-in power to the actual consumption with a response time of less than three seconds.
This maximizes the feed-in power and self-consumption, as up to the politically defined limit of 800 W, the own power consumption can be covered almost in real time if the battery level is sufficient, instead of feeding in a certain power across the board. It would be nice if the Solix system would be compatible with other smart meters such as Shelly products in the future, which is not currently the case. Then the installation of the Anker Smart Meter could be saved if another solution is already installed.
Installation: Solix Solarbank 2 Pro is easy to install
For our test, Anker provided a configuration consisting of the Solix Solarbank 2 E1600 Pro together with an additional BP1600 battery with 1,600 Wh (i.e. a total of 3.2 kWh) and four solar panels with 500 W each. This completely fulfills the PV output requirements for balcony power plants.
After delivery, the first thing on the agenda is installation. The most time-consuming part is the installation of the photovoltaic panels. Anker provides various brackets for the ground, pitched roof, and balcony, which can be used to install the panels in different ways.
For our test environment on a flat roof, the minimum 30-degree angle of the ground mounting was too steep for us, as the susceptibility to wind at lofty heights is quite high. An alternative mounting solution was therefore used and the panels were also mounted in a 2x2 setting with an inclination of a good 10 degrees each in an east/west orientation due to space constraints. Not an ideal setting, but it still works perfectly.
When it comes to installation, the possibilities are almost unlimited thanks to Anker's own solutions and the products available on the market - provided that the installation site is not completely shaded.
Once the one to four panels, which measure around 228 x 113 cm for the Anker 500 W version and around 176 x 113 cm for the 435 W version, have been installed in place, most of the work is done. Then all that remains to be done is to connect the 3 m long cables supplied to the panels and the solar inputs of the Solarbank 2 Pro and, on the other side, to connect the 5 m long mains cable to a socket in or near the house.
Your own Solix balcony power station with storage is ready for use. If you have purchased not only the solar bench but also one or more additional batteries, simply remove the covers from the contacts on the top and bottom and place the devices on top of each other.
Thanks to the plug-and-play solution, the installation of the Solarbank 2 Pro worked without any problems during the test and, depending on the effort involved in mounting the solar panel, can be completed quickly. In case of problems, that did not occur in our case, a look at the provided instructions will help.
App: Feed-in control and statistics
The Anker app for Android and iOS is the control center for the Solarbank 2 Pro. It is used not only to set up the storage system but also to monitor it. To do this, the Solarbank 2 Pro must first be connected to the home WLAN via the app. As the set-up process is well explained in the app and was intuitive and straightforward in the Solarbank 2 Pro test, we have only captured it in a few screenshots.
Anyone who has not installed the smart meter can use the Anker app in "User-defined mode" to specify how much electricity can be fed into the household grid and when. The power can be set in steps of 10 W. However, the time period can only be set within 30 minutes, i.e. on the hour and a half hour. We would have liked more precise setting options here.
Nevertheless, the options can be used to define a fairly precise sequence of when and how much electricity (if any) should be automatically fed from the storage system into the domestic grid in line with the usual daily rhythm. The schedule can be freely configured for Monday to Sunday so that, for example, normal working days and the weekend can be organized differently.
The second important feature of the Anker app is the monitoring of solar yields. The overview shows in real time how much energy the connected PV panels are currently producing and where it is going - i.e. to the battery or directly into the house. Various statistics for solar power, use in the house as well as the charging process and battery status per day, week, month and year complete the picture. An LED light bar and two status LEDs on the storage unit itself also provide information about the battery charge level and the status of the system.
In addition to the power consumption scenario, the electricity price can also be set in the app's settings menu in order to calculate the savings. There is also system information and firmware updates. Further settings are possible in the device entry, including the Wi-Fi connection, the reserved power (5 or 10 percent, the battery does not discharge below this), the maximum power supply (600 or 800 W), and a few other things that can be viewed and set.
Overall, the Anker app makes a tidy and mature impression. However, there are a few options that are (still) missing or that we would like to see. For example, it would be nice and informative if the performance of the four individual MPPTs and thus the individual solar panels could be viewed in the app.
What we would also find practical is a boost function. If you don't have a smart meter installed and know that you're going to use a lot of electricity in the next few minutes, it would be nice if you could simply activate full feed-in for a short time at the tap of a finger in the app without having to change the schedule. So there is still some room for improvement.
Measurements: This is how much power comes out of the Anker Solix Solarbank 2
According to the app, the set power usually deviates by a maximum of 1 watt. Our own measurements on the system's mains plug show a slightly higher deviation of up to 10 W (depending on the feed-in power), but this is still quite accurate and is influenced by various factors.
In the Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro test, we were able to measure an energy input of 1,260 Wh from a fully charged battery with a continuous draw of 400 W until the system switched itself off. If we subtract the set discharge limit of 10 percent (i.e. 160 Wh) from the capacity of 1,600 Wh, this results in theoretically extractable energy of 1,440 Wh.
This means that almost 88 percent of the energy reaches the house, which is a decent rate. The rest are the usual losses due to the inverter etc. This should be taken into account when planning your own configuration in terms of storage size.
We also carried out the same measurement with the bundle of the Solarbank 2 Pro and an additional BP1600 battery with a total of 3,200 Wh. In this test, 2,550 Wh of the available 2,880 Wh (3,200 - 320 Wh (10%) residual capacity) could be drawn, which also corresponds to just under 88 percent.
First impressions: Electricity is produced even when the sky is overcast
A PV system is of course dependent on the sun shining. But some electricity is also produced when the sky is overcast. Depending on how cloudy the sky is, the four panels can feed around 500 W or more into the battery or the household grid at a peak output of 2,000 W.
In good weather and with direct sunlight, the 3.2 kWh storage capacity of the test installation is quickly full in our setting - although this of course always depends on how much is drawn from the battery on the other side.
As the smart meter still has to be installed by an electrician, the system is currently running in the "user-defined mode" consumption scenario. Here you can individually set how much power is to be fed into the house between 0 and 800 W every half hour. At night, 100 W is currently set to cover the basic requirements of the house. During the day, it is more dependent on the time and demand. The system reacts to changes to the values set in the app within a few seconds and also adheres meticulously to the set times.
A practical feature is the fact that the Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro continues to charge even without a mains connection (even if the mains plug is disconnected). This means that the storage unit will continue to charge in the right weather conditions, even if there is a power cut, for example.
And Anker goes one step further. The solar storage unit has a 230 V AC socket on the right-hand side, which can be used to draw up to 1,000 W directly from the inverter. This means that the balcony power station also serves as an emergency power supply in the event of a power failure, and can not only cover basic power requirements but can also recharge itself automatically in the event of a longer outage.
Outlook: This is how our Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro test continues...
The Solix balcony power station with Solarbank 2 Pro has been in use for a few days now and has been working reliably ever since. The first solar yields have already been successfully achieved and the first kWh have been generated, although the weather has so far been rather unpredictable. In order to be able to provide long-term experience with the Solix system, as this is also dependent on the weather, we will be adding to and updating our Anker Solix 2 Pro test report from time to time over the coming weeks.
In addition to the experience we have gained and our assessment of the profitability of the system, the Anker Solix Smart Meter will soon be installed by an electrician. This can then measure the electricity consumption in the house and thus intelligently regulate the feed-in of up to 800 W in order to minimize losses and maximize the yield. How well this works is one of the next topics for the update of our Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro storage for balcony power station test.
Anker Solix Solarbank 2 Pro test summary: A first interim result...
However, an initial interim conclusion is already possible. The installation of the Anker Solix balcony power station with Solarbank 2 Pro storage and additional battery worked without any problems in the practical test.
Producing your own electricity is just as easy. It quickly becomes a bit of an addiction to check the app from time to time and check the current input power and savings.
The system becomes particularly useful and smart when used in conjunction with the smart meter. Then the Solix balcony power station - apart from the input power limited to 2,000 W solar panel peak power and the output power limited to 800 W - can hardly be distinguished from a small PV system.
Overall, Anker has done a lot of things right with the second generation and has eliminated the problems of the first solar bank. In addition to the four MPPTs, the simple expansion with an additional battery is a great way to adapt the storage system to your own requirements and circumstances.
Price and availability of the Solarbank 2 Pro
The recommended retail price for the Anker Solix Solarbank 2 E1600 Pro is €1,199. For the launch, the manufacturer is offering a discount of 100 euros in its store for a limited period. The Anker Solix BP1600 extension battery costs 699 euros RRP, and the Smart Meter 99 euros RRP.
Anker is also offering the Solarbank 2 generation in various bundles. If you already own a balcony power station or solar panels, you can simply purchase the storage system with integrated inverter. Alternatively, Anker offers various balcony power station bundles with up to four solar panels with a maximum peak output of 2,000 W from 1,499 euros - depending on space, requirements, and budget.
Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
