Anker has officially revealed its new whole-home backup product, the Solix E10, a modular system that can power a home for potentially days at a time in the event of a blackout. The system, which competes with existing products like the Tesla Powerwall, is available for preorder now, with official sales of the Solix E10 system starting February 4.
Anker says a single E10 battery and inverter can output up to 37.2kW at once to start up to a 5-ton AC unit, while a dual kit can push 66kW; the system can also sustain up to 10kW output per E10 kit for as long as 90 minutes, making it feasible for running large appliances (if you don’t mind sacrificing your power backup to have a load of mostly dry clothes, or whatever). The company says the system can be mounted indoors or outside, and that it “operates reliably from -4°F to 131°F.”
According to Anker, Solix E10 system can automatically activate to power your home in less than 20 milliseconds. That would be effectively seamless if true, and similar to claims made by other whole-home battery backup companies like Tesla or EcoFlow. Automatic switching requires the Power Dock; otherwise, it’s a manual process.
Besides the E10 battery and power inverter, which starts at $4,299, Anker is also selling a kit for $4,599 that includes its Smart Inlet Box that adds things like a Time-of-Use mode that stores power during times when electricity is cheaper and uses it at peak rate times; an E10 with Power Dock—which is a fancy circuit breaker replacement that supports up to 200 amps—for $5,799; and a $7,399 variant of the Power Dock kit that comes with a generator that can run on gasoline, natural gas, or propane.
Anker says that three E10s can be combined to make a system that holds 90kWh of juice and can power a home for as long as 15 days. But that would take some doing; the U.S. Energy Information Administration says U.S. households average about 899kWh per month, or about 30kWh per day. I’d hope someone on backup power would conserve to stretch it out, but 15 days seems ambitious.
