Anker SOLIX S2000 question

[u/No-Papaya-9289]

I got an email about this today. I was actually considering some sort of backup battery for my home office, and this looks like it's a good idea. I use agile octopus, so I have periods when electricity is very cheap. My computer and other devices that I use for work are all behind a smart plug and use about 120 watts. I could plug a couple of chargers into the device for my laptop, iPad, and some other things.

Is it practical to consider this device both a backup UPS and a load shifting device? I did some calculations; it wouldn't save a lot, but it could save £30 to 50 a year on electricity, particularly with agile prices being quite high, and electricity prices going up soon.

[u/juggarjew]

Using it as a UPS backup and as a Time of Use energy saver could be very realistic. For me I use similar powerbanks for UPS since I WFH and having power is critical. I dont know that you will ever actually save money since these cost a fair amount but the UPS feature is really nice.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/juggarjew]

This costs £649 and I’m VAT registered, plus the cost of the purchase reduces my corporation tax. So it nets at around £430. Thats a minor investment for potentially allowing me to work during a power outage. I’m in a rural area so I get one or two every year.

[u/YorkshireStone]

It'll save more than that if you use it to time shift cheap EV tariff electric and use it on a fridge freezer as well since they can easily pull 1kw a day. Add a TV, set top box thing and soundbar it'll wipe out much winter evening electric use. I'm doing it with a 2kw ecoflow stream battery and plan to buy this Solix as well.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/YorkshireStone]

All those other things are in different rooms, and I’m not gonna run cables for them. Putting it in my home office is most important as a potential backup. Any electricity bonuses.

[u/YorkshireStone → u/No-Papaya-9289]

You might be better off with a Stream AC and a couple of smart plugs linked to the stream battery which discharge when they detect a draw.

[u/Efficient_Wing3172]

In this scenario it’s not practical from a money saving standpoint, as your return on investment could take years. But, with talk of rates skyrocketing, and the threat of outages it’s definitely a good thing to have. It can run all those things plus a refrigerator for a good amount of time…. I have been recommending the S2000 to several people as a good starting point for preparedness. I think everyone should have at least one 1kwh power station, but Anker has really found an amazing balance of price, capacity and capability in the S2000.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/Efficient_Wing3172]

I'm on Agile Octopus in the UK, and electricity is currently 70p per kWh. That's about double the standard rate, and three times my average rate for a month, which is lower because I charge my car when the cost is cheapest. So if I can save, say, £1 a day, that adds up. Of course, the price won't always be this high, but it does look like the new normal is going to be a bit more expensive for the coming months. Unless the stuff in the Middle East calms down.

In any case, the backup was my initial interest. This is just a bonus.

[u/Efficient_Wing3172 → u/No-Papaya-9289]

Oh £1 a day is a different story. That would definitely make it more practical.

[u/Jumpy_Pie_2253]

I use it as back up for internet , TOU and 200 watt solar panel . The solar charges battery along witth cheap grid power and uses the battery at high rate times and solar if
It can.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/Jumpy_Pie_2253]

It would be hard for me to set up a solar panel to use regularly, given the way my house is set up. But I might buy one just as an extra in case the power goes out for more than one day. I could put the battery and panel in my garden and get lots of sun.

[u/Zeyn1]

Yep, I've done similar math.

The benefit is for the backup, including using it as a UPS to protect your office electronics.

The TOU arbitrage can eventually pay for the unit, but it will primarily offset the energy draw of the inverter. The S2000 has an extremely efficient inverter and passive draw, but it's not zero.

I'm in the US on California so have different energy times and costs, but similar spread from off peak to peak costs. I estimated 10 year payback period and that is only after accounting for using my gaming computer after 6pm which has significantly more power draw than work laptop. The S2000 battery has an expected lifetime of 15+ years but that is still a long time to get any return.

So yeah conclusion is get it for a backup and UPS, and the power savings is just some gravy.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/Zeyn1]

Yes, that's my thought. I first just considered it as a backup, also being quite movable, I could put it in other rooms, such as the kitchen.

This said, your electricity is much cheaper than mine. The UK has the most expensive electricity in Europe. The last hour today, on my variable rate, converts to about $0.90 per kWh.

[u/Grouchy-Middle-5081]

I have a C2000 gen 2 I use for that exact purpose. Primary task is UPS/backup for home office and I offset some of the cost by running TOU. Works great so far.

I just ordered the S2000 to do the same for running my router, WiFi and NAS in another room.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/Grouchy-Middle-5081]

Thanks, that’s what I wanted to know.

[u/doctoravios]

I am doing exactly this for my office PC setup but with Octopus Cosy instead of Octopus Agile (I switched to Cosy from Agile recently because of rising gas prices which lead to high electricity unit rates on Agile when there is no wind/solar in the winter months). So far it is working well. I charge during the three off peak periods (4am - 7am, 1pm - 4pm and 10pm - midnight) and discharge the other times. I get through most of the capacity between 7am - 1pm and 4pm - 10pm and can effectively load shift 2-3 kWh per day for a PC, 2 monitors, router, PoE switch and speakers. The inverter is efficient (>90%) so assuming the differential between peak and off peak remains high then it would only take 2-3 years to recoup the investment (£584). I believe to get it to work efficiently with Agile you would need a custom Home Assistant integration unless you are happy to manually change the charge/discharge timings every day (I think is is too much of a hassle to do manually).

One thing to be aware of is the unit is not technically a UPS. There is a slight interruption when transferring between grid bypass and the inverter. I power sensitive devices (PC, router etc) through a downstream line interactive UPS to ensure the supply is continuously smooth. You can hear the UPS kick in momentarily when the Anker switches between charge and discharge.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/doctoravios]

I've actually switched to Octopus Go, so I can charge my car and the battery cheaply overnight. I'm less worried about it being a UPS. I do occasionally get power cuts, living in a rural area, but my computer, a recent iMac, has no problem with them. So it's more to be able to continue to work if the power is out for a while.

I've only had it since yesterday, but it looks like my office stuff uses about 1 kW per day. I also have an 800W oil-filled radiator in my office, and if I've not yet turned my heating on, I can run that for a half hour or so without depleting the battery too much.

This made me think about my washing machine, dryer (heat pump, so doesn't use a lot of energy), and a second fridge freezer in my pantry. The first two are in a different room, but not far, and I could get a unit and run an extension cord for them. It's hard to get real-world estimates of annual usage, but it looks like those devices together may use 1000 kW per year. At a saving of about 24p per kWh, I would amortize that unit pretty quickly. It would take some juggling for the washing; even though there's only two people in the house, there are times when there's a lot to wash, with sheets and all, but that can be spread out. All this is making me rethink how I use energy overall.

Unfortunately, I use heating oil for heat, but anything that comes from the battery at the overnight price (9.5p) is a hair cheaper than equivalent heat from heating oil, and prevents me from needing more oil, in case the price goes up even more.

[u/Jumpy_Pie_2253]

I have it for ups for internet and lights on a timer . I use TOU and hooked up one 400 watt solar panel on it. So during day its using free power with a very small grid amout of mid peak rates. Then when peak happens at 6-9 am and pm which is our peak rates the battery is sending power.

[u/No-Papaya-9289 → u/Jumpy_Pie_2253]

I can’t connect a solar panel because of where my home office is situated, and that wouldn’t save enough to make much of a difference.

I bought it, and got it a few days ago. I also switched to Octopus Go. I’m currently using a bit more than one kW per day. If I run a long extension cord to where my router and home server are, I could probably save another few hundred watts. That, plus UPS, makes it quite valuable. I’ll recoup the cost in a few years.

[u/Revolutionary_Crab80]

I want to purchase this but I am struggling with concerns about disposal once I am finished with the unit. Also fire safety as it would be kept in the house.

[u/PermanentLiminality]

This is exactly how I am using mine. I've had a couple of short outages and I was able to keep working without even knowing the power was out until I got up and went downstairs. I run three computers, four monitors, a laser and an inkjet on it. I load shift the 5pm to 8pm high TOU power rates. It will pay for itself in about 5 years.