How Does a Portable Power Station Works

Portable power stations, also known as battery-powered inverter generators, essentially are oversized rechargeable batteries—about the size of a countertop microwave oven – and are able to help you to power most of your daily electric devices when in off-grid situation. Nowadays a portable power station often comes with portable solar panels, to add more charging capabilities and extend runtime.

A power station is made up of different components. Take Iflowpower’s portable power station as example:

Battery

The main component is the battery with all the other components supporting functions either to charge the battery or power devices from the battery.

Inverter

Power in the battery is stored in the form of DC power. In order to use power from it to power AC appliances which are most of the appliances in our homes like TVs, laptops or blenders you need inverter to convert the power to AC power.

Sine Wave and Modified Sine Wave

There are basically two main types of inverters, pure sine wave and modified sine wave. Pure sine wave inverters produce power that is very close, if not exactly the same as the power an electric company delivers to your home. This is the type of inverter that you’ll find in most portable power stations.

Charge Controller

Since most power stations can be charged using a solar panel, a charge controller is a must. A charge controller is a device that regulates the input power from the solar panels into the battery to prevent overcharging.

BMS system

A Battery Management System is vital in Lithium batteries. It’s a system that monitors things such as battery voltage, regulating when power is coming from the battery and when to charge it. Not to be confused with the charge controller the BMS is part of the battery and most lithium-ion batteries cannot function without it.

Input and Output

The inputs allow you to charge the battery and the outputs to charge or power your device. The inputs can include DC and AC inputs that allow you to charge the power station from a wall socket or solar panel. The outputs can include AC, USB or cigarette lighter plugs to charge your phone, laptops and power your appliances.

Iflowpower’s products are designed and produced with very high quality components as above said. If you want to know more about how our portable power station works, please feel free to contact our service team.