BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 Portable Power Station — CleanTechnica Tested

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Since I live in Florida and have seen a few hurricanes and power outages (luckily never had property damage) in my 35 years living in Tampa suburbs, I asked for a review unit for a portable power generator. See this article I wrote a year ago about preparing for a hurricane with my Tesla or this article about charging your EV the days after a hurricane. BLUETTI provided me with a review unit of the Elite 100 V2 portable power station and I put it through a series of tests. First, I’ll tell you about the unit, and then I’ll post my pictures and the results of my tests.

Key Features & Specs At A Glance

• Battery Capacity: 1024Wh LiFePO4 (long-lasting, safe chemistry with over 3,000 cycles to 80% capacity).
• Output: 1800W continuous AC (2700W surge), plus multiple ports including 2x AC outlets, 4x USB-A, 1x USB-C (100W PD), 1x 12V car port, and 2x DC 5521 ports.
• Input: Turbo AC charging reaches 80% in 45 minutes; up to 1000W solar input for fast recharging in the field.
• Size and Weight: 17L volume, 25 lb – highly portable compared to bulkier competitors.
• Additional Perks: App control via Bluetooth for monitoring, quiet operation (<50dB), and expandable with compatible BLUETTI batteries if needed.

The Elite 100 V2 emphasizes efficiency and user-friendliness, with a bright LCD screen for real-time stats and built-in protections against overcharge, short circuits, and temperature extremes.

BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 vs. BLUETTI AC180 (Old Version)

1. More Compact & Portable

The Elite 100 V2 packs the same battery capacity as the AC180 but achieves 35% smaller volume and 30% lighter weight, weighing just 25 lb (11.5 kg). It is thus easier to carry across various scenarios.

2. Faster Solar Charging

While the AC180 supports up to 500W of solar input, the Elite 100 V2 doubles that with up to 1000W. That means you can cut your solar charging time in half, minimizing downtime and getting you powered up faster — especially valuable in remote or off-grid settings.

3. Enhanced User Experience

• More Ports, More Possibilities: A new 140W USB-C fast charging port and two DC5521 ports support more charging needs for compatible devices, like dash cams, camping lights, mini speakers, WiFi routers, and other 12V outdoor electronics.
• Quieter Operation: With a 30dB operating noise level (compared to 40dB on the AC180), it runs whisper-quiet — great for campsites, RVs, or indoor use.
• Faster UPS Switching: The Elite 100 V2 switches to battery power in just 10ms during an outage, half as fast as the 20ms response time of the AC180 — ensuring smoother protection for sensitive devices.
• Smarter Connectivity: In addition to Bluetooth, the Elite 100 V2 now supports Wi-Fi connectivity, making remote monitoring and control easier than ever.
• Longer Battery Lifespan: The battery cycle life has been boosted from 3,500 cycles on the AC180 to 4,000 cycles — offering a longer service life and lower long-term ownership cost.

For users upgrading from older models, the V2’s automotive-grade LiFePO4 cells promise longer lifespan and stability. Overall, it’s a better product at a slightly lower price.

Use Cases: Versatility in Action

Camping & Outdoor Adventures

For camping enthusiasts, the BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 is an excellent companion, providing enough juice to power essentials without weighing you down. At just 25 pounds, it’s easy to toss in a car trunk or RV for weekend getaways. Users report running LED lights, portable fans, a mini-fridge, and charging multiple devices simultaneously for 8–10 hours on a single charge.

Pair it with 200–400W solar panels, and you can recharge during the day while enjoying off-grid freedom — perfect for tents, tailgating, or boondocking. One reviewer used it to power a CPAP machine overnight, with battery to spare for morning coffee via an electric kettle. Its quiet operation ensures it won’t disturb the peace of nature, making it ideal for family trips or solo hikes where portability matters most.

Home Energy Backup

In a home setting, the Elite 100 V2 serves as a reliable backup for essential appliances during short outages. With 1024Wh capacity, it can keep a standard refrigerator running for 6–8 hours, power lights and fans, or charge laptops and phones multiple times.

It’s not designed for whole-home support, but for targeted use — like maintaining a home office setup or medical devices — it’s efficient and quick to deploy. The UPS mode switches seamlessly in under 10ms during blackouts, preventing data loss on computers. Homeowners appreciate the app integration for remote monitoring, ensuring you’re always aware of remaining power. For longer backups, solar recharging extends its utility without relying on the grid.

Preparing For Hurricanes In Florida

Florida’s hurricane season demands dependable power for weathering storms, and the Elite 100 V2 fits the bill for personal and family preparedness. Its compact size allows easy storage in a garage or closet, ready to deploy when winds knock out electricity. During outages, it can run critical items like sump pumps, radios, chargers, and small medical equipment for several hours, helping you stay connected and safe.

With 1000W solar input, you can harness post-storm sunlight to recharge quickly, reducing dependence on fuel generators. Users in hurricane-prone areas note its durability in humid conditions and quiet fanless design, which is a plus in noisy recovery environments. For extended scenarios, combine it with extra panels to power a portable fan, providing relief in sweltering heat — a practical choice for evacuation kits or sheltering in place.

But if you plan to run a portable AC unit, I would recommend you upgrade to a larger unit, as this would only run a portable AC for an hour or two. If I need to cool down, I will just sit, lay down, or sleep in my Tesla Model Y, which can keep cool for days with a full charge.

Unboxing & Test Results

It came with two cables — one to connect to the 120V AC outlet in my house and another to connect it to a solar panel. Although I have a home solar system, I can’t connect this to it without using some other equipment. This cable is meant to connect to a portable solar panel (which I don’t have yet). I did like that it uses standard MC4 connectors and a standard XT60 connector on the generator side. They didn’t include an accessory port (known as a cigarette lighter to my generation) to XT60 cable. Luckily, I have one of those laying around from another generator. If you don’t have one, you can buy one for less than $20 on eBay or Amazon.

Here I’m charging it from my Tesla. It would take about 10 hours to charge from a car or solar.

Here I’m charging from the 120V outlet of my house. It would take about 2 hours to charge (from zero to full) this way. I could also set it to Turbo mode and it would only take about an hour. I did notice that going from 90% to a 100%, it slowed down a bit (just like electric vehicles charge slower as they approach 100%). You notice it says 1.3 hours on the display — that is the estimate to get to 100%. It doesn’t take into account the slowdown as you approach 100%, so you need to add a few minutes (maybe 15 minutes) to account for that.

Here I’m testing it with a very powerful fan, which is useful in Florida to make it feel a little cooler or to bring in cool air at night if your air conditioner is broken or doesn’t have power. At 148W, it would last about 6 hours.

This is also a pretty powerful fan, and this one would last almost 12 hours.

Here I ran a test running my refrigerator overnight. It would have run for about 9 hours, but I had ECO mode turned on for the AC outlets and it shut off during a period when the refrigerator wasn’t drawing power. I spoke to support about this and they recommended I turn off ECO mode when using it this way.

Here you can see it providing power until about 5:30am. I think that green spike downward is a glitch.

Here I tested running 3 high-power appliances off of the unit at once — a toaster, a coffee maker, and an induction burner. At first it was too much for the unit and it shut down, but then I turned on the Power Lifting Mode and it worked fine.

The Elite 100 provides a maximum of 1800 watts AC output regardless of what mode it is in. Power Lifting does not lift power, it simply allows appliances greater than 1800 watts to function at a lower level without tripping the circuit breaker. 1800 watts is the maximum output. I think my 3 appliances each wanted about 900 watts, which would add up to about 2700 watts and trip the circuit breaker. It reduced some of the appliances (I didn’t test which ones), but they all worked. Maybe the toaster and/or the coffee maker worked a little slower.

Conclusion

The BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 punches above its weight as an affordable portable power solution, blending modern features like fast charging and high solar input with a user-friendly design. While it may not replace larger stations for heavy loads, its improvements over similar predecessors make it a smart pick for beginners or those prioritizing mobility. If you’re in the market for versatile backup power, this model delivers solid performance at a competitive price — check it out for your next adventure or emergency plan.

The Elite 100 V2 is available at $499 until Sept 25. BLUETTI is also offering CleanTechnica readers an extra 5% off with the code CLEANTECH.

Disclaimer: BLUETTI provided the power station to the author for the purposes of this review. BLUETTI did not influence the editorial content or conclusions.