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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On today’s fact-checking episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got a showdown brewing between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an updated 650 hp Kia EV6 GT that’s ready to take on the world, and some sweet deals on battery-powered goodies.
We’ve also got new electric buses at UCLA that are powered by inductive current in the road itself, and a massive new solar project on a site more famous for coal than clean. All this and a little bit of fact-checking on some fresh musky nonsense – enjoy!
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. Learn more at this link.
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!
Got news? Let us know! Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!
The world’s first electric muscle car is finally here, and Dodge is already sweetening the deal for buyers. The Dodge Charger Daytona EV is launching with 0% APR, making it even cheaper to finance than the outgoing gas-powered model. Lease prices for the electric Charger start as low as $549 per month, but the Hellcat-like Scat Pack model may be an even better deal.
Dodge Charger EV launches with 0% APR offer
The first all-electric Dodge Charger has arrived, and surprisingly, it’s already becoming more affordable. In March, Dodge unveiled the Charger Daytona EV, kicking off “the next generation of Dodge muscle.”
According to Dodge brand CEO Tim Kuniskis, the electric Charger “delivers Hellcat Redeye levels of performance.” That’s for the Scat Pack model, which comes with a Direct Connection Stage 2 upgrade kit straight from the factory.
The upgrade delivers up to 670 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.3 seconds. It can also cover a quarter mile in around 11.5 seconds.
In comparison, the 807 hp Dodge Charger SRT Redeye Jailbreak edition, powered by a Supercharged 6.2L HEMI SRT V8 engine, takes 3.6 seconds to get from 0 to 60 mph.
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Scat Pack (Source: Stellantis)
With a Stage 1 upgrade, the base R/T trim has up to 456 hp and 404 lb-ft of torque, good for a 0 to 60 mph time in 4.7 seconds.
Dodge opened orders for the 2024 Charger Daytona EV in September, starting at $59,995. The High-performance Scat Pack trim starts at $73,190.
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Scat Pack (Source: Stellantis)
According to a new dealer note viewed by online auto research firm CarsDirect, all 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV models are now eligible for 0% APR financing for up to 72 months.
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV trim
Horsepower
0 to 60 mph time
Starting price
Dodge Charger Daytona R/T
496 hp
4.7 seconds
$59,995
Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack
670 hp
3.3 seconds
$73,190
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona prices and specs (excluding a $1,995 destination fee)
The offer makes the electric Dodge charger even cheaper to finance than the outgoing 2023 Dodge Charger at 5.9% APR for the same 72 months. However, this is an individual offer and cannot be combined with other deals. Based on CarsDirect analysis, the 0% APR offer is limited to the Northeast, Southern, and Central US regions.
Dodge is also offering a $1,000 loyalty bonus for Stellantis (Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler) lessees that trade in for the electric Charger.
The interior of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV (Source: Stellantis)
Update 11/26/24: The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV launches with lease prices starting at $549 for 36 months. With $4,999 due at signing, the effective rate is $688 per month (10,000 miles per year).
Although it may not seem cheap, it’s a pretty good deal for a $60,000 electric muscle car. According to CarsDirect analysis, the outgoing Challenger R/T has an effective cost of at least $853 per month. And that’s with an MSRP of just $43,235. The EV model is nearly $20,000 more on paper but significantly less to lease than the aging 2023 model.
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Scat Pack (Source: Stellantis)
Meanwhile, the Scat Pack model may be an even better deal. With a lease money factor as low as 0.00006 on a 24-month lease, the Scat Pack trim is surprisingly lower than the lease rate of 0.00027 for the base R/T model.
It also has a higher residual value. On a 24-month lease, the Scat Pack trim has a 59% residual compared to the R/T’s 54%. With both trims eligible for a $7,500 lease incentive, the high-performance model could be an even better deal.
With the $7,500 EV tax credit incentive, eligible customers can save up to $8,500 on the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV. You may want to act fast, as these deals expire on December 2, 2024.
Jeep, another Stellantis brand, launched lease prices at just $599 per month for its first luxury electric SUV last week, the Wagoneer S. Jeep’s electric Wagoneer is also available with 0% financing.
During the first three quarters of 2024, renewables increased their output by almost 9% year-over-year, and solar is still leading the charge, reports the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Solar’s massive growth
According to the EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report, which includes data through September 2024, solar power generation (including both utility-scale and rooftop installations) shot up by 25.9% compared to the first nine months of 2023.
Utility-scale solar grew even faster – up 30.1% – while small-scale solar (mostly rooftop) increased by 16.2%. Combined, solar contributed more than 7% of the total electricity generated in the US so far this year.
Zooming in on September, utility-scale solar generation grew by a whopping 29% compared to September 2023, and rooftop solar climbed by 14.2%. Combined, solar generated 7.5% of the nation’s electricity that month.
Small-scale solar made up nearly 30% of all solar generation from January to September and provided 2% of the country’s electricity. Interestingly, small-scale solar is now producing almost double the electricity of utility-scale biomass, and over five times that of either geothermal or petroleum-based power.
Wind and renewables mix
Wind power also saw strong growth so far this year. From January to September, wind output was up 6.6% compared to last year. Wind still holds the top spot among renewables, making up 9.9% of US electricity generation in the first nine months of 2024.
The combined contribution of wind and solar provided 17% of the US’s electricity for the first three-quarters of 2024. Altogether, renewables – including wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal – supplied 24% of US electricity in that period, compared to 22.8% during the same time last year.
The numbers show that renewables are growing much faster than traditional energy sources. For example, in the first nine months of 2024, renewables grew by 8.6%, which is more than double the growth rate of natural gas (4.1%) and almost seven times that of nuclear (1.3%). Even in September alone, renewable power generation was up 7.9% compared to September 2023, making up 21.3% of total electricity generation that month.
Other notable trends
From January to September, wind generated 76.4% more electricity than hydropower, and solar surpassed hydropower by 27.2%. In September alone, wind and solar produced 73.5% and 65.9% more electricity, respectively, than hydropower, due to drought conditions, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.
For the first nine months of 2024, wind and solar together produced 14.5% more electricity than coal and came close to catching up with nuclear power’s share of electricity generation (17% compared to nuclear’s 17.6%). This growth has solidified renewables’ place as the second-largest source of electricity generation in the US, behind natural gas.
Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign, which reviewed the EIA’s data, put it simply: “Renewable energy sources now account for a quarter of the nation’s electricity. Any attempt by the incoming Trump Administration to undermine renewables would have serious negative impacts on both the country’s electricity supply and the economy.”
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