CleanTechnica Tested: The Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro

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Jackery was the first big name on our radar in the world of portable power stations and solar generators. The high quality of their products set the tone for what customers expected in the space and Jackery has continued to raise the bar in terms of quality features, storage capacity and capability ever since.

At the Consumer Electronics Show this year in Las Vegas, Jackery announced a new heavyweight in its lineup — the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro. As the name implies, this power station boasts just over 3 kWh of storage capacity and has been beefed up to earn the pro moniker. In addition its 3 kWh of storage, the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro is capable of pushing out a staggering 3,000 watts of power at a time. That moves this device firmly out of the recreational, camping, your device is charged world into the tiny house full RV, whole home backup category.

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro
Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

To deliver this type of capacity, Jackery beefed up the case and added a luggage style, retractable handle, and a set of sturdy wheels. This lets you roll the device around instead of having to pick up its 62.8 lb mass. Granted you can still do that with the two integrated side handles but it is no small task. Using the integrated luggage handle to move the unit around is much easier than picking it up but still a little bit awkward given to wait is quite low relative to the high handle.

The pads underneath the unit are made of sturdy rubber and do a great job of absorbing the weight of the unit when it’s time to put it in park. One of the smaller foot pads popped off in our testing so we added a small washer to the screw holding both of the feet on and they were solid after that. It utilizes NMC lithium-ion battery cells, which helps it to keep its weight down relative to its massive storage capacity. Other units in the three kilowatt-hour plus size range typically tip the scales at 80 to 100 lb.

Use Cases

Who would need such a large amount of storage capacity and power output? The Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro is designed for folks who need a battery system to power larger, higher output loads, or scenarios where large amounts of storage capacity are needed. Right off the bat, it can easily power just about any type of power tool, as is befitting one of Jackery’s Pro systems. That makes it a great option for tradesmen looking for a way to extend their capabilities for jobs where there is no temporary power or grid power available.

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro
Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

It is also well suited to serve as the primary power system or to replace the electrical system in a full-sized recreational vehicle (RV). Its size is such that it could even slot directly into the generator compartment in many RVs. Their large roof space makes them the ideal platform for larger solar arrays that can push power directly into the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro.

On the usage side, there’s almost nothing this thing can’t do. With an output of 3,000 watts, it can easily power all of the typical high usage kitchen devices we throw at our batteries for testing. Or 800 watt water kettle, Vitamix blender that even trips some of our home circuits, and our KitchenAid mixer hardly made the unit blink. In addition to a handful of 110 volt AC outlets on the front it sports a NEMA TT30 outlet making it easy to plug an RV directly into it via shore power inlet.

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Charging It Up

Jackery sent us the portable power station along with two of their folding 200 watt SolarSaga panels. With these, the unit charges up in 7 to 9 hours depending on the angle of the panels and intensity of the sun. The amount of power the unit can pull down from solar panels is a function of a number of different factors including latitude longitude season, and angle relative to the Sun to name a few.

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro
The rear of the unit has two barrel plug inputs for solar which can piggyback, an AC power plug, and AC reset button. Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

For larger installations or tradesmen looking to power their day-to-day with the sun, the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro can be charged up with up to 1,200 watts of solar. That’s an impressive capability and cuts the charge time down to three or four hours. That means you can with an average 8-hour day of sunshine, you’re able to fully recharge the massive battery twice. More realistically with the solar panels, you’re able to use as much of the battery as you want without having to worry too much about the state of the battery as it is always being replenished.

The hefty storage capacity paired with its ability to push out massive amounts of power is an impressive amount of capability for someone to slap onto the back of their truck, pulling down and making available free, zero emission power from the sun. It will surely have many wondering if they need to deal with the hassle of internal combustion generators, gasoline fill ups, and poor performance if you don’t have to.

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro
Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

Plugged into solar, we saw similar results. The twin 200 watt panels we had pushed out anywhere from 280 to 350 watts depending on the time of day and angle relative to the sun (in Southern California, spring time). Solar output will be higher in the summer months so we would expect that to be up around 400 watts. Similarly, output is slightly lower in the winter. This varies significantly based on geography, so it’s definitely worth checking a solar calculator like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s PV Watts if you’re trying to line up the perfect amount of solar for your use case, in your area, for your application.

We tested the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro and found that plugged into an AC wall outlet, it pulled down just over 1,600 watts from the wall outlet. That translates to a recharge time of just over 2 hours, which is in line with Jackie’s estimate of 144 minutes from a typical AC wall outlet.

Overall

It is hard not to be impressed by the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro. It packs an immense amount of storage capacity, which necessarily comes with a larger physical package and a heavier weight. Pairing it with two of Jackery’s SolarSaga 200 watt folding panels makes for a compact package that is extremely capable.

It’s not hard imagining it showing up as a backup power system for a home, a full power system for an RV or tiny house, or powering an entire job site for a tradesman from her work truck.

On the other hand, this unit is bulky and hefty. It’s not a silver bullet, but it does deliver some new functionality that many folks are looking for. That extra functionality comes with a higher price point, but this is the top of the line for Jackery, so that’s to be expected. The great thing is that Jackery now offers yet another tier in its market to allow even more people to solve even more problems with zero emission solutions like batteries and solar panels.

The Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro goes on sale on March 24th, 2023 from Jackery’s website. To learn more about it or to purchase one, head over to Jackery’s official website. Jackery is also rocking an early bird sale for the Solar Generator 3000 Pro, so it’s definitely worth taking a look at that in the tweet below if this system is even remotely on your radar.

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro Specs

  • Capacity: 3,024 Wh
  • Output: 3,000 watts
  • Chemistry: NMC lithium-ion
  • Weight: 62.8 pounds / 28.5 kilograms
  • Charge Time (AC): 144 minutes
  • Charge Time (Solar): 3-4 hours with 6 x 200watt panels
  • Cycles: 2,000 cycles to 70% + capacity

Disclaimer: Jackery provided the Solar Generator 3000 Pro to the author for the purposes of this review.


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Kyle Field

I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. As an activist investor, Kyle owns long term holdings in Tesla, Lightning eMotors, Arcimoto, and SolarEdge.

Kyle Field has 1653 posts and counting. See all posts by Kyle Field