Verdict
The Anker PowerHouse 535 is a with child choice for anyone needing a mid - range power station for camping trips , or faint backing duties around the home . It chance on a strong balance between power storage and portability , proffer elastic charging , and is one of the most efficient power banks we ’ve tested . While it ’s not suitable for hard - duty appliances , it ’s idealistic for computers , phones , CPAP machines and other wakeful - to - spiritualist tariff widget .
Pros
Cons
Introduction
The Anker PowerHouse 535 is the second poser up in Anker ’s develop range of place baron stations , but it share many of the strong feature found elsewhere in the lineup .
Perhaps most significantly , it ’s built around a hardening of atomic number 3 iron orthophosphate ( LFP or LiFePO ) batteries , which offer up a retentive Robert William Service life of 3000 or more recharge cycle per second , and are loosely hold to be more safe than other lithium cell . Anker says the PowerHouse 535 is designed for 10 years of performance , and it comes with a ready to hand five - year warranty .
The 535 is about the size of it of a four - time slot toaster , and it ’s not especially arduous , making it fairly practical for camping trips or displace about the theater . It offer flexible recharging , include from the sun or in a car , and has turnout ports to track mains and USB - powered gadget . It can lay in 512 watt - hours ( Wh ) of electricity – theoretically enough to power a low - energy Light Within bulb for more than two mean solar day – and has a top mains output of 500W. It ’s not splashproof , however , and it could overheat in potent sunlight .
With a maximal power yield about a quarter of a typical washing machine or dishwasher , the 535 wo n’t aid you do washables in a power cutting . However , it ’s enough to deal even relatively powerful microcomputer and monitor combinations , CPAP machines , or other low-down to intermediate power gismo . It ’s not uncollectible value at its full Mary Leontyne Price of around £ 500 , but at the prison term of writing we frequently run into it discounted below £ 400 .
Design and features
The Anker PowerHouse 535 search a piece useful , but it feels nicely designed and made . On top it has a thickheaded handle , while the bottom ’s declamatory galosh feet help keep it where you put it . There are vent at each side , and just a alone power input port wine at the back – most of the features are on the front instrument panel .
This power station offers two UK briny socket , both controlled by the same on / off button and both sharing a meld 500W maximal output . There ’s also a 12V railway car tycoon socket offer up to 100W , plus four USB sockets and a light . That ’s not a defective pick , but I ’ve a minor quibble with the selection of three USB - A port – each fink at 12.4W – and only one 60WUSB - Coutput . More and more equipment are take in USB - C , so I ’d prefer to see at least two of these ports .
I ’ve no ill about the large mono screen , which shows the battery charge at a glance , along with the charge per unit at which it ’s shoot or discharging , and how long either is probable to take . This also has indicators showing when the USB ports are providing power , and whether the power - saving way is activated . This monitor the load on the main and car major power socket , switching them off automatically if it remain at a low figure – it ’s important to disable it if you ’re using the 535 as a backup force source for indispensable equipment .
I particularly like this might post ’s direct strip light , which gives off more than enough soft light to dispel shadows when camp out with kids , or prevent barked shin bone in a power deletion .
It only has one brightness level , which consumes 4W , but you may also put it in an emergency brake mode which flashes ‘ SOS ’ in Morse Code . At least , it ’s think to – in fact its dot - pane - dot , sprint - dash - hyphen enchantment a rather more casual ‘ SO ’ .
Charging
This major power station offer a great deal of flexibleness when it come to charge . you could use the issue 120W AC adaptor to in full buck it within about five 60 minutes , or connect a USB - C courser to the USB - vitamin C turnout port , which double up as an input . combine these lets you consign at a maximum 180W , which gets the PowerHouse 535 up to 80 % guardianship in about two and a half 60 minutes .
You ’ll also find a machine adapter in the box . This again lets you fully reload the 535 in about five hour , which could be ready to hand if you ’ve got a farsighted drive between camping site . lastly , you could connect up to 120W of solar might – indeed you could buy the 535 roll up with a 100W jury , in which case it ’s call the Anker 535 Solar Generator .
There are some limitations . main , car and solar burden all use the individual DC input port at the back , so you ca n’t combine them for a agile recharge . you’re able to , however , supplement any of them with a USB - deoxycytidine monophosphate input . More significantly , the reliance on an international AC adapter keep on the 535 quite summary , but it stand for that there ’s no pass - through or shunt modality , which would , for object lesson , permit it to provide 500W of main world power to its sockets while still reload its battery . It will happily provide some power while charge , but if the full load goes over 120W it ’ll need to describe on battery great power , and the battery will ultimately run down .
In practice this may not be as much of an exit as it is with the incoming levelPowerHouse 521 , which has a more restrictive 65W adaptor . Most laptops and some figurer / varan combinations have an fair power expenditure below the 535 ’s 120W input , meaning it will persist charged overall if it ’s connect in series with them . If you are thinking of using it for backup power , do check the equipment you ’ll be connecting – and be mindful that there ’s no alarm to warn you when the 535 ’s battery is nearly empty .
Performance
I always seek to try out business leader bank at their maximum rated level , which can be rather demanding – some prove mentally ill and may even shut down . Not so the Anker PowerHouse 535 , which come out easily capable of meeting its specifications . When expel its maximal 500W of AC might , it remain stable and comparatively cool until its batteries were amply discharged , at which point it had supplied 420Wh , according to my mains power metre .
I unremarkably test a power banking concern beyond its specification , which I do n’t commend you sample as it could make overheating or damage . The 535 was able to offer a constant 600W for just over a minute , before shutting itself down . I also tested the 535 with light loads . At both 200W and 300W , it allow more than 440Wh from a full accusation .
Power stations never surrender their full rated mental ability , particularly when leave AC power , which has some command processing overhead time . With this in mind I retested the 535 ’s USB end product , but acquire a similar sum ( 440Wh ) to my other tests . To prove and put this in linear perspective , it ’s enough to fully reload a home of four ’s roving phones about four times .
My measurement show that the PowerHouse 535 is very effective , typically able-bodied to supply more than 85 % of the vigor stored in its battery . However , as this mental testing assumes the battery run short from in full level to fully discharged , it ’s more accurate to calculate at a circular trip , which but compares the electrical energy I put in with what I was afterward able-bodied to take out . The 535 managed a round - trip efficiency of 78 % , meaning for every 10W I put in I got almost 8W out . Again , that ’s one of the best figures I ’ve measured .
My net run was to connect the 535 to my base office equipment and simulate a power cut . Because there ’s no pass - through style , this mogul post is in effect perpetually providing backup power , so there ’s no switchover time and no danger that sensitive equipment would be disturbed in a dimout . As have a bun in the oven , turning the power on and off cause no problems with my computers , NAS or monitors .
As you ’d expect , the Anker PowerHouse 535 has fans to help keep affair cool when it ’s work hard . These rarely get meretricious enough to poke , but they do run almost perpetually in the background when it ’s supplying AC power . I also mark a very quiet ticking stochasticity , but that was only audible with my ear tight to the gimmick .
Some power banks tender better economic value than others – we calculate a comparison by dividing their price by the amount of electrical energy they can stash away over their lifetime . In 3000 full commission cycles the Anker PowerHouse 535 would stack away 1536 kilowatt hours ( kWh ) . At its £ 499 SRP that ’s equivalent to 32.5p per kWh . Buy it when discounted and it could be as picayune as 26p / kWh – exceptionally low for this class of supplying .
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Final Thoughts
The Anker PowerHouse 535 may be relatively modest and light , but it ’s a well - engineer power station , capable of telling performance and efficiency , making it a great option for those that require top executive on the go .
Its LFP battery think of it should also last , even if used daily for backup power . The deficiency of passthrough power may limit its function in some scenarios , in which casing theBluetti AC60(which can have its storage expand ) may be a better choice .
Trusted Score
How we test
We screen every electric battery post we look back thoroughly over an lengthy period of time . We use stock tests to compare feature right . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , swallow money to review a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
The PowerHouse 535 is a smaller power coin bank , with a scummy maximal great power output , and less storehouse . While it can output a maximum 500W of AC index , the PowerHouse 757 ( now rebranded to the Anker SOLIX F1200 ) can supply up to 1500W. While the F1200 shop 1229 Watt - hours ( Wh ) of electrical energy , the 535 only stores 512Wh .
It stores 512Wh . That ’s just over half a kilowatt - hour .
