Why Choose Bluetti?
thinking and innovation. The Nevada-based company makes home battery backup products that keep appliances running during power outages, but it is best known for portable power stations that have been embraced by people who spend time off the grid. Bluetti designs products that allow all the comforts of home to be enjoyed in the wilderness, and they do it by harnessing the power of the sun.
History
Bluetti has a short but quite eventful story. The company was formed after two energy industry professionals met in the summer of 2019. The two men entered a very competitive market and expected growth to be slow, but their products sold well and soon became must-have items for hikers and hunters. Let’s take a look at the reasons for that success.
Founding and Milestones
The two energy industry professionals who met in Walnut, California, in 2019 were James Ray and Wondar Law. The two men had plenty to talk about because they had both spent more than a decade conducting energy storage research. They were looking for ways to make reliable portable power stations that could be charged anywhere without burning fuel and emitting carbon dioxide, but people who can’t afford to take any chances have been reluctant to put their faith in solar because of long charging times and spotty performance. Ray and Law thought that they could develop a product with the reliability and performance the public was looking for if they worked together, and Bluetti was born.
Ray and Law focused their efforts on increasing capacity and reducing charging times. The most frequent complaint consumers have about solar backup power is batteries that take hours to charge and then don’t keep devices running for very long. The work done at Bluetti’s Las Vegas research and development center has changed this perception. The company’s batteries now have solar inputs of up to 3000 watts, and some of them can regain 80% of their charge in just half an hour.
Startup businesses do not have the marketing resources of Fortune 500 companies. Bluetti could not match the advertising budgets of its far larger competitors, so the company decided to put most of its resources into research and development and let its products speak for themselves. The EB150 and EB240 portable power stations were released on Amazon in 2019, and positive reviews soon started to appear. It was not long before Bluetti portable power stations were being talked about on social media and internet forums, which gave the company the opportunity to pursue alternative forms of funding.
Instead of approaching banks or venture capitalists for the funds it would need to develop its next generation of portable power stations, Bluetti decided to go directly to the people who would be buying and using them. The company announced that its flagship AC200 portable power station would be a crowdfunding project on Indiegogo, and consumers responded by spending almost $7 million in the campaign’s first two months. The company’s brand is now associated with sustainability, freedom and independence, and its products are sold in more than 70 countries.
Production and Manufacturing
Bluetti power stations, solar generators and battery packs are hits with consumers because they are durable, reasonably priced and perform well. The company has earned its enviable reputation because it places practicality over gimmickry and research and development over advertising and promotion, and the speed with which it brings new products to the market has surprised the industry. Let’s take a look at some of those products and the work that goes into making them.
Products
Bluetti manufactures small portable power stations that can keep electronic devices running on camping and hiking trips and residential systems that can power a suburban home for a week or longer. The company has modular product lines, which means batteries and solar panels can be switched between models. Here are some of the reasons why Bluetti portable and home power stations are some of the most popular on the market:
- Rugged construction: The going can get tough in off-the-grid locations, so the gear people take with them when they go hiking, hunting or camping has to be durable. Bluetti portable power stations are built out of robust and fireproof materials that can take whatever nature throws at them.
- Quick solar charging: Speeding up charging times has been a Bluetti priority from day one. The company’s latest models have solar inputs as high as 3,000 watts and batteries that can be recharged in minutes instead of hours.
- Long service lives: Portable power stations with affordable price tags sometimes have batteries that can only be charged a few hundred times. Bluetti gives consumers more with batteries that can be recharged 6,000 times before their capacity begins to drop.
- Features: Even Bluetti’s smallest power stations are packed with features. There are regular sockets, appliance sockets and USB ports, and home units can be switched from 120 volts to 240 volts to power large appliances.
- Charging options: Bluetti power stations can be connected to solar panels, automobile power outlets and car batteries, and you can also plug them into an AC outlet.
Three products unveiled by Bluetti in 2022 reveal where the company has been investing its research and development budget. The NA300 solar generator, AC500 home power station and EB3A portable power unit all break new ground and push boundaries, and they show that developing new products is still the company’s primary goal.
The NA300 is the first solar generator that uses sodium-ion technology. The generator has a solar input of 3,000 watts and a pure sine wave inverter powerful enough to cope with most household appliances. The sodium-ion battery does not provide the watt-hours of the lithium-based product it replaces, but it can be charged to 80% in just 30 minutes and performs exceptionally well in cold weather. When the sodium-ion battery was tested at -4 degrees Fahrenheit, it retained 85% of its power and 80% of its efficiency. Overall capacity is bumped to 12,600 watt-hours when two B480 batteries are attached to the NA300, which is enough power to satisfy a family’s needs for up to a week.
The AC500, which is part of Bluetti’s Apex system, is the most powerful pure sine wave inverter ever sold to the public. Up to six B301 battery packs can be connected to the AC500 to deliver an incredible 18,432 watt-hours of power. The AC500 can be connected to solar panels or household electricity supplies, and simultaneous charging allows both of these features to be used at the same time. Consumers who want the ultimate in solar backup power can connect two AC500s to create a 240-volt power system, and Bluetti’s Smart Home Panel makes connecting AC500s to home circuits a snap.
The third product Bluetti introduced in 2022 was the EB3A portable power unit. The EB3A is the smallest power station on the market and has dimensions even more compact than the EB55 model it replaces, but it punches above its weight with a pure sine wave inverter rated at 600 watts. Bluetti’s engineers have also found a way to fit charging components inside the case, which means there is no power brick to tote around. If you would like to learn more about Bluetti’s large and growing range of products, you will be able to find the information you are looking for on our main power stations page.
Manufacturing
Some generator companies enter into white label agreements that allow them to apply their logos and branding to products made by third parties, but all Bluetti products are designed and tested at the company’s research and development facility in Las Vegas. In addition to developing new products and making improvements to existing products, the engineers in Las Vegas lay down strict manufacturing and product quality guidelines.
These are the guidelines the factories that produce Bluetti products have to meet. They state how power stations, backup systems and solar panels should be made and what materials they should be made out of. Bluetti chooses materials for its MPPT controllers, motherboards and BMS that are durable enough to provide years of reliable service, and the company goes to great lengths to make sure that corners are not cut during the manufacturing process.
Key Facts
Bluetti’s mission has always been to help people explore the world and enjoy their lives, and the company’s name has become synonymous with a lifestyle as well as a brand. The company’s minimalist design philosophy matches the functionality and simplicity of its products, and it has been recognized by some of the world’s most renowned designers. In April 2022, Bluetti’s AC200MAX and EB55 power stations won a coveted iF Design Award in a major technology category.
International Forum Design has been organizing the iF Awards since 1953, and they are considered one of the design industry’s most prestigious honors. The iF jury that recognized the AC200MAX and EB55 was made up of 132 design experts from 20 countries who were tasked with rating products based on their form, function and ideas.
Warranty Information
Most gas-powered generators need regular maintenance, but solar generators do not burn liquid fuel and contain no moving parts. This means repairs are less likely and maintenance costs are all but eliminated. Defects in manufacturing or materials are still possible, so Bluetti backs its power stations and solar panels with two years of warranty coverage.
Bluetti does not ask its customers to register to receive warranty protection, but they will be asked for their unit’s serial number and expected to provide proof of purchase if they make a claim. The claims process can be started by calling the company’s customer service representatives at 702-463-4792 or sending an email to service@bluetti.com. Claims are accepted when power stations or solar panels have developed problems because of faulty parts or workmanship, but they are denied when damage is caused by abuse, accidents or unauthorized modifications.
Bluetti Appliance Parts
The Bluetti website has an accessories page that features items like cables, connectors and fusion boxes, but there is no link for those who want to buy other components. This is not really surprising because solar generators have no moving parts. If you have one of the company’s products and need parts to repair damage or take care of problems that are not covered by the warranty, you could contact an authorized dealer, call customer service at 702-463-4792, or send an email to service@bluetti.com.
Check Out More Bluetti Content From Power Station Pros
If you want to know how to choose a portable power station, the experts at Power Station Pros have the content you are looking for. We watch the market closely so we can tell our visitors about promotions, recalls and new products as soon as they are announced, and out reviews and roundups are full of useful information.
Bluetti Product Reviews
We rely on portable and home power stations to provide us with energy when we have no other options, so they have to work every time. If you want to know which generators are as reliable as their manufacturers claim, you should read our reviews. When we review a power station, we cover its materials, specifications and features, and we also go behind the cover to look at how it is made. We then take a look at online reviews and sum everything up with a list of pros and cons.
Bluetti Product Roundups
There are many reasons to use a portable power station, and consumers who wish to purchase one have many options. If you are getting confused by input ratings, watt-hours and charge cycles and just want to find a power station that meets your needs, you should check out our product roundups. These are short reviews of five or so products that have been selected to give you a snapshot of a manufacturer’s entire range, and they make it easy to pick the right power station out of model lineups that can include up to a dozen models.
Bluetti Press Releases
Enormous amounts of money have been invested in the energy sector, and a lot of it is being spent to improve solar and battery technology. When research and development breakthroughs lead to better and more capable products, our press release pages get the word out. These pages are where you can learn about industry news, find out about new products and hear about the latest technology.
Bluetti Recalls
Solar generators do not have internal components that move, so there is very little that can go wrong. When portable power station recalls are announced because of some sort of manufacturing defect, we make sure that our visitors get all the details. We let them know the product numbers of the power stations involved and tell them about the problem that prompted the recall, and we then explain what the manufacturer has vowed to do to put things right.
Where To Buy
Shopping for the best price can be the most frustrating part of buying a solar panel, generator or portable power station. Some retailers have prices that don’t look so great after shipping costs are added, and some offer free shipping but make their customers wait weeks for delivery. Our experts keep track of online retailers to find the lowest prices and the best customer service, and then we pass that information along to our visitors. If you want to save money on a Bluetti portable power station, you should check out the following online stores:
Similar Brands
There are many power stations to choose from, and some of them are made by companies with histories dating back more than a hundred years. When you shop for power generation products, you should check out several manufacturers before you make your final decision. Power Station Pros makes that easy because we cover them all. Here are some that you may recognize:
Online Presence
Bluetti has an attractive website that looks good on desktop and mobile devices and has customer service links as well as an online store. The company also posts regularly on all of the major social media platforms. Here are some links if you want to learn more:
Contact Information
Customers who have questions that only a Bluetti customer service representative can answer can contact the company by telephone or email. Emails are usually answered within 24 hours, and customer service representatives are available to answer calls on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Here are the details:
- The customer service telephone number is 702-463-4792.
- The orders and shipping email address is sale@bluettipower.com.
- The main customer service email address is service@bluettipower.com.
- The company’s online message form can be found here.