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Just over a year ago, I reviewed the Anker Solix F3800 Portable Power Station, which is great; the only issue was that it was huge and heavy. So, while technically portable, it was not pleasant to move around. Since then, I have doubled my usage of the F3800, got another one, and had an electrician install the Smart Home Power Panel from Anker, plus a sub-panel that Anker offers to create a fully backed-up home/studio.
The F3800 is now offered in a package with just that, two F3800s with a smart home panel, and you can add on the sub panel depending on your use case. This package is designed to meet the rising demand and plea for electrical backup and sustainable power in this digital world.
Not only is this a residential power backup solution, but it also acts as the inverter and does all the heavy lifting if I want to add solar panels and cut back on my grid usage. All around, the F3800 was impressive, and one of the best portable power stations I’ve reviewed. Where it lacked is mitigated when you add another and the home power panel and shove this in your storage area behind your office, granting peace of mind for your home in case of severe weather or power outage, plus the opportunity to throw solar panels on your roof to collect some extra power from none other than the sun.
Anker Solix F3800 Home Power System: Price and Availability
This package from Anker is typically priced just north of $9,000. However, they are currently discounted to $5,599 with the code WSTDQR0929. There are options for installment payments through several different providers through Anker’s website if needed, which is lovely as these are offered exclusively via Anker’s website and have limited-time promotions.
Anker Solix F3800 Home Power System: Unboxing & first impressions
Since I already had one F3800, I was familiar with what it would be like to receive another. Nothing was different; the only new part was getting the power panel and the sub-panel. The Smart Power Panel was smaller than I expected, but I’m not upset because it fits better than I thought on the wall I picked.
Right now, I only have two F3800s. However, in the future, I will probably expand my battery capacity by adding a BP3800, which is just a battery unit that one of the F3800s could utilize. I could add up to 12 (6 per F3800) BP3800 batteries, each at 3840Wh capacity, totaling a whopping 53.8kWh battery capacity stored for my home.
Another thing I will add is solar panels. This time around, I did not grab any. However, I will probably add these in the future, especially since all I need are the panels and the cable to get down to my basement since I already have the inverter and batteries installed.
The setup process was straightforward; I called an electrician. In all seriousness, though, the electrician also had a pretty straightforward setup. He located my breaker in my basement, tailed off of that to connect to the Smart Home panel, and then integrated a sub-panel as well, so if I do have to power my home via these batteries, I can designate where that power is even able to go, prioritizing the essentials, and not having to worry about if there is something in my home that was left on that is not essential that would be a waste of battery.
After installing these, I could plug the cables from the power panel down to the F3800s, tuck them away, and then set them up through the app. I added my home, connected the unit to Wi-Fi, and then it registered that the F3800s were connected. From that point, I could see what I was pulling off the grid and set how much capacity I wanted the batteries to fill to (I chose a standard of 90%, with the ability to trigger “storm guard” that will quickly fill the batteries to 100% when I get an alert that there is a storm coming and then go back to my standard after that storm has passed) and the ability to set up other safety and battery preservation settings.
Anker Solix F3800 Home Power System: Design & build quality
Specs
Output: 12kW (dual system) with 120V/240V split-phase support.
Capacity: 7.68kWh per unit, expandable to 53.8kWh with additional batteries.
Solar Input: Up to 2,400W, compatible with MC4-based solar panels.
Battery: LFP with an expected lifespan of 10+ years.
Charging: AC (1,800W) and solar (80% in 1.5 hours).
The overall design of this setup is quite sleek. I’ve seen some significant and cumbersome setups, and they always need to be placed outside because they have exhaust systems from gas generators.
The reasonably sized power panel can be mounted to the wall with two simple brackets. Lastly, the sub-panel can be mounted on identical cross beams to the power panel, making installation easy.
Anker Solix F3800 Home Power System: In use
So far, having my entire home backed up with battery power has been fantastic. It’s freeing to know that, with my three kids and my wife, we can ensure that our house and what we need for the children are okay in a power outage. Any sound machines, heaters, fans, night lights, monitors for their rooms, security alarms, and so forth are all backed up in an emergency, storm that knocks out power, or grid outages.
Previously, in the “prepare for the worst” mindset that I have and my unique situation where I have a multitude of power stations on hand at any given time, I would have power stations set up around the house at key areas ready for a power outage as a UPS, or I knew that if I ever needed to, I could run down to my office and drag one of the big ones up to plug in the fridge, a heater, or whatever else I needed in the moment. Now, however, I don’t have to do any of that. Granted, I still have the Solix C1000 running my main desk in my office, but that’s simply because I chose not to include the finished part of the basement in my sub-panel so I could focus the battery on more important things that I don’t already have a solution for such as the heat, stage one of my AC, fridges, kids rooms, primary bedroom, and the microwave. I also chose to have my living room backed up, knowing that my central unit for my mesh router system (review coming soon) and the modem is there.
Because of the draw of my stage one AC unit for my house, I opted for two F3800s to get the 12kW, as opposed to the 6kW that I could get with just one F3800.
Another great feature is that I can output at 120V or 240V, depending on the demand of the equipment. This means that if I wanted to, I could run my electric dryer, charge my not-so-real-but-maybe-in-the-future Tesla, or even run another stage on my HVAC.
All of this “preparing for the worst” is great, but what might be the coolest part of this setup is something that I haven’t even mentioned yet. It’s the fact that I could throw some solar panels on my roof or even in my yard if I wanted to, and I could harvest the sun to not only refill my batteries but help run my house in a power outage or even offset my grid usage. I could set this up to where, in peak hours (if I lived in an area with peak hours for electrical), I could pull from solar and battery power and then recharge in the lower hours, utilizing solar when I can and then pulling from the grid last, saving money on electricity. All of this could be set automatically, meaning that without even thinking about it or changing anything I am doing, I could save real money on electricity with this Anker SOLIX Smart Home Power Kit.
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Design |
Simple and minimal design |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Ease of use |
Easy for an electrician to install |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Practicality |
Highly practical for professionals |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Price |
Well priced |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Anker Solix F3800 Home Power System: Final verdict
The Anker Solix F3800 Smart Home Power Kit offers a near-perfect blend of performance, scalability, and sustainability. While its steep upfront cost may give potential buyers pause, its ability to be both a backup solution and a solar powerhouse, saving you money on electricity every day, makes this an incredible two-birds-one-stone solution.
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collin.probst@futurenet.com (Collin Probst)
