Ecoflow announced the Delta Ultra today at CES, its monster 6kWh home LFP battery pack on wheels. Its 240V/30A= 7.2kW output can back up a home the way a whole home generator or Tesla Powerwall can. However, this thing has wheels and can be loaded into a vehicle to be transported to a campsite or a remote location. EcoFlow provided us with one last month and we’ve taken it to an off-grid tiny home which it kept powered, even in the cold of winter, for a whole weekend. Let’s have a deeper look…
This is the biggest battery pack I’ve ever reviewed by a long shot. I’ve tried tons of smaller battery packs (even e-bikes!) with 120V AC inverters that you can plug laptops and sometimes as much as refrigerators into for short periods of time. But the Ultra can back up the whole home. Until now, that was something reserved for Tesla Powerwall-grade equipment (which I have 2 sets) that comes via electricians or smelly, noisy gas generators.
The EcoFlow Delta Ultra spec sheet is super impressive for an off-the-shelf product:
6kWh of LFP power, 3500 cycles, safer for inside usage, 7.2kW peak output
Weight: Battery 116 lbs + 70 lbs inverter = 186 lbs or 85 kg with wheels
Wifi + Bluetooth enabled plus app for monitoring remotely. Even an optional 4G dongle
Outlets galore including a 240V 30A generator plug and 120V 30A RV plug
Whole spec sheet follows:
The EcoFlow Delta Pro works seamlessly with a 60A Smart Home Panel which was too small for my home to try out. This is integrated into the app allowing remote management of circuits and 0ms cutover time in the event of a power outage.
Tiny House power
With, 14kW of Solar, a 200A breaker box with Tesla Powerwalls at my home, The EcoFlow Delta Ultra didn’t make sense as an additional home backup. However, a friend of mine has been using a rotation of batteries to rent an off-grid tiny house as an AirBNB. But these smaller batteries aren’t able to heat the home with a 240V heat pump. He either has to use a gas generator to power the heat pump, rely on a small wood stove, or stop accepting guests when it starts getting cold in the fall.
The Delta Pro with its 240V output and 6kwh of storage would likely be enough to heat the home for a weekend as well as run lights and entertainment for the weekend. The heat pump is quite efficient and while it requires almost 1.5kW to start up and heat the home within about 20 minutes, it only requires about 300W to keep the 200-square-foot tiny home warm throughout the weekend.
In practice, the Ultra worked as advertised in 40-degree weather, keeping the home at about 65 degrees and powering small appliances and entertainment. However, the LFP batteries likely suffered a bit with the lower temperature, still allowing the home to operate for 48 hours but using more of the battery than anticipated by about 5-10%. This could be remedied by moving the battery inside the warmer house.
The Ultra is very quiet, only kicking the fans on at the outset when the heat pump was firing up as well as the tiny refrigerator and load went over 2000W. Under 2000W, the fans turn off and it is completely silent.
The Ultra has a variety of inputs including solar options which may make sense for this tiny house going forward, making it a true off-grid solution. At about 3kWh/day, we figure about 1kW of solar is needed or about 3 economical roof panels. Five panels or about 1.6kW will allow for a bigger buffer and enough to start doing things like electric induction cooking (bye propane), and e-bike charging.
For now, he charges it at home on a 120V outlet which takes about 5 hours from empty. He delivers it ahead of the customers on Friday full and picks it up with a little remaining charge on Sunday evening.
For those people who own off-grid cabins, this could be the perfect product to take with them. And while at home, it can function as whole home backup power.
Electric Vehicle charger?
You can Level 2 charge an EV with this at 7.2kW and add 6kW of battery in about an hour, adding as much as 25 miles of range (depending on the vehicle). You can even do the reverse and charge it on an EV charger(!):
Availability
EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra will be available starting today Jan. 9 on the EcoFlow website and Amazon.com. On the EcoFlow website, users can purchase DELTA Pro Ultra (inverter and battery) for $4999, and the Smart Home Panel 2 is available for purchase at $1599, or as a bundled package with DELTA Pro Ultra for $6399 until February 9. After that period, the prices are $5799 for DELTA Pro Ultra, $1899 for Smart Home Panel 2, and $7499 for the DELTA Pro Ultra bundle.
Electrek’s take
EcoFlow’s Delta Ultra is a new breed of 240V portable batteries that will enable a new level of off-grid comfort where it hasn’t existed before. This is great for off-grid cottages, RVs, tiny homes, camping, and other applications. Adding solar makes this a one-stop shop. The wheels make it easier to move the 180-lb product from place to place.
I’m super impressed with how it performed out of the box quietly and reliably over the past month. The screen is very intuitive and it feels like EcoFlow has thought about everything here.
While I didn’t have an opportunity to try it, the smart breaker box and the stacking capabilities of this battery mean it can work with any sized home as both a battery backup and an off-grid solution. I think there’s a big opportunity here to also charge the battery at low-cost hours and use the batteries to power the home during high-cost times. Stay tuned for more from EcoFlow.
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Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.
Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.
Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!
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Chevy Blazer EV (left), Chevy Equinox EV (middle) Chevy Silverado EV (right) (Source: GM)
Chevy EV owners in Texas who have Reliant as their electric utility can now charge for free at night with renewable energy.
Over 150 Chevrolet dealerships across Texas are now offering the Reliant Free Charge Nights plan to new EV buyers. With Free Charge Nights, customers can offset their charging costs by receiving credits for electricity used between 11 pm and 6 am. The plan is powered entirely by renewable energy, thanks to the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer, says the plan is about making power personal: “We’re excited to help Chevrolet EV drivers offset the cost of charging their vehicle all while having access to a renewable electricity plan.”
This collaboration aims to make EV adoption more appealing by making charging cheaper and greener. GM Energy’s chief revenue officer, Aseem Kapur, emphasized that partnerships like this help build the ecosystem needed to support an all-electric future: “The Reliant Free Charge Nights plan is a great example of how an automaker and an energy company can work together to make EV adoption an easy decision.”
Existing Reliant customers can also sign up for the Free Charge Nights plan. To get started, Chevrolet EV owners need to designate their vehicle on the GM Energy Smart Charging Portal before enrolling in the plan.
Reliant Energy, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, serves over 1.5 million customers in Texas, making it one of the largest electricity providers in the state.
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Texas is about to get a major power boost – a new AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) delivering capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand.
NRG Energy is teaming up with Renew Home to bring nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity to the Texas grid by 2035, aiming to make it more resilient while helping residents save on energy costs.
The new VPP will rely on hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and other connected home devices, making use of AI technology provided by Google Cloud. These devices, like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, will be offered to eligible customers at no cost. By automating HVAC adjustments, they help shift energy use to when electricity is cheaper, cleaner, and less strained.
NRG and Renew Home have big plans for the VPP. Starting in spring 2025, the companies plan to roll out the program across Texas, installing these smart thermostats in homes served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Eventually, they plan to add home battery storage and EVs to expand the power plant’s capabilities.
Texas has faced record-breaking energy demands, with peak usage hitting 85 GW in 2023. As the state’s population grows and extreme weather becomes more frequent, VPPs like this one could play a key role in stabilizing the grid. VPPs aggregate a lot of small-scale energy resources, from smart thermostats to home batteries, and use them to help balance supply and demand during times of high stress on the grid.
This nearly 1 GW VPP will be one of the largest of its kind in Texas. NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, calls it a “pivotal step” for improving customer experience while making Texas’ energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient.
In addition to Renew Home, NRG is working with Google Cloud to maximize the power plant’s effectiveness. Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools will help predict weather conditions, forecast renewable generation, and optimize energy usage, all of which will help make energy management smoother for both customers and the grid.
Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, said:
NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program.
This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check outEnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get startedhere. –trusted affiliate link*
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