- The Ampace Andes 1500 Portable Charging Station is designed to charge via AC, car power, or solar charging.
- It provides strong battery protection and can operate your gadgets and even some appliances without power.
- This is a solid and durable device.
I live in the Deep South, which means every year we lose power due to storms or hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, so when I had the opportunity to test the Ampace Andes 1500 Portable Power Station, I decided to give it a try.
The Ampace Andes 1500 portable charging station debuted at CES 2024. It's notable for several reasons, not the least of which is that you can use solar panels to charge your devices. This makes it very handy during extended power outages or when you're away from civilization long enough to use all the energy this beast has stored up.
Now, you can probably see the appeal. If a hurricane hits my area, we could be without power for days to weeks. Having a spare battery that can be charged using solar energy (which we have in abundance) can mean the difference between semi-comfort and complete misery.
When I received the Andes 1500, the first thing I noticed was how heavy it was. Of course, I mean that relative. It weighs just over 36 pounds, so you won't be taking it with you on any hiking adventures, but it's not designed to be used that way either. That said, you can definitely throw it in your camper or boat and take it wherever you want.
There's a reason this thing is so heavy, though. It is equipped with a lithium-ion battery that provides enough power (1800W AC, surge power of about 3600W) to charge multiple devices, run most of the gadgets in your home (lights, computers, hair dryers, etc.), or Even operate some electrical appliances.
Quick charging is a good idea once you take it out of the box. I mean fast. You can fully charge the Andes 1500 in an hour (55 minutes on AC power, but if you use 600W solar, the time increases to 3-5 hours). There is also an app available for download that gives you some control over the device, but I didn't download the app right away.
After charging, it can be used directly. Turn it on, plug in your stuff, and forget about it. The Andes 1500 has a total of 13 charging ports: 4 AC ports, 2 100W USB-C ports, 4 18W USB-A ports, 2 120W DC ports, and a 120W car socket. While I was using it, it didn't have enough ports to connect everything I wanted to.
You’ll find some interesting features on this device that you won’t find on other portable power stations. One is ambient lighting. It has color-changing lights on the top of the case that you can control using the Ampace app. They're cool, but they don't really function, so you can turn them off completely to save battery. The other is the light below the display. This one is useful because it can be used like a lantern to illuminate the area around the battery. It also has multiple modes, including strobe and SOS, to help draw attention to your location when necessary.
So, there's nothing really sexy about a backup battery, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have uses. I've been lucky enough not to have a storm this year that knocked out my power for more than a few minutes, but I did test the battery's effectiveness if I needed to use it in such a situation. I can keep my phone, laptop, and desk lamp connected to the battery for a few hours. When I gave up and disconnected everything, there was still plenty of power in the system.
I haven't tried running anything larger than a blender or hair dryer on batteries, but the smaller ones I've used work just fine. It did take a few seconds for power to start after I turned the Andes 1500 on, and you do need to press a button to turn on the AC outlet, but once powered on, it works like you'd expect.
The Andes 1500 has a display on the front that shows how much power you're using, how much power is left in the battery, and a few other metrics, all of which you can see in the app. This also lets you control some more custom settings, turn the Andes 1500 on or off, and monitor the remaining battery life and power output of connected devices.
One thing to note here is when it comes time to charge the battery. If you use AC input and want fast charging, you need the app to turn on the A-Boost feature. According to the documentation, with A-Boost turned on, you can charge the battery from 0% to 100% in about 55 minutes. It's unclear how long it takes with A-Boost turned off, and I haven't completely drained the device's battery yet, so I can't get an exact time, but it felt like it was charging pretty quickly when I was using it. Plug it in.
With an MSRP of about $1,400, the Andes 1500 isn't cheap, but it's a useful backup battery when you're out of power. I talked to a friend who is an outdoor show supplier and he said this backup battery is a lifesaver when it comes to running lights and fans. In fact, it also doubles as an Emergency Power Supply Solution (EPS) that can be used in office environments. In these cases, something like this would be extremely useful and I think is totally worth the investment. After all, you'll have peace of mind knowing you can "keep the lights on" even when grid power isn't an option.
