Anker Solarbank 2 Pro in the test: balcony power plant storage with smart meter and 4 MPPT

In early 2023, Anker was one of the first companies to show a storage solution for balcony power plants on the market with the Anker Solix Solar Bank (test report). At the time we particularly liked the attractive price-performance ratio, easy installation and good app. However, the solar bank also showed weaknesses. The feed-in power fluctuated, dynamic feed-in was not possible and Anker installed only one MPPT module. Anker now wants to eliminate these weaknesses with the Solar Bank 2 Pro. At the start of sales, it is not much more expensive than Solar Bank 1. Practical tests show whether this project will be successful.

The Anker Solix Solar Bank 2 Pro is still larger and weighs over 20 kilograms. This means that it has surpassed its predecessor, which is hardly surprising because Anker has included a few additional functions here. For example, the balcony power plant storage comes with a small integrated heater. According to Anker, charging should be possible even at temperatures down to -20 ° C. However, for the heating to work, the battery must have a certain basic charge – this may not always be the case, especially in winter, when sometimes there is almost no sun. Temperatures up to 55 ° C should not be a problem in summer. If the IP54 certified and therefore rainproof Anker Solix Solar Bank 2 Pro is in the shade, you are on the safe side.

The expansion batteries are slightly smaller. Both components connect wirelessly – conveniently and neatly. To connect, take the protective caps off both elements and place them on top of each other – done. The basic unit and additional batteries have a capacity of 1.6 kWh, so our set has a capacity of 3.2 kWh. Up to five expansion modules are supported, which together with the solar bank take the total capacity to 9.6 kWh.

Installing the Solar Bank 2 Pro itself is simple, also due to the integration of the inverter. The buyer simply plugs one to four solar modules into the balcony power storage unit using one cable and connects the Solar Bank 2 Pro to a standard household Schuko socket with another cable. The up to four solar modules, each with up to 600 W peak power, do not need to be fitted together; the Anker solution allows them to be installed thanks to four MPPT modules – no matter how much power they emit and which manufacturer they are from. Although other inverters allow more PV modules to be connected, performance drops if the panels are shaded. This is a huge advantage not only compared to the previous model, but also compared to the competition.

Once connected and switched on, the Anker app instantly finds the Solix Solar Bank 2 Pro via Bluetooth connection. You then integrate it into your home WiFi using the app and you are good to go.

The Solar Bank 2 Pro supplies 200 watts out of the box. If the panels generate more, the excess goes to the LiFePO4 battery. If the sun is not shining brightly enough, the battery supplies the difference, up to 200 watts. The first solar bank could not do this – its battery could not charge and discharge at the same time. This led to a drop in our test. Now the user can specify in the app on a daily and even hourly basis when and how many watts are fed. By the way, according to Anker, the battery should still have at least 70% of its original capacity after 6000 charging cycles. The manufacturer gives a fantastic 10-year guarantee on it.

In everyday life it usually happens that the energy actually needed in the household fluctuates considerably. While the base load is perhaps 200 W to 400 W, at its peak it can be several thousand watts due to consumers such as toasters, hair dryers, ovens and kettles, of which a balcony power plant is only allowed to compensate for a maximum of 800 W for regulatory reasons.

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Thanks to the optionally available smart meter, the Solar Bank 2 Pro can regulate its feed dynamically and therefore in line with needs. However, this smart meter must be installed in the sub-distribution (electricity meter) of the house by an electrical engineer. There it records when there is excess demand and informs the Solar Bank so that it can compensate for it within a few seconds and supply more power to the house.

Storage solution Zendure Solarflow (test report) and something comparable can also do it EcoFlow PowerStream (Review). However, they are also compatible with Shelly and are not limited to proprietary solutions. This is where perhaps the biggest criticism of the Solar Bank 2 Pro becomes apparent: it is a closed system and cannot be integrated into an existing smart home system.

Basically, balcony power plants with storage pay off more slowly than BKWs without storage. This is mainly due to the significant drop in the price of batteries, but it is still high. Nevertheless, once they have paid for themselves, they increase the annual savings. Balcony power plants without storage are much cheaper, but the savings are also lower. A balcony power plant with 830 Wp module output and 800 W inverter is now available 294 euros. Anker itself claims annual savings of 900 euros for its Solar Bank 2 Pro with four 500 watt panels. We think this is too high, in reality it is probably more like 400 euros – if the panels are well aligned. How high the savings actually are depends on many individual factors such as the orientation of the panels, the weather and the price of electricity.

Anyone who uses a balcony power plant wants to save on electricity costs. You should also tap into the additional savings potential by choosing the cheapest electricity provider. The electricity price brake came at the end of December 2023. But there was no major price hike. Until June 2024, electricity rates with a working price are From 26 cents. For comparison: In November 2023 you pay from 23 cents – the price was researched based on offers in several major German cities.

The same applies to gas tariffs. These are currently available from 8 cents per kWh instead of 20 cents in January 2023. We also offer a similar comparative offer for this. Heise Tariff Comparison,

If you want cheaper prices and don’t want to worry about switching providers yourself, you can use switching services Remind me Remind.me. The provider offers free switching between electricity and gas providers. The customer receives a recommendation in advance and can then decide for or against the respective offer. Advantages: Remind.me compares over 12,000 tariffs and automatically notifies you when you can change contracts.

Despite the many improvements, the Solar Bank 2 Pro comes in at the same starting price as the first Anker Solix Solar Bank (test report). Directly from Anker it costs 1099 euros. The street price is currently 999 Euros (price comparison). In addition to the Pro version, Anker also sells the Solar Bank 2 Plus at an RRP of 999 euros; the street price is currently no lower than the RRP. The smaller Solar Bank 2 Plus has only two connections for the panels and therefore only two MPPT modules. It also does away with the socket. An additional expansion battery costs 699 euros directly from Anker. If you buy it from the Anker Amazon shop and click on the coupon code, you’ll get it 599 euros.Anker Smart Meter has a lot more to offer 99 euros To book on Amazon. Some bundles already include the smart meter.

As usual, Anker also offers the Solix Solar Bank 2 Pro with solar panels. Here are three examples, there are more bundles here Anchor Solix Website,

It’s worth it, too. Privat (Coupon code: TS120valid till 14th July 2024) and Yuma to stop by. Some of the bundles are available there at the best prices.

The Anker Solix Solar Bank 2 Pro is almost perfect. Even if we look very closely, we don’t see any major weaknesses. Yes, the system is closed and not compatible with Shelly like the Zendure SolarFlow storage solution (test report). You will also have to search your pocket well for a new solar bank, as there are cheaper options with comparable battery capacity.

But the Solar Bank 2 Pro also offers much more than the competition. We are not aware of any storage solution that allows us to combine up to four solar panels of up to 2400 watts and each of which has its own MLLT module to optimize performance. Your own Schuko socket with 1000 watt output can be very practical in the event of a power outage. The fact that the Solar Bank 2 Pro looks very neat due to the integrated inverter and correspondingly less cable clutter and can be set up in just a few minutes is also a real plus. It can be expanded from 1.6 kWh to 9.6 kWh using a modular plug-in system. It is rainproof and can be left outside in winter as it is heated.

The Anker smart meter completes the whole thing. It hangs on the power box and delivers the actually converted and needed electricity to the balcony power plant storage right down to the second. Very useful and likely to be part of many future storage solutions for BKW.