Looking for a reliable solar generator? Jackery might have just what you’re looking for. We were lucky enough to get a review unit from Jackery and tested out the Explorer 1000 Pro in a bundle with a set of two Jackery SolarSaga 80W photovoltaic panels. It’s very useful for anyone looking for an off-grid power solution, and it’s also great for emergencies. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the Jackery Explorer 1000 Pro and see how it could be useful for you. We actually wrote this article with free energy that we harvested during the day in the sunlight and don’t have to pay a single cent for the power currently used. In case you already know about the Jackery solutions, you can scroll right down to the article to find out the latest deals to save some money with your next Jackery purchase.
Review of the Jackery Explorer 1000 Pro and SolarSaga 80W
Jackery is a leading manufacturer of high-quality solar generators, and the Explorer 1000 Pro is one of their latest models. This powerful generator can be used for a wide variety of applications, whether you need power in an off-grid location or just want peace of mind during emergencies. The Jackery Explorer 1000 Pro features a compact design that makes it easy to transport, and the unit that we tested came with a set of two SolarSaga 80W photovoltaic panels that can be used to capture renewable energy from the sun. Overall, if you’re looking for an efficient and reliable solar generator, Jackery’s Explorer 1000 Pro is definitely worth considering. Let’s plug in and see what the hottest features are.
Portability
Both the Jackery Explorer 1000 Pro and the Jackery SolarSaga 80W photovoltaic panels are designed to be very durable and portable. They aren’t the lightest, but low weight is not really a criterion to compare energy systems with each other. The generator and the panels have a foldable handle so you can transport them easily.
For protection, the panels also come with bags to carry them in, with a compartment to store cables or other accessories in. The products have good water and dust resistance and are very rugged, so it’s unlikely that they’ll be damaged even if they’d drop or fall over for any reason.
Details about the Jackery Explorer 1000 Pro solar generator
The generator comes with a built-in battery so that you can charge up the unit when there’s good weather and use the stored electricity later whenever you need it. If you want, you can also charge the battery up with a normal connection to a power plug in your home. This will let you charge the system up a lot faster but of course, you’ll pay for it on your bill for electricity. If you want to get free energy and be independent of the grid, you should learn how to use photovoltaic panels though.
Feature overview:
- DC input
- AC input
- LED light
- 2 USB type A ports
- 2 USB type C ports
- LCD screen
- Car port
- 2-3 AC output ports (depending on your region)
- 1002Wh capacity
Details about the Jackery SolarSaga 80W photovoltaic panels
Jackery offers a variety of solar power panels that you can connect to a Jackery solar generator but similar to how the Explorer 1000 Pro is fairly new, the SolarSaga 80W panels are also some of the newer models in the portfolio. What’s special about this new model is that both the front and back of the unit have photovoltaic panels on it.
So you can use the protection bags also as reflectors and reflect additional sunlight to the back of the unit for additional charging power. True, 80W isn’t that powerful even if you have two panels, but the Jackery tech is designed in a modular way so you could always add more panels into the mix, even if they are not the same model, and improve your energy harvesting setup.
How fast can you charge the battery to the max?
If you want to load the Explorer 1000 Pro to the max, you can use a mix of solar panels to charge up or plug it into a wall socket. Here’s a quick overview from Jackery to find out how long each method approximately takes to load fully:
- 4x SolarSaga 200 – 1.8h
- 2x SolarSaga 80 – 9h
- AC input (wall charge) – 1.8h
And what can you do with a full charge?
Not everybody is familiar with electricity and how much power you need for what kind of activity, so Jackery prepared a few figures as a rule of thumb:
- Refrigerator with 520W – 1.6h
- CPAP with 10W (medical breathing device) – 80 charges
- Coffee maker with 550W – 1.5h
- TV with 60W – 13h
- Microwave with 700W – 1.2h
- Fan with 45W – 17h
- Laptop with 65W – 9 charges
- Electric blanket with 55W – 14h
- Electric heater with 350W – 2.5h
- Hair dryer with 1000W – 0.9h
- Instant pot / rice cooker with 1000W – 0.9h
- Water kettle with 850W – 1h
What I also liked to read in their marketing material was the fact that apparently, the battery of the solar generator can keep the power for a long time with only a minimum of loss. Do you know how sometimes a device’s battery would die out even if you use the device for some time? The Explorer 1000 Pro can keep 80% of its charge for as long as 365 days. I couldn’t test this one out myself but from what I can tell right now, it seems like that could be accurate, which makes it a good choice even for people who just want to keep a backup battery around in case of a blackout.
How did the tests go?
I’m happy to let you know that there were no cons that we discovered. All the marketing promises were kept and the solution just works. From the haptics, all the parts feel very good as well. There are no poorly manufactured parts or uneven edges or anything that would make it feel any lesser. It’s a really fine and high-quality product that’s not cheap but instead, you get a fine product for your money. Even though the month of November is not a good month for solar energy, I was still able to gather a good amount of power, setting up the panels in the garden. If I had to make a wish on improving the product, I’d only say that it would be a cool feature for the Explorer to also have a photovoltaic panel directly on the generator unit as well, but of course, this is only a little nice-to-have idea from me.
What I also wanted to mention, just in case you care for it, the panels also work indoors. Of course, the efficiency is reduced when set up inside a building, near a window, but it still works and you can manage to generate electricity not out of thin air but simply by harvesting the sunlight through a window. Finally, I also want to mention that it’s not difficult to use the system at all and everything can be set up in about a minute if you practiced one or two times. Unlike gasoline-powered generators, this solar generator makes next to no noise. Possibly you’d hear an electrical “hum” here and there, but I think the Xbox Series X is a lot louder than this device.
What’s the verdict?
I’d say that you’ll carefully have to check which Jackery solar generator and which set of panels is best suited for your use cases, but Jackery as a brand and company is likely to provide you with a good cost/performance ratio. Whether you’re a prepper, or if you like to go glamping (camping with high tech), all of the Jackery products will be a good solution for your power needs. it feels simply rugged and professional. I’m sure you’d not regret it, but if possible, try it out yourself before you make a purchase. The MSRP right now on the Jackery website is 1,597 USD, but if you’re interested in getting one, make sure to check the deals as described below.
Now, what about the deals?
I also heard that Jackery is going to have some good deals and giveaways going on on their website and on Amazon. Regarding Jackery’s Crazy Monday Giveaway, they told me that the prices will be cut short for you all and that all outdoor lovers with prizes totaling $250,000 USD (including Camper trailers, Cashback opportunities for Jackery Orders during the Black Friday Sales, and many other amazing prizes). They confirmed to me that every order placed during the Black Friday Sale (from Nov 24th to Nov 28th) will get a chance to enter this giveaway. The giveaway will be live on Jackery’s official website and Youtube channel on Nov 28th.
I hope you found the review useful and good luck with the giveaway!
YouTube: The Solar Generator 1000 Pro is Here!
Photo credit: The official shots were provided by Jackery as indicated on the photos. The photo in the test part of the review article was taken by Christopher Isak for TechAcute.
Editorial notice: We received a review sample of the product but were not paid for writing this article.
