The Enphase IQ PowerPack 1500 is a sharp-looking, high-tech portable power station. It also happens to be Enphase Energy’s first attempt to break into the portable power station and solar generator space.
If you’re familiar with Enphase Energy, you’ll know they’re a trusted name in residential solar, famous for their microinverters, controllers, and other system components. But did they actually deliver a competitive power station with this release, or is it a fumble from a brand that should stay in their lane?
To find out, we’ve been using the Enphase IQ PowerPack 1500 around The Lab for a few weeks, and in that time, we’ve put it through plenty of hands-on testing. While it certainly feels like a polished, well-certified, and surprisingly sleek power station, we feel it’s a bit overpriced for what you get. Let’s find out why.
Before diving into what worked, as well as the areas where the Enphase 1500 falls short, here’s a quick breakdown of the basic specifications:
On paper, it seems like a solid all-arounder, but it kind of has to be at that price point.
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After running this new power station through a variety of performance tests, we found a lot to like, especially given this is Enphase Energy’s first attempt at a power station. Here’s the highlights:
Enphase clearly leaned into what they’re best known for: high safety standards and meeting third-party certification requirements. This is probably the most UL-certified power station we’ve ever tested, so if peace of mind and verified safety matter to you, this is a strong point in its favor.
With that said, UL-certification isn’t exactly the most important thing for power stations. From our perspective, if something passes the basic safety requirements for sale in the USA, it’s good enough.
Still, the sheer volume of safety certifications this thing meets could be seen as a testament to the build quality, as well as the effectiveness of its built-in Battery Management System (BMS).
The display screen you get with this unit is nothing short of excellent. In fact, it’s probably the best screen we’ve ever seen on any piece of solar equipment, not just a power station.
You get a 7-inch, full-color touchscreen that is bright, clear, and easy to navigate. It’s even motion-activated, which is something we’ve never seen before, and gives the Enphase PowerPack a real high-tech, premium feel. Walk up to it, and the display wakes itself up like it’s happy to see you. Maybe that's not the most important feature, but we can't deny it's pretty cool.
Surprisingly, the port covers are actually a standout feature. In most cases, we complain about these types of flap covers on power stations because they rarely seem to do anything other than get in the way. But Enphase actually nailed it here. The flaps have proper gaskets, are labeled with wattage ratings, and snap cleanly back into place.
We suspect that these covers offer some real water protection, which is nice to see given Enphase claims this thing sustains all-weather operation. Like the Goal Zero YETI Pro 4000 we previously tested, this thing is supposed to be capable of resisting wet weather and direct water exposure.
They even claim it can be used safely between -4°F to 122°F, which is a huge temperature range for a piece of equipment most people rarely use outdoors. If they didn’t have the certifications to back it up, we would have tested this for ourselves, but they wouldn't be able to make these sorts of claims and attain the certifications it holds.
For a lot of people, having a water-resistant power station that was designed for real-world outdoor use is going to be a serious draw. On top of that, Enphase does offer a 5-year warranty, so they must feel pretty confident that this thing will last.
While the price was fairly high for the size of battery this thing is packing, we can’t deny that the performance within those specifications was solid.
Enphase advertises 82.5% efficiency, and in our testing, it hit closer to 84%. This is great to see, especially given most brands ignore efficiency, or straight up lie about it. Having a power station outperform its rated specs is something we pretty much never see. So, good job, Enphase!
The idle draw landed at around 21W, which is pretty average, but we’ve seen a lot of newer power stations use a lot more power running their inverters. Even the Anker SOLIX F3800 has an idle draw of closer to 80W, and that’s a power station that we really like.
Probably the first thing that stood out to us about this power station is the simple fact that it’s a looker. It has a really sleek and modern appearance, and we think it would look right at home in any living space. Add in a few of the high-tech features, like that full-color screen with motion detection, and you have a product that just feels really premium.
Another thing we liked was how quiet the cooling fans were, even when we were pushing this thing to its peak performance. Again, for people wanting to use the Enphase PowerPack in their main living space, the quiet operation is going to be a real draw.
While this PowerPack Power Station brings some innovative features to the table (mostly the screen), the negatives started to add up quickly. Here’s just a few of the issues we had with this Enphase solar generator:
First off, the weight-to-capacity ratio is off with this unit. At 55.7 lbs, it’s really heavy for a 1,532Wh battery. This becomes very apparent when you compare it to similar-sized competitors. For example, take the DJI Power 2000 Power Station, which packs a 2,048Wh battery and 3,000W inverter, but only weighs 48.5 lbs. The DJI 2000 isn't the only unit that has higher specs and a lighter build, either.
Enphase Energy even sells a wheeled hand truck for this unit. While it’s a nice option for certain buyers, it shouldn’t be necessary when you’re talking about a non-expandable 1.5kWh power station.
The four 120V AC outlets are also really frustrating to use. They’re jammed so close together that using all four at once is nearly impossible unless you rely on small plugs or extension cords. This isn’t a small power station, and considering how much space is available, this design feels like a major oversight.
Don’t get us wrong, we really like that they have those weather-proof covers, but why not just spread the outlets apart? It would be such a simple difference that would really improve the usability of this unit.
The solar input is underwhelming. At just 440W max, recharging the 1,500Wh battery via solar panels is painfully slow. Even under ideal sunlight conditions and with a 500W solar panel array, you’re talking over three hours to charge a power station with a relatively small battery.
Look at the much cheaper Pecron E1500LFP Power Station, which packs a 1,536Wh battery, but an 800W solar input. That’s double the solar input in a far more affordable power station with a similar battery capacity and output. By comparison, if you're solar charging the Enphase IQ 1500, it feels like you're stuck in first gear.
Build quality is another sore spot. It looks really modern and polished, but the plastic housing feels thin and a bit fragile compared to other power stations at this price point. It flexes inwards if you just push lightly on the side panels. If this fell off a tailgate or workbench, we’re not confident it would survive the drop.
Plenty of people just use power stations for home backup, so they’re pretty much in storage or just used around the house. However, we tend to be pretty hard on our equipment, either because we’re taking it camping, using it in the garage, or just throwing it in the back of a truck. For our needs, this unit feels a little iffy.
Finally, there’s the app experience and privacy concerns. The Enphase app requires you to hand over a surprising amount of personal information (address, full name, date of birth, etc.) just to open an account so you can connect the unit to their mobile app.
On top of that, the PowerPack connects to its own private 4G network that you have no real control over. We don’t usually wear tinfoil hats around here, but it’s definitely not a great feeling knowing your power station is constantly connected and tracked.
It also seems entirely unnecessary, as the app doesn’t actually do that much. Sure, it lets you monitor a bunch of input and output information, but you can’t actually control many of the settings. So, why make it so intrusive and complicated to download and set up? It’s just weird.
When you’ve got other power station companies, like EcoFlow and DJI, releasing amazing apps for their power stations that allow you to do pretty much everything with little more than a 45-second email address signup, it just adds to the weirdness of the Enphase Energy app.
At around $1,399, the Enphase IQ PowerPack 1500 feels overpriced compared to the competition. For example, take the following power stations:
Unless you already own an Enphase Energy solar power system and you’re really familiar with the brand, or this unit integrates with your existing setup, there are simply better options for the money.
We definitely wouldn’t say it’s a bad power station, and it actually has some innovative features, but that’s a lot of money for a 1,500Wh power station.
The IQ PowerPack 1500 portable power station has a polished design, it’s efficient, and it’s extremely well-certified. The display and design touches give it a premium vibe, and performance was solid across most of our testing.
But the flaws, like the tight AC outlets, weak solar input, heavy build, questionable durability, and a privacy-invasive app, all pile up against it. When you add those issues with the high price tag, it becomes a bit difficult for us to recommend the Enphase 1500 over other power stations in its class.
If you’re loyal to the Enphase brand, they throw one in for free with a full home solar power system, or you want something that looks high-tech, it’s definitely not a bad unit. But for everyone else, you’ll get more power, faster charging, and better value from the likes of Pecron, Anker, DJI, or even EcoFlow.
Speaking of which, if you need help choosing the right power station for your needs, you can take our quick Power Station Quiz. It only takes a couple of minutes, and we’ll use your answers to recommend a unit that matches your budget and power requirements.
We test solar products so you don’t have to. Check out our opinions and which units we think are worth your money and which ones aren't.
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